staining wood filler... need advice

[Alex Borshov]

I used some white wood filler on poplar trim to hide nail holes and then stained the project with a honey oak color stain. Of course the wood filler is now sticking out like a mildly sore thumb and won't seem to take any more stain to darken it up. Is there some product I can use just to touch up the wood filler so it blends better? Maybe just a darker stain? Thanks.

[Steve Schoene]

Other than meticulous work with something like a gel stain or a thinned paint of the right shade, I don't think of a way. There is NO product that will accept stain the same as the wood surrounding it, as much as marketers tout such a product.

The time to fill nail holes is AFTER staining, preferably after the first coat of the final finish, if there are to be more than one coat. That way the color is established and you can use a filler that matches. Next time.

[glenn bradley]

I use dyes and a small brush for touch ups but, that is generally one or two spots on a piece where I don't like the figure. Could get tedious if we are talking about dozens. Some shops use a color matched wax to fill these holes after staining. Doesn't help you now but could help next time.

[Alex Borshov]

What if I sand down the surface, pick out the white wood filler from the holes, then restain and refill the holes with a darker color filler? I'm not sure how well the filler bonds to the base wood. It'll be some work but I'd like this to look good. It's an 80" run with about a dozen holes so it wouldn't be the end of the world to redo it.