[Arran]

That 42-22CL is coming along nicely, I can't even see where those deep scratches used to be. I found the steam iron technique very useful while fixing a burl or stump walnut veneer top on a Canadian G.E KL-500, it looked like someone stripped the top with a BBQ scraper. You can't win every battle this way but it does seem to improve the odds.
With regard to the LePage wood putty, or whatever it is called, yes it does look similar to the Elmers Wood Putty, except the LePage comes in these plastic toothpaste type tubes instead of a plastic tub. I haven't tried it myself but had thought of it at the time I was looking into grain fillers until I located the Elmers brand in Home Depot.
With the Elmers the only thing that concerns me is the colour, it's supposed to be walnut colour but it looks like a light greyish brown, it looks alright if you wet it with water but I don't know about lacquer. As I mentioned before I was experimenting on the cabinet for a battery set where I knew I was going to spray over it with toning lacquer anyhow.
Regards
arran