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Has anyone used glaire (egg whites) to pore fill before?

I did once about 10 years ago. I don't remember much about how it performed or which instrument it's on. It must have worked ok or I would have noted not to do it again. As I recall, dip your sandpaper in the glare and sand the wood to create a paste and mash that into the pores.
Violin makers used to use it as a sizing for the wood before varnishing.

Steve

Hi Jason - go to "search" and under key words enter "egg whites" and then select "all forum rooms."

I just did this search and there are over 16 pages of posts of folks who have used or are interested in using egg whites.

Not endorsing the method and I didn't like using them at all.... I found epoxy to be excellent and I could get a complete fill reliably after only two applications once I learned how to do it.

A highly recommended YouTube video is by Todd Stock who is a member here and he demystified epoxy pore filling very well in his video tutorial.

I've made a dozen violins and violas, and the tradition is strong. I'm not much of a tradition guy, but I've cooked my own varnish so it at least was the right stuff. I've used purchased violin varnish too; (it isn't cheap!) and it, like anything else has a learning curve, and it didn't work much different from the stuff I made.

The "ground coat," filling, and varnishing is discussed DAILY on violin making sites. Plaster of Paris is one method. It takes a lot of effort. I tried it. I tried casein. Easy to make, but I didn't think it was that clear. I used varnish with pumice. Shellac with pumice. Even on maple and spruce it doesn't fill holes. Sure it seals the wood so the color in the varnish doesn't stain, or get blotchy; but it doesn't get it smooth.

Maybe with 20 coats?

I used Z-Poxy on the one archtop guitar I made. In two thin coats it was by far smoother than anything else that I've tried. And where the other things all seem to shrink back, It stayed put. One more coat for color. Sand smooth with 800 paper, and a thinned coat for shine at it looks great. My only gripe is that I don't know if you can do the entire instrument at one time, It stays liquid for so long. My varnish stays put, and can't be moved after 20 minutes or so.

I plan on using it on the Walnut/Alaskan Yellow Cedar violin I'm working on. The Walnut really needs filler. Why play around? Who needs tradition?

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Why be normal?

That's the way I do it and it's still my preferred fill though I have been using CA too in the same manor as egg whites, create a slurry and fill, and I like that a lot too.

I also have customers that tend to like the fact that you could eat the finish that makes up their guitar. Eggs, bug poop and alcohol omelette.

been building for over 20 years and tried many methods. My favorite method is aqua coat. I find that it works well and is not stinky . Before that I used Pore O paq . Prep is 100% the most important thing you can do for a good end result. This isn't so much about material as it is about technique. Find what works for you

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

I have heard pumice and egg white is an old tradition for guitars. Just keep rubbing and the pumice grinds up some surface wood to mix in.

I've tried egg white and couldn't make it work for me.

But shellac and pumice works well for me - I get a couple of coats of shellac on the wood first before I start pumicing.