Replies

1. 
   JohnWW | Sep 12, 2003 10:32pm | #1

   Chris,

   Using sawdust and glue to fill dents and gouges will just make a mess, the filler still won't look at all like the solid wood, and the glue will cause finishing problems later on. 

   You'll have better luck with commercial fillers, choose one tinted to match the final color of the floor and then run a test on a piece of scrap using whatever finish you plan to use on the entire floor.  If you have large filled in spots, you can blend in the filled areas with oil colors brushed on with a small brush to simulate the surrounding wood grain.

   If the flooring has stains on it from chemical and oil spills when it was used in a boxcar, you may have problems getting a new finish to stick to it.

   John W.

2. 
   TXJon | Sep 12, 2003 11:00pm | #2

   You should use sanding dust (wood flour), not sawdust.  Sawdust is much too coarse.  Also try epoxy rather than wood glue. 

   Keep in mind that the dust/epoxy will cure to a darker color than the original wood.  You could use a tinted epoxy thickener, or wood flour from a lighter/darker wood to get the color you are looking for.

   The patch will not absorb stain, so you need to get the color right!  It's also a hassle, you may want to consider learning to appreciate the character and history of the floor, it's a lot less trouble.

   Jon

3. 
   nigelUsa | Sep 13, 2003 01:12am | #3

   Was this floor not intended to be "rustic" looking? fill and patch the big holes and leave the rest.

4. 
   stancalow | Sep 14, 2003 05:30pm | #4

   How big are the holes?  If they are bigger than a high-heel tip, they will wear unevenly.  If they are fairly round, how about cutting plugs out of one of the boards and gluing them in?

1. 
   k9s | Sep 16, 2003 04:03pm | #5

   Since you have plugged the screw holes, cutting dutchmans for the large gouges will help enhance the rustic look. Use football, butterfly or what ever shapes you like. As mentioned before leave the small stuff unfilled for character.

5. 
   rslatm | Sep 18, 2003 11:00pm | #6

   We sell antique recycled lumber and flooring and get extra for that look...it's called character grade. Some imperfections we might fill with epoxy and sawdust or even a few dutchmen patches but never would anyone do what you suggest. You might sand it a bit more to soften it.

   
   

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   Edited 9/19/2003 7:55:11 AM ET by Rick at Arch. Timber and Millwork

1. 
   Manchild | Sep 19, 2003 10:01pm | #7

   The prettiest florr I ever saw was where they used square pegs hammered in and then they used a sander that was soft enough that it sanded the early grain more than the late grain. when you looked at the floor the grain texture was beautiful!

   The square pegs showed the hammer marks too!

1. 
   Phat | Sep 21, 2003 12:55am | #8

   Two years ago I re-finished my old fir floor. Against most of the advise I got to not broad trowel the floor - fir moves a lot, so the filler might not stay, I used the dust from the second to final sanding mixed with the polyurethane I was going to varnish the floor with.

   Worked great. I figured the worst that could happen was I'd have gaps - again. So far, none.

   I've previously used a commercially available binder - smelled awful, like model cement, which "dried" too damn quickly. Sanding through it was a pain.

   SpudLiberal Arts Graduate

   Will Think for Food