I have a really nice looking stick of claro I’ve been messing with for a few years that is getting close to completion. Lately I have been troweling mud into the cavernous pores. Whenever I do it takes an ungodly effort to cut the hardened substrate back to bare wood to see the final effect. I’m getting really close, but there are a few spots that when the light is just right you can see are not totally flush.

I’ve about had it. Last night I wetsanded the whole thing with 600 grit, wiped it as clean as I could, and just because I wanted to see it glow, I hand rubbed on a first coat of Linspeed. It looks beautiful, and I don’t want to go backwards… again.

Question: I know the right answer is that there are no shortcuts, but are there any shortcuts?

Specifically, I have a small container of Birchwood Casey stock filler that I inherited but have never tried. At this particular point, might I be able to selectively target the few mild problem areas with this product and expect decent results?

I really don’t want to go back to 400 grit and grinding through that rock hard yet gummy buildup of sludge…

What are you using for filler? I use no filler; I use the finish, and wet sand it into mud. It isn't that hard to sand back down.

Just wet sanding with spar varnish and letting the mud build up.

I am exaggerating a little bit for effect, but I am just getting tired of cramped fingers and gummed up little squares of sand paper every time I cut it back and discover the last cycle didn't get them filled all the way...

Did you raise the grain with water first and then heat with hair dryer & sand it? Makes a BIG difference as it cuts out all the lose fibre and gives you the final bare wood surface.

After that just wet sanding with BLO / Linspeed etc 50% diluted with mineral spirits is fine. I started with 240 grit and finished with 1000 grit.

I used BLO & Danish Oil mixed diluted 50%.

I did another stock with Truoil diluted.

Truoil & danish oil have Tung oil in them.

Danish oil also has Carnauba wax (car polish hard Brazilian plant wax)

I did more than 20 coats - using less than half teaspoon diluted oil per side of stock each time.

Ditto on all the feathering and such. For finish I have never used anything but urethane and mineral spirits in a 2:3 mix. Very thin. Lay it on, let it dry and wet sand. Over and over. All the pores are filled and the finish is as smooth as a baby's behind.

Why is it gummy, are you letting it dry or cure, what are you using..With Beachwood filler, I cut it 25/50 and paint it on let stand for 15 minutes do it over and over until its shiny all over..let stand and cure for 48 hours...The wet sand with 220 grt. make some good mud and using my fingers rub the finish in two inch circles "across the grain". don't wipe it off let the whole mess cure for 24 hours, then repeat with 320 grt. then then again and wet sand with 420 grt. let stand 24 and wet sand it lightly with the grain this time, wipe it off lightly length wise, let cure and then polish lightly with rotten stone mixed with oil or dry rotten stone Lightly...let it stand over night and polish with rotten stone again...Now you can hand rub with Linseed oil with Japan dryer mix. and polish with rotten stone between coats until you get what you want..Its a quick finish but about as good as a slower process..You can cut back with rotten stone to a dull finish, egg shell or keep going to a high gloss..

To determine your pour fill get it out in the sunlight you can see unfilled pours and if you do you ain't finished,rub some more Linseed and let cure.

For a deluxe finish I do prett much the same but keep going until Im satisfied..

And YES there is NO shortcut, besides you stated that you have been working on that stock for a YEAR, why would you want to ruin all that with a shortcut, that makes no since to me..

If a short cut is a must then paint the stock with shellac ones or twice and call it good..

Ray, did you know that they now make stock finishes that already have the linseed (and tung) oil and drier already mixed and ready to apply?
That Linseed oil with Japan drier thing is so 1930.....
But for the OP. you might be leaving too much roughly distributed mud on the surface; wipe it down with your fingers as smooth as you can get it.

As dpcd said, if it's difficult to sand down to the bare wood you're likely leaving too much of the "mud" on top to dry. When I'm wet sanding the stock with a linseed oil type of finish I allow the mixture of sawdust and finish to partial dry on the stock and then remove the better part of it with cheap non-absorbant napkins (I'm the jerk you see grabbing the huge wads of them from Mcdonalds all the time). After the whiskering I do this five or six times with 320grit allowing the stock to dry 48hours in between, until all the pores are filled. Then once at 400 grit, 48hours, then once at 600grit. After the 600grit sanding it's essential to remove every bit of residue. At this point the stock is glass and I'm able to rub coats of finish on top.
I know there's many other ways to accomplish pore filling but this has always worked well for me.

Here is a long thread over on RC. Worked well for me.

http://www.rimfirecentral.com/...wthread.php?t=331108

I've been down that road so often my head spins at the thought of it. I've tried every tactic known to mankind for filling pores in walnut. Some work better than others but all are a PIA and borderline worthless as far as I'm concerned.

What I do now is simply varnish the wood. Sand back down to bare wood- requires a dab hand so as not to sand away what's in the pores too. Repeat as necessary until the pores are all filled. Continue forward with applying the oil of choice. Epoxy can be substituted for varnish. It's the only thing I ever used that permanently stays put in the pores under adverse conditions. There's nothing worse than getting caught in a downpour and watching the fillers wash out of the pores. Been there, done that, no longer wear the T-shirt.

Labor intensive? Yep. As with most things in life, you get out of it what you are willing to put into it.

Conversely, since I now mainly use varnish as a finish, I just lightly sand between coats with 320x until the pores are filled, then add a couple coats for good measure. Rub out the final coat, and wax to bring up a pleasing luster. Often mistaken for a "hand rubbed oil finish" by the uninformed, but waaaaay more durable and weather resistant.