Hey people,

I have a question about wood fillers with respect to white oak. I've read
quite a bit and still am unclear on one aspect.
Basically everyone says you can't stain/dye the filler. You can get the
filler in a variety of colors, from clear to whatever.
The question, does the filler only act on the pores or will the filler coat
everything? My thought is that if I use a filler, it will only color the
pores after everything is re-sanded (lightly). If this is so than I can apply
a stain/dye and not have it obscured by the filler correct? Or is it the
other way around, the filler "becomes" the stain/dye and all the coloring
options left are dyes in the top coats?

Ideally I'd like to get a nice pore-free surface without limiting my options
to change the tone of the wood. I'd rather not let the choice of filer color
determine my final tone.

In the past I've just done the pore filling with building and sanding top
coats, but fillers seem so much easier I'd like to give them a try if they
can allow me similar flexibility in finishing.

Thanks!
-Bruce