newbie question re: putty/filler

[Chris Gibson]

been working for a while now putting together my shop/studio for my stained glass work. Most of the visible surfaces are pine... and as i was planing on painting the stuctures i was somewhat indiscriminate with my usage of screws ... now i find i quite like the look of the natural wood ands would prefer to merely poly it. possibly stain as well. question being, what would be the most appropriate product i can buy off the shelf to fill in over those screw headsthat'll blend in to the pine?

minwax has a filler product that is stainable etc... but I'm thinking i want the natural pine look. and it has to be able to cover areas larger than a finishing nail head.

suggestions?

[Stephen M]

Here is another approach:

Go an buy yourself a plug cutter. (get the kind that cuts a tapered plug..$10-$15 at WW Warehouse. Cylinderical plugs give a sloppy fit, tapered fits like a cork). Remove each screw one at a time... redrill the screw hole to the plug size and about 3/8" deep, reinsert screw and glue in the plug. Trim the plug flush with a sharp chisel. Trimming across the (plug's) grain rather than with it will reduce the chance of tearout.

It will look MUCH nicer than wood filler. You can use a contrasting wood, or turn the grain of the plug 90 degrees to the work piece if you want to highlight the plug rather than camouflage it.

[Wade Lippman]

Even if you are lucky enough to get a really good color match, filler still looks like someone stuck a piece of chewing gum on the wood. If you don't get a good color match, it looks even worse.

Somebody else suggested plugs. While they rarely blend in well, they somehow look more professional.

[Caractacus Potts]

If you can't get them to blend well, you're not spending enough time with them. Save the scraps and cut the plugs from them. As long as you're using a tapered plug cutter and aligning the grain, they will virtually disappear.

[Jim K]