Replies

1. 
   Piffin | Jun 11, 2003 08:01pm | #1

   lot of variables.

   inside

   or

   Exterior

   prepainted or new work

   I use minwax wood filler sometinmes or bondo

   Elmer's wood filler

   spackle

   all above for paint grade

   wax type putty sticks for colour matching filler after staining

   .

   Excellence is its own reward!

1. 
   MojoMan | Jun 11, 2003 08:53pm | #2

   Piffin: I often use 2-part Minwax filler and I like it a lot. It sets up quick, seems to stay put, sands well with my random orbit sander, and holds paint well. Is Bondo the automotive body filler? Does Bondo work as well as Minwax? Is it cheaper?

   Thanks!

   Al Mollitor, Sharon MA

1. 
   Piffin | Jun 12, 2003 02:57am | #9

   The minwax seems to have a texture more like wood. The Bondo is smoother and works better for the plastic woods like GPs Primetrim or Fypons moldings.

   The old time painters here use glazing compouind for fiolling nail holes. It seems to derive from using it to fill fasteners on boats, which is where they learn their craft here. It takes a certain technique with a flexible putty knife that has been ground thin with the corners eased off. Mess with a painters toothbrush before you touch his putty knife!.

   Excellence is its own reward!

1. 
   donpapenburg | Jun 12, 2003 05:50am | #10

   If you have the time , on stained or clear coated wood , I have used a gouge to cut a flap of wood up enough to nail the trim . then glue the flap down , sand ,and finnish.  Don't make them too thick or they are hard to bend out of the way of the nail and then will be harder to fold back down. Too thin and they will break off .

2. 
   jimmyk | Jun 11, 2003 09:08pm | #3

   The colored pencils are great for stained wood. It couldn't be easier.

3. 
   MisterT | Jun 11, 2003 09:16pm | #4

   For interior I/we have used Bondo, One-time spackle mostly on painted surfaces.

   For stain grade work I like Color putty because youcanmix shades to match just about any stain.

   For exterior an old boss from Maine taught me to use glazing compound, he said it would hold up the best and was paintable.

   Mr T

   Do not try this at home!

   I am an Experienced Professional!

1. 
   alecs | Jun 11, 2003 10:04pm | #5

   I have used paintable latex caulk and spackle / joint compound for this.  Main problem is shrinkage after it dries. 

   Bondo - that might be worth checking out - just don't use the fiberglass reinforced stuff...  (kitty hair, we used to call it)  The problem with using Bondo I can see is mixing up small batches and using them before the hardener kicks.  Plus it smells bad.

   Using my new brad nailer for 1/4-round baseboard trim showed a huge advantage in the nail-hole filler department compared to my old manual method of hammer and nail set.  The holes are smaller and there's not any miss-marks from the hammer or the nail set.  The holes are small enough to practically fill with a thick blob of paint. 

2. 
   JeffBuck | Jun 11, 2003 10:10pm | #6

   for painted stuff...

   my painter used DAP glazing too.

   between coats.

   primes.....dries.....glazes holes....then paints.

   he's a young guy that learned from an old guy.

   doesn't shrink....holds paint great...goes on quick and smooth.

   I worked around another old timer painter that did magic on stain grade stuff. He filled the holes as he went...wanted to stain to be wet when he filled..then top coated the filler before anything dried and top coated it wet too....

   Said everything would dry at the same time ....

   my painter liked the old guys theory.

   JeffBuck Construction   Pittsburgh,PA

    Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite                  

4. 
   jimblodgett | Jun 11, 2003 10:35pm | #7

   For stain grade it depends on whether I'm filling holes/defects before, or after staining.  For cabinetry I like to use Wood Patch wood filler during assembly, before final sanding.  It hardens and takes stains similar to wood, but you have to experiment with what color fillers, species of wood, and stain colors to figure out which filler will match which wood, when stained with stain color "X".  But the results are well worth it and eventually you know which combinations work and which don't.

   I usually prestain and finish interior trim before installing it, so for that I use Color Putty.  Like Mr T said, you can mix two or more colors together to match virtually any color wood - you can even work a little grain into the putty if you want to take the time.  The easiest way to get started is get the color that most closely resembles the darkest shade of surrounding wood and mix a little white into a pinch, then a little more white into another pinch and so on, until you have several shades of the same color.

   A word of warning about using putty, though.  Never fill holes directly over stain, or you will get smudges around the nail holes as the putty fills the pores of the wood.  Looks like hell.  Always have at least the sanding sealer layer of finish on first so that the wood is sealed and all you're filling is the nail holes, first coat of finish would be better yet, but some folks only use two coats of finish.

   The problem is, as stained wood darkens over time, due to UV exposure, the putty doesn't change along with it, making the puttied holes more and more visible through time. 

   My own house?  I haven't filled the nail holes yet.  But we've only been living in it for 16 or 17 years now, I'll get to it.
1. 
   pm22 | Jun 12, 2003 06:03am | #11

   You can go to an art supply store and buy tubes of oil or acrylic paint with earth colors like sienna and umber and ocher and a fine brush. Mixing these, you can match the grain to be invisible.

   ~Peter       the former accidental janitor

   Where am I going? And what am I doing in this handbasket?

1. 
   mmoogie | Jun 12, 2003 06:28am | #12

   I switched from Minwax 2-part to bondo for just about everything paint grade. I use a lot of screws rather than nails, and a lot of deck screws outside on paint grade stuff. The bondo works great for these larger holes...no shrinkage to speak of. Bondo actally sells a can that they have re-labeled as carpenters wood filler. Same stuff as the auto body filler, just a different can, so far as I can tell. But I've only come across it omce about a year ago.The only place I've had bondo not work very well is on heavily checked window sills. For that you nieed a more elastic filler like Advanced Repair Technologies. They advertise in the back of Old House Journal.

   I switch back and forth between wax sticks and the little jars of colored putty for stain grade work.

   Steve.

5. 
   guill | Jun 11, 2003 11:29pm | #8

   I build new houses and do my own painting. I have used several different types of putty but always had a problem with shrinkage after the paint was applies.

   I am currently using Minwax filler with excellent results. No shrinkage and easy to use.