Replies

1. 
   DaveHeinlein | Nov 28, 2003 04:54am | #1

   Take very fine sanding dust and mix with just enough urethane to make a putty. The sanding dust will darken with the wood and become invisible.

2. 
   jazzdogg | Nov 28, 2003 08:55am | #2

   Rajikhalaf,

   Despite the fact that I hate it when other people "Monday morning quarterback" I'll offer the following tip, which I learned the hard way:

   Before nailing, apply pieces of masking tape to your trim and shoot your nails through the masking tape. Next, apply your putty, then remove the tape: you'll avoid contaminating the wood surrounding the nail hole with the conspicuous smudges one sometimes sees surrounding an otherwise innocuous nail hole.

   FWIW,
   Paul

   Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right.
1. 
   jabraham | Nov 28, 2003 03:45pm | #3

   I like the sound of that technique Dave.

   Jazzdog, too late for that technique.......:>(

   Although why would the smudges stay on the surrounding wood if the filler was sanded flush with the surrounding surface? Maybe you just didn't sand enough? Or maybe you are reffering to prefininshed wood? That would make sense, then, since one can't sand flush with prefinished.

   Edited 11/28/2003 7:46:54 AM ET by rajikhalaf

1. 
   jazzdogg | Nov 28, 2003 07:31pm | #4

   "Although why would the smudges stay on the surrounding wood if the filler was sanded flush with the surrounding surface? Maybe you just didn't sand enough? Or maybe you are reffering to prefininshed wood? That would make sense, then, since one can't sand flush with prefinished."

   Rajikhalaf,

   Although it isn't much of a problem in diffuse-porous woods like maple, it can be difficult to apply putty to woods like oak and mahogany without some smearing and localized pore filling taking place, which can be conspicuous and unattractive when finish is applied.

   Who wants to stand on a ladder sanding crown? That's an activity I prefer to minimize. With the method I described, sanding and contamination are both kept to a minimum, achieving aesthetically pleasing results with a minimum of effort.

   PaulWhether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right.

2. 
   mike4244 | Nov 30, 2003 06:20am | #7

   Skip the tape, clean smudges with a cloth dampened with naptha.

   mike

3. 
   RW | Nov 29, 2003 04:29am | #5

   nah. There's a right way to do this. You're going to put multiple layers of finish on, yes? This is SOP for finishing trim for me: Stain, (if you're staining), let it dry 24 hours. Sanding sealer or seal coat - whatever applies to your product of choice. Let it dry. Now, get filler in the color(s) that are going to work. 9 times out of ten, I mix and match them until I get the color I want. Roll this stuff in a ball in your hand and work whiting in with it. You want it so you can still work it, but so if you tear a chunk off, it isn't pasty, but breaks like a cookie - so you can see crumbs in the break. That's probably a good consistancy test - day old chocolate chip cookies. It will help to dry the stuff out and prevent adhesion problems of the final coats. You don't want them to show later - no problem. You know where cherry is going to go over time, and you know that darker filler won't stand out as much as lighter. So mix it a little darker red to begin with. Fill the holes. Now take a lacquer pad (very fine scotch brite looking thing) and scuff sand everything down. It will cut the filler flush and anything out side of the hole won't stay. Blow everything off with compressed air so you don't wipe grit right back onto the trim. Top coat.

   Not trying to be arrogant. In rereading, it sounds a little that way. Done this many a time with great success. Most of the time you cant find the nail holes in my trim. Just tryin to hook you up for success.

   "The child is grown / The dream is gone / And I have become / Comfortably numb "      lyrics by Roger Waters

1. 
   jabraham | Nov 29, 2003 05:37am | #6

   Sounds interesting..... but what are you using for filler?

1. 
   RW | Dec 01, 2003 02:50am | #9

   ColorPutty. That's the brand. I've tried several, don't care for the Minwax myself. The ColorPutty stays pretty pliable (probably due to the oil in it, thus the need for whiting) - but I like the pliable part while I'm mixing it up. I don't know if UTCs would be compatible with it, doubt it, but like that idea. I have a tool box with nothing but various colors of putties in it. I usually take the closest one, start with that in the hand, and add until I get a color hit. Try it out on the way on a scrap of trim. The whiting will not alter your color, so I add that when I'm done playing play-doh. Then I keep the ball in a jar (save empties) and write the house on it so if there's a change down the road (there always is something) then you've got the filler already sitting there in the box.

   Only time I had to mix fresh. I think the floor installers were on crack. All of the first floor trim - base, shoe, door casings, got replaced since the flooring guys not only beat them to smithereens with the machines but got red stain and poly a good inch up on all natural maple trim. Some guys. "The child is grown / The dream is gone / And I have become / Comfortably numb "      lyrics by Roger Waters

1. 
   Tao | Dec 01, 2003 02:58am | #10

   UTC's are compatible with oil and water based finishes.  That's why they're called Universal.

   I don't like Minwax very much either, but it's everywhere. 

   Michael R

1. 
   RW | Dec 01, 2003 03:03am | #11

   Er, right, but . . . depends on where you get them. The UTC's that I can get here are only "universal" inasmuch is they work with latex paints or waterborne finishes. That's actually fairly common to run into. Ergo, the concern with oil. I've tested them out in oil paint and lacquers, big Nogo."The child is grown / The dream is gone / And I have become / Comfortably numb "      lyrics by Roger Waters

2. 
   Tao | Dec 01, 2003 05:31pm | #12

   See if you can get Cal-tints. or ProLine.  They both work in Latex, vinyl, acrylic, Alkyd, natural oil, and "other synthetic resins".  The only thing they don't work with is solvent based systems like lacquers.

   What brand were you using, and what did it do in "oil based paints?  Most paint stores that I have been in use the same tinting colors for all their paints except lacquers.  The pigments are mixed with glycol ethers and should disperse in both "oil" and water based media.

   Michael R.

2. 
   Tao | Dec 01, 2003 12:30am | #8

   To expand a little on RW's post:

   His recommendation is what most pros do.  You can use "painter's putty" and color with Universal Tinting Colors, or you can use colored putties like Minwax makes, and mix them to get the right color.  I usually end up using UTCs in commercial putties, brecause there's never the right combination to match my custom finishes.

   I usually end up with about 3 colors matching the light, medium, and dark colors in the wood.  Apply between coats.  I usually level it with brown paper rather than an abrasive pad.  Whatever works.

   I like the part about adding whiting to make it a little dryer.

   Michael R