Would you grain fill a paper thin ash burl veneer?
I got this kit with a beautiful ash burl veneer, but it's paper thin and I'm getting stressed out thinking about working with it, ha. I've gone back and forth in my mind so many times, so I figured I'd ask here. Should I grain fill before staining? I'm concerned about sanding through the veneer or moisture lifting the veneer. I'm planning to stain it a light blue or turquoise.
This is my first project like this, but I've watched a bunch of videos but did not find much on thin veneers. Though, Brad Angove actually has one with this exact kit; he grain filled at the end with a bronze powder and removed/cleaned up excess and with tung oil, which also colored it. He sanded, water base stain, sanded, sprayed lacquer/stain mix, bronzing powder, tung oil, and then sealed with vinyl sealer and nitro.
I would simply follow that but I don't see how it'd work with the color I want and I don't have a sprayer. I had scrap wood I can practice on and test, but I don't have a veneer to practice on and I assume it'd react different. Previous example sanded twice and used water but warned to be careful with both.
My plan:
- Sand to remove poly resin sealant
- Apply water based grain filler (Some videos said seal before hand?) (Color may be ebony, or rosewood/mahogany - I think it'd darken with the blue and mesh well? I'm color blind... lol. Maybe something lighter for a less stark contrast?)
- Sand to leave filler only in the grain
- Apply sanding sealer?
- Apply water based blue stain
- Apply wipe on satin poly
Any thoughts, advice, or feedback? I'd like the grain to pop a little but don't exactly want a super stark contrast or busy guitar. I'm excited but over analyze and stress -- it's a me problem... and my poor wife's...