Patching painted wood trim

[Cammie]

I am almost ready to begin painting my first home (!) and need some help patching some wood trim that got damaged during the move. This trim is painted with glossy paint and sits on a corner. There are several gouges in the wood, in some cases exposing bare wood. I'd like to find a product to use to build up the dented wood before painting. I'm thinking maybe a wood putty? But will it adhere to painted wood? I don't think spackle will be solid enough to fill the gouges, but it might work as a final covering. I am pretty new at all this and would appreciate any help or ideas anyone has!

[Jim Mc Namara]

A good wood filler that sands very nicely and that I've used in the furniture building business is called Famowood. It's available at Lowes, HD, etc. When it completely dries, it's sandable and will provide you with a good smooth finish. Just be sure that wherever you apply it, you've sanded off all the old paint first.

Jim Mc Namara

[mark Ransley]

Make it simple use spacle or compond I have never had it fail, in hundreds of houses

[donald girod]

I have to differ with the other posters. Famowood is going to lift surrounding paint--it's lacquer-thinner based (toluene). Bondo is for filling shotgunslug holes, not a problem in many domestic environments. My secret (don't tell anybody):

Drywall goop. Just scuff-sand around the ding and dig out any paint in the gouge itself, then put on some drywall compound. If the hole is deep, you may need to do it twice. Sand lightly and paint twice.

The cost here is close to zero, assuming you can keep a container of drywall stuff from getting moldy. A little clorox on top of the remaining stuff in the container before you seal it up for a couple of years will probably help. One gallon of drywall compound will last a lifetime of fixing woodwork, and you can use it to patch your walls too!

[Alan]

Drywall compund does not make the best patching material because it is very soft. Something like Durabond is better, but you have to work with it at the right time because it is not easy to sand once set.