Trim Nail Holes in Finished Millwork - Best Product?

15 years ago

Can anyone recommend any nail hole filler product that may work better than DAP (best out of the 3 I've bought so far)? We have laquered millwork, close to a white. The Dap is difficult to work with on the prefinished trim - works well for the holes I've fill on some of the parts (windows) that are primed only, though. I also tried the MinWax white product (not sandable, which would be fine) but it looks grey. I also bought an Elmers filler, which wasn't marked with a color and ended up being wood tone.

Now that we understand how we shouldn't have prefinished the trim, but waited after install, we wouldn't have a problem...at this point I'm trying to get them filled for closing and we may go over everything with a fresh coat of laquer in the future.

Any advice would be appreciated - or a primer on the best way to install Dap in my situation would be helpful. I'm using a small putty knife or my finger and then wiping around it immediately (otherwise it dulls the finish) but it dries quickly and gets crumbly. Thanks!

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Comments (9)

Ron Natalie
15 years ago
If you really used lacquer to finish the woodwork, you should be able to touch up over the filler with more lacquer.
sombreuil_mongrel
15 years ago
I find that the wax-pencil type of filler works satisfactorily with finished wood. I usually use two colors that cover the range of tones within the woodwork.
Casey
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It has been my experience that if a really good match---like with the Stain Putty---is not possible---like trying the color sticks/sawdust and glue/---making the filler lighter is less eye catching. I did several hundred feet of pine crown molding, stained dark walnut. The home owner specificially mentioned he wanted no conditioner---he wanted the color differences from the stain to show. And with even good stain grade pine, there was a LOT of difference. It was in a room with 7' ceilings and a soffit for HVAC in the center the length of the room that was 10" below the ceiling. I used a 16 gauge nailer and had a lot of nail holes to fill. I made up two batches of Stain Putty----one with the dark walnut stain and another with pecan stain. The dark walnut Stain Putty was a perfect match for the darker areas---but would have stood out like a sore thumb on the lighter areas. The pecan was a bit lighter than the light areas and was a fdair match---the HO could not see the filled holes----and he is a professional painter---has owned his own company for 30 years.
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shellmo
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks both for your responses. I'll have to see if I can find the wax pencil type in white - and that type may work good in the basement where we have laquered natural cherry. My thoughts were to touch up the spots with laquer or do a light coat (cover up some of the joints and seams that way too)...just not before we close.

And if anyone has advice on using Dap, that would still be helpful...
niff
15 years ago
With a white surface, I would stay away from the pencil wax fillers as they tend to get filthy over time. I would look into more spackle type products as they only require a very light sanding.
sombreuil_mongrel
15 years ago
If the wood is natural cherry why on earth do you want to fill the holes with white?
OR, if you have cherry woodwork, why on earth did you lacquer it white?
I'm not getting something here.
Casey
shellmo
Original Author
15 years ago
Niff - thanks for the tip on the pencil type...very helpful to know.

Casey - sorry to be confusing. We have 2 types of millwork (& cabinets also with same finishes) in the house. 1st is poplar that is catalyzed laquer in white. 2nd is natural cherry, unstained with clear catalyzed laquer. I'm struggling with filling the white holes. Haven't gotten to filling the cherry yet.

I used the Dap again last night and I think I'm getting the better at it (unfortunately, best application is just using my finger, although I don't think that it's the best for my skin). Doesn't seem like there is anything better that I've found...thanks all!
meldy_nva
15 years ago
Did you try Quikwood Epoxy Putty? I've used it in small repairs and found it fairly easy to work with. I think it comes in shades, and maybe one would be okay with the cherry. You do have to work quickly, but then nail holes *are* quick to fill.

Here is a link that might be useful: Quikwood epoxy putty
thull
15 years ago
shellmo- we have natural cherry trim (crown in particular) on our kitchen cabs. I used a MinWax putty originally to fill the nail holes. Color was cherry. As the cherry has darkened, I've contemplated/bought a mahogany color putty to refill for a better match. But doing that's somewhere down a long to-do list.
shellmo
Original Author
15 years ago
Really appreciate all the help! Meldy - I haven't seen Quikwood yet (not sure I had seen it in our local stores, either). But good news...I bought the Elmer's wood filler yesterday - came in white (couple of others came in what they called "natural" which was a putty white greyish color - natural what??) and works wonderful!! It isn't solvent based, came in a tube that I snipped and can actually just squeeze into a bunch of nail holes and then go back and flatten down, plus is water washable around the holes for a little while - probably 5-10 minutes, where the Dap was drying almost instantly. So I'm making progress now!

thull - my thoughts had been to buy 2 colors of filler for the cherry, because as you probably have also on the natural cherry, there are light/dark variations - sounds like I should go a shade darker on each also, eh? I think I will use the MinWax for the cherry - that was really easy to work with especially if it could be dug out and refilled in the future.

Trim Nail Holes in Finished Millwork - Best Product?

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Ron Natalie

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Trim Nail Holes in Finished Millwork - Best Product?

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