Keith, I have tried several pore filling finishes and filler type finishes on my lathe.  Somethings I turn may have an area that is more porous on one side, especially exotic woods.  I have had limited success. One was water based and promised to do the job in one or two coats. I wasn't happy with it and it did not mix with other finishes after it dried.  

 

What do you suggest to get a consistent fine finish on a turned piece that has problem areas?

Ron I'm not Keith and I don't use water base anything especially when working wood but 

  I've done lots of wood filling with oil base fillers.

If you want to keep the same color of the wood as it is ..and use a filler of a lighter or darker mixture you first have to seal the wood with a coat of clear lacquer then you can fill the pours with any color or else the filler will change the overall appearance a little. 

 I have found the best way for me to get the results using wood filler on the first application and not having to redo the second time is using my bare hands to rub the filler in.. I would apply the thinned down wood filler with a brush or one of wifes bath towels then rubbing with my hands until I am sure all the cracks are level with the surface.. Using lacquer over any oil base product I would have to wait a few days before finishing with clear lacquer.

   Learning how much to thin the filler takes some learning .  I like it to be a heavy, heavy cream that will not run when applied to the wood. Again I haven't used water base filler so I don't know how thin it is to start with.

 Items turned on a lathe should not be a problem. Just keep rubbing with your hands and using a bath towel to remove the excess filler off  your hands. No need to rub the item with the towel. 

   When I did a white filler on mahogany or walnut I did the no-no in todays world for the best product for a really white filler I used White Lead...., I doubt if it is available anymore. It was a plumbing item. 

  Oil base fillers use to come in any color.   But I doubt anyone here uses fillers much anymore so they might be hard to find.  I still have fillers sitting on the shelves for more than 50 years and they can still be thinned and used.

  Before filling the grain you can make a base coat of any color. 

Great question for @kmealy Ron! Putting him through his paces already.

I almost responded to this yesterday and then noticed the question was directed at Keith and decided to wait. As Smallpatch has decided to comment I will too. It' been a long time since I used a wood filler as he suggests but from my experience there is no good substitute for what that will do for open grain wood. Think of a piano finish if it's done correctly. With that said I do use a water base finish that I'm very happy with. I typically seal with a couple coats of shellac, sand, then spray my top coat. 4 coats will pretty much fill walnut grain and it's the most forgiving finish I've ever used. I've mentioned it before but it's Target Coatings EM6000 water borne production lacquer. I haven't tried it but I see they now offer a "high build" version in EM7000. I can't imagine a finish building faster than what I'm using but next time I order it will probably be the new product. It is expensive at about 60 bucks a gallon but well worth it IMO. 

 

 

 

Steve

On small turnings I apply multiple coats with straight up Shellac.  I put enough on a rag to coat the whole piece at the lathe's slowest speed.  Spread that thin I can apply coat after coat until I am happy and then apply a nice wet coat and stop.  I usually let it dry 24 hours and apply a couple coats of wipe on poly over the Shellac.

Wha, ha, mmmm, wake up Keith.

 

I don't do a lot of pore filling.   But I have some pore filling paste compound that you put on, squeegee off, let dry, then finish.  This is really designed for high end finishes like gloss on mahogany.  I've also heard of using something like pumice to fill pores, then finish in and it becomes translucent.  The pumice being a slight abrasive, also grabs some wood dust that help fill.  Not sure how well these would work on turnings (I don't do turning, either).  I've also used Danish Oil that I rub in with 600 grit wet-or-dry sandpaper on multiple coats-- it does not completely fill the pores and gives a soft, in-the-wood finish.  Likewise, it also gets a bit of wood dust into the pores.

 

The other way as noted is to used a heavy bodied finish, lots of coats to fill above the pores, sanded in between or at the end.

" I would apply the thinned down wood filler with a brush or one of wifes bath towels "

 

wife's bath towels?

 

Are you sure you're not the ghost of Patches past (don't say that fast 10 times).