Filling holes in pine-and general finishing

[Roger Gilmore]

FYI-I am new at this woodworking thing- I think sometimes the wood is working me instead:D. I looked for a "Newbie" section on here but did not find one-After looking at some of the threads around here I can definately see there is alot of talented individuals on this Forum.

To my question, What is best to fill holes in pine? I am countersinking the brad nails and want to know what is best to fill the holes?

I plan on staining with red mahogany-I have tried the stainable wood filler in the past and it is very different looking than the wood(it looks ok until the stain goes on) I was thinking about a wood putty made by minwax that is already red mahogany colored.

I would also like to know if there are any techniques to prepping the pine surface in addition to sanding that will help remove tool marks from the wood? Some of them are pretty deep-

Right now my projects are kindof like the Monet paintings-the farther away you are the better they look....I am hoping to change that.

Thanks for any suggestions...

[Byron Trantham]

Roger,
I don't fill the holes until the finish is done. Then I use Min Wax wax pencils. I have used their stain products and they have a pencil to "match" the stain. Run the wax pencil back and forth until the hole is filled then polish it until all the wax is gone from the surface leaving a small "dot". You can find the brad nail hole but its virtually invisible.:)

[Roger Gilmore]

Thanks a million-that is a great idea and much less complicated than my thinking...

Much appreciated

[Michael Pyron]

I use a lighter to soften the wax making it easier it get into the hole, then use some mineral spirits to remove the excess...

[Roger Gilmore]

Another great idea-thank you-