Stainable Wood Filler

[Happiness is]

I hope this post doesn't post twice. I tried to post it, but my machine rebooted and so I am going to try to post this again.

I have been building some furnature and am in need of some stainable wood filler.

Does anyone have any ideas how I can get or make stainable wood filler.

I have bought the Elmer's stainable, but it doesn't.

I have tried other brands and they don't seem to work either.

Can any one tell me how to mix glue (what type) and sawdust to make a good filler?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Larry

[Michael White]

Larry,

I've had good results from a wood filler they sell at Home Depot. I don't remember the brand, but it comes in a short yellow tube. It does a fairly decent job of soaking up the stain close to what oak does. I've used it on a cabinet and a bookcase.

[B A R R Y]

Try filling after staining and finishing. Seriously...

[lwasserm]

In article , Happiness is wrote: I have been building some furnature and am in need of some stainable

I've seen and used lots of stainable wood filler including various sawdust & glue mixes, but unfortunately I've yet to see one that will take a stain to the same degree as the wood it is used on. Best thing is to find a filler that matches as close as possible the stained color of the wood. Next best is to fill, stain and perhaps apply 1st coat of finish, then if necessary, use an artist brush to tint the filled areas to match the surrounding wood. Doesn't really matter what you use to do the tinting as long as subsequent finishing won't lift it. an artist brush to tint the filled area to match

[Toller]

"They say" that liquid hide glue mixed with saw dust from your wood works. Just bought some liquid hide glue, but haven't had a chance to try it yet.

[dadiOH]

You can mix sawdust (and/or small chips and/or sanding dust) with anything that will act as a binder. That includes epoxy, white glue, yellow glue, hide glue, cyanoacrylate, shellac, lacquer and varnish.

The color of the repair depends on what binder was used...the more it "wets" the wood the darker it will be. For example, white glue (when dry) changes the wood color very little. OTOH, epoxy and CA make it dark.

Regardless of the binder, they won't likely stain well because the wood particles are sealed. Sometimes, sanding the area exposes enough to take some stain but I've never seen any that would match the unfilled wood because the filled areas lack structure, grain and the normal change in wood color. To really match, you need to apply what's missing with an artist's brush and colors. However, judicious selection of the binder can help by selecting one so the repaired area winds up grossly close to the stain color.

A lot depends upon how large and where the filled area is. If I have a small area or some place where there is a slight gap in part of a joint I often apply a bit of white glue and spit, wipe it flat and then sand the area so that sanding dust mixes with it. That works pretty well for me but I don't use stain. On dark wood like walnut I use CA rather than white glue.

[scott21230]

DAP's Plastic Wood is the thing that I have found that takes stain the best. However, it won't necessarily match.