Wood Filler vs. Wood Putty

The putty does not harden or dry. It is intended for use one a finished piece for filling nail holes, and usually color matched (if you use your imagination) The filler will dry and harden but doesn't take a stain. I use artists pencils to match the color as close as possible on the rare occasion that I have to nail something together and hide the results.
 
so when do you want to use something that you can't sand? :dunno:

When you have stained all the project. Most will apply one or two coats of top coat finish sand lightly and putty the nail holes than top coat.
Putty as you now know is kinda like window glazing and takes a very long time to dry. Putty also comes in most stain colors. The painter that just finished up the job we just finished had 10 or 12 different colors and would pick the one that best matched the wood around each nail.

Wood filler you put on and sand before you stain. Don't believe them it does not take stain like the wood. It will stick out like a sore thumb when stained.:thumb:
 
I used a mixture of sanding dust and regular glue. Color matches pretty good and hardens up pretty nicely..
 
when you say "regular glue" you mean "regular wood glue" like Titebond?

Yep, I had done some sanding, and I opened up my vacuum bucket and took out some of the fine sanding dust, mixed in some titebond with a popsicle stick until it made a thick woody paste and spackled it right in. Worked like a champ.
 
Yep, I had done some sanding, and I opened up my vacuum bucket and took out some of the fine sanding dust, mixed in some titebond with a popsicle stick until it made a thick woody paste and spackled it right in. Worked like a champ.

That trick works even better with liquid hide glue. The hide glue doesn't show under a finish.
 
I use quad caulk. Works great, though doesn't take a stain too well. You can get it in colors and it's an adhesive caulk so I don't need to use nails or glue and fills all the gaps in the joints!
(comes with the added bonus of making you feel pretty mellow if you use lots of it and keep your face close to the tip so you 'can see the bead better').:D

Oh, darn, I'm giving away all my box swap secrets!:rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
Hi there....
As I might have said in my other thread (in the intros) - I'm currently pinning edging strips onto some blockboard. The strips are just a stock moulding. They are quite thin, and some of them have ever such a little bit of twist or bending in them. I'm gluing them onto the edge with Titebond Trim Adhesive (A white thixotropic glue, not the usual yellow) and then pinning them on with air-shot 16mm brads.

I started, thinking I would get all the nails in a nice neat row with all evenly spaced; but then I started finding that little bits needed the odd pin here or there for support - say split ends or where there was a bit of twist in the moulding.

I've managed to get the mouldings nice and flush, but I now have pin holes that I would like to hide as well as possible.

Should I "make some dust" and mix it up with glue - if so, what glue? Yellow or Trim adhesive? Or should I stain (solvent based) and lacquer in nitrocellulose afterwards and then fill with putty... or should I just fill with my "medium mahogany" filler that seems a bit light, then colour with artists pencils? I'd welcome some advice on best hiding brads....

Sorry if this is a bit of a noob question... but reading this thread, I'm all at sea on what is the best approach!
 
The nomenclature can be confusing. Some brands call a "putty" a "fill", and vice versa.

A "grain filler" AKA "paste wood filler", is a product designed to fill the grain on porous open grained species, like Red Oak, and Mahogany. With woods like those you could spend your child's college education on sanding sealer and topcoat to fill the grain, unless you use a "grain filler". Worked and applied properly, it will leave a surface that takes stain well, and topcoating with a film finish will produce a finish slicker than a baby's you-know-what.

A wood filler, is a mix of fill for repairs that dries, and can be sanded. It comes in colors, and can be stained before use, or after it dries and is sanded. Famowood wood fill is an example of that. If the project calls for stain or topcoating, a sample should be tested, as it will take on a different color, when oils or a film finish is applied.

Wood putty comes in different forms. It's available like a crayon. Minwax also has a line of putty type pencil/crayon applicators. The putty also comes in small jars. From the jars it can be scooped out and mixed. To mix the crayon type, a rounded knife, like a flatware table knife can be used, or a spatula, to cut off small amounts and mash them up together. Most of the putties stay somewhat flexible. Ordinarily they work best on finished woodwork, applied and then rubbed off with a "T" shirt type rag.

Shellac sticks work very well for a durable fix. They come in a stick or flake form, in many colors. A hot spatula used with a small alcohol burner works the best.

Using the wood dust for the species can work to a point. Mixing with a white glue, like Elmers, makes for a fairly good match. Mixing with the finish topcoat, and adding the stain to match can help minimize a color differential. But, just like wood fill, the mixed fill will take on a different color when a topcoat is added. So, experiment with samples first.



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