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Hello,
I’ve tried about five or six putties
on the market to fill some nail holes in
some red oak, but I haven’t yet found
one that matches. I am not staining the
oak and I want to finish it with a tung
oil varnish (McCloskeys). Whenever I
try the putty is noticably too dark.
Has anybody tried making their own
putty from saw dust? Any good secret
recipes from the masters? Or will that
turn too dark also.
-Kevin A. Shaw
Ithaca, New York
Replies
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If you want a really clean look, your best bet is to design the piece so you don't nail through any finish surfaces. Biscuits, pocket screws, glue blocks, dowels and other techniques help here.
That being said, you still have holes to fill. In my experience, sawdust filler looks really bad. You're probably not in a position to tint your own putty, so the easiest solution would be to get some wax fill sticks from Behlen or Mohawk and blend them to get just the right color. You can coat over the fill sticks, so you can use them on the bare wood or between coats.
I don't know whether the hardware store variety of fill sticks can be coated over or not.
Michael R
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