Closed Pore Woods

By: Eric Meier

Alright, so you want a nice, smooth, glossy wood finish, but you hate pore filling. You’re not alone. And while there are a variety of pore-filling products available, sometimes, the simplest solution is simply to use woods that don’t have any open pores to fill in the first place!

So, with this simple principle in mind, I’ve begun compiling a list of hardwoods that have completely closed pores—which should finish to a glassy smooth surface with absolutely no pore filling at all. (I should also note, the list is for hardwoods, as softwoods, by nature—as far as I can tell—all have closed pores anyway.)

But secondly, I’ll include another list of woods that have very small pores, and which shouldn’t need a pore filler if a few coats of film-building finish are used, with sanding between coats to help level the surface.