Filling nail holes in nice trim

EricGunnerson | Posted in Finishing on October 22, 2002 02:12am

I’m trimming out a cabin in vertical grain fir, and I’m going to use Danish Oil to get a nice natural look that will (I hope) darken over time.

That presents a problem, however. I need to fill the nail holes in the trim, but I’m afraid that if I use a tinted putty, it won’t match when the wood darkens. I have some other trim (professionally installed) where they did this, and it looks really bad.

I’ve toyed with trying to make my own filler by combining sawdust from the fir with the danish oil. Would that work, or is there some other way to get a color match that will last?

Replies

RW | Oct 22, 2002 02:23am | #1
Without claiming expert status on this, I think the danish oil wouldn't stick things together well enough to accomplish what you want. If you've time for a little experimentation, fine sawdust (like from a sander) and an oil varnish might have enough binder to do it.
Splintie | Oct 22, 2002 04:03am | #2
We sanded my floors and used the fine sanding dust from the bag mixed with the same varnish we were planning to apply. We broad-filled the floor before the final sanding and finishing. Now the finish is down, you can barely tell where the gaps were. The dust will mix with the varnish and give you a bit darker tint than the casing, but with time that will be a help to their matching.

floor sanding thread

After the solvents flash, i doubt there would be much holding your sawdust together if you use only Danish oil as a binder.
ChasStanford | Oct 22, 2002 04:42am | #3
Splintie's solution sounds good. I'm sure that you also plan to use the smallest finishing nail that will work and the widest nailing interval that you can get away with. I know that I would. Remember that trim is trim. It's not holding the house up. Don't nail it every four inches.
NickC | Oct 22, 2002 07:18am | #4
Have you considered leaving the holes unfilled? I have a book by Craig Savage called Trim Carpentry Techniques. On page 20, there's a photo of a nice trim job done in vertical-grain fir--with unfilled nail holes! I think it looks pretty good. Nick
davamoore | Oct 22, 2002 04:05pm | #5
Just to re-emphasize a point made by Splintie and RW, be sure to use FINE sanding dust, not plain ol' sawdust, when making a filler.

One one of my first woodworking projects, I tried this technique on a small joinery gap, using sawdust from my bandsaw (don't laugh people, we all make mistakes when we're learning!). Ugh... it looked -- and performed -- like oatmeal. The gap looked better!

David

Hmmm... the garden or the workshop today?