Fav wood filler?

[Chaznsc]

Working with some yellow pine for a swing for the wife. I plan to stain and poly coat it. Have some spots I need to fill but have had crappy experiences with the big box fillers. What's your favorite brand?

Thank you.

 

[PelicanPines]

Bondo for wood... they really make the stuff and it works great for filling. It mixes like body filler bondo with hardener. It also is easy to sand is becomes extremely hard. I have not had any crack... I used it to fill a few ugly gaps in pressure treated lumber and has held up for about two years now.

I am not aware of it's "stainability" but I'm sure you could look into that.

I will say it paints well. I also used it to fix some wood rot that I repaired with a piece of wood but needed to fix/fill the edges and gap... It's absolutely invisible when painted.

 

[bdamico]

bondo. put it in fridge before using to buy yourself extra time if needed.

 

[dffay]

I sweep up sawdust of the same wood I've cut, mix it with some title bond yellow glue into a paste and fill with it. Low budget but I've had some holes disappear before.

 

[dffay]

Titebond.........geez I love word correction......

 

[BillK]

I don't think Bondo is going to work if you want to stain it. I have had the best luck with good old Plastic Wood in the little metal cans. I will say that I bought some Plastic Wood in a tube about a month ago and it sucked Dried way too fast so you had no time to really work it in. Stick with the original Plastic Wood brand.

 

[Milton Shaw]

Durhams rock hard wood putty. Mix with water and some of the pigment from the stain to get the same color. It is very easy to mix and use and since its a powder it does not go bad and dry out on the shelf like the plastic wood putty does. Drys quickly and can be worked slightly when it is about half way set up with sharp tools.

 

[usa#1]

A lot of cabinet shops use Famowood. Just pick to match your wood species.

 

[BitFlipr]

+1 on Famowood. They had both solvent and water based fillers. I have only used the solvent based filler

 

[csp]

Another vote for the Famowood solvent based.

 

[Musicinabottle]

I sweep up sawdust of the same wood I've cut, mix it with some title bond yellow glue into a paste and fill with it. Low budget but I've had some holes disappear before.

+1. Always worked well for me and is cheap and never dries out in some jar when you need it most!

 

[Corndoggeh]

Extra fine (sifted) saw dust mixed with wood glue.

 

[doorfx]

Extra fine (sifted) saw dust mixed with wood glue.

This^^^^ always color matched.

 

[rlitman]

Extra fine (sifted) saw dust mixed with wood glue.

Saw dust plus wood glue is the best choice for hardwood. But the OP is asking about pine. It might work ok for pine, but beware that this mix will sand more slowly than pine, so sanding will dig in around the filled spots.

 

[nbpt100]

If you are painting Bondo is fine. If you are staining you want something that says it will accept stain. Min wax makes filler in for specific shades. Durhams is not recommended for anything outdoors.

What do folks use if the filler needs to hold a screw?

JB Weld for wood is one product I have found. It is expensive so you don't want to use it for a large area.

 

[cdestuck]

A tip for staining pine or soft woods if you're unaware of this. Rt before staining, coat with minwax wood conditioner. Really helps when staining pine to even out the color of the stain. Makes a great difference.

 

[gungatim]

I don't think Bondo is going to work if you want to stain it. I have had the best luck with good old Plastic Wood in the little metal cans. I will say that I bought some Plastic Wood in a tube about a month ago and it sucked Dried way too fast so you had no time to really work it in. Stick with the original Plastic Wood brand.

yeah, I use that in the can when I need it to take stain. most wood putty's do not.

OP: are you planning to leave this thing outside? poly will not hold up to the UV of the sun nor the moisture. either paint it or leave it natural like a deck, otherwise you'll need to use UV stabilized marine spar varnish, or a resin, which is expensive.

 

[strutaeng]

I've been using Elmers and stuff available at the big box store since I can remember. I recently discovered Famowood at my hardwood supplier. As someone already mentioned, a lot of wood shops use it a lot. I was really impressed in how quickly it dried and how easy it was to sand. The one I used was the latex based:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001733MIG/?tag=atomicindus08-20

The original solvent based seems to be even better according to their data sheets.

I will be using it from now on.

Good Luck!

 

[Bluedodge]

Saw dust plus wood glue is the best choice for hardwood. But the OP is asking about pine. It might work ok for pine, but beware that this mix will sand more slowly than pine, so sanding will dig in around the filled spots.

I've noticed that too. I put it into the defect with a pliable bondo spreader. This gets a little excess on the neighboring wood. That way when I sand, there's a little protection for the surrounding "good" wood. Still doesn't sand perfect, but better than when I only fill the defect.