Wood Putty

[Adam Stone]

Hi,

Just a quick question for the cabinet makers about wood putty. We have used several types in general building, trimming etc. and have never been too discriminating about them. I would like to upgrade that approach since we intend to continue to hone our EZ skills to hopefully produce finer results. Do you prefer water based fillers, petroleum based or other method?

Thank you,

Adam

[Robert Smith 656]

My most recent experience was with Birch ply. I tried about three types of filler/putty and found the approach that worked for me was filling after staining and at least one or two coats of poly. I liked the results with the Color Putty Co. product (got it in True Value but avail in big box stores) closest the the color. I wiped it into the brad and screw holes then let the rest of the finish coats cover. If put on before stain or finish it will halo or prevent stain from matching in the adjacent area. I have yet to find a filler that I can put on successfully in the early stage.

If painting, I like the Elmers carpenter's fillers that can be found in several colors in tubes or very inexpensively in big tubs. It can be "sanded" with a wet sponge or rag. I am sure there are more exotic products out there and some of the gurus here can give some better advice.

Just one guy's opinion/experience.

[Adam Stone]

Hi Robert,

Thanks for the Color Putty method and tips. We have also used Elmers and find it easy to sand.

Has anyone used Plastic Wood which is petroleum based and available in different tints?

Thanks,

Adam

[Cjing Cazares]

Local woodworking classes all seem to use Famowood filler. It's solvent based, we used to thin it with denatured alcohol.

[Robert Smith 656]

I have and do not like it in most applications. It seems to dry out in the can, halos a lot and is not as manageable as it hardens a lot. The latter could be a plus but not for nail holes.

Durham Water Putty is a super durable product but really hardens and needs to be trimmed off before it get fully cured and then sanded. Any of these will cause stain mismatches in adjoining areas if not super careful in my limited experience.
Bob

[Jon Eckels]

if you like durham's water putty for filling, try raycrete. It's by far the best filler i've ever used.

you can pour a brick out of it and turn it in a lathe, it's wonderful. when you first mix it (it's an epoxy - 50 50 mix), it's like pancake batter - it can pour into the thinnest cracks, after ten minutes or so, it's got the consistancy of wood putty. after 20-30 minutes, you can carve it with a knife, and it's hard as a rock in about two hours. It's great for filling in rot, for instance. it's not really suitable for cabinets unless you have a big rotten area, but it's wonderful for furniture, for windows and doors, trim, etc.

I get it at the local true value, but here's their website: http://www.raycrete.com/ watch the video

[Robert E Lee]

Bob, if your plastic wood gets to thick you can mix a little acetone into it.
another Bob

[Don Baer]

I prefer to use joining techniques that donm't need any putty of filler.

[Jim Becker]

If something is big enough to require "real filling", I fill it with wood if at all possible. Slivers of wood that are carefully grain-matched to where they are going become virtually invisible. Putty, no matter what kind or how little you use will nearly always be visible. It will never exhibit the color or grain pattern of the wood exactly...and the human eye is pretty good at picking it out.

Small things, like holes from the occasional brad, get filled near the end of the finishing process with a colored filler pencil just before the last coats of clear finish.

For painted work, I'll use a non-shrinking filler such as Famo.