# filling nail hole before or after stain?



## mecved (Nov 23, 2017)

I am going to finish raw mahogany door,Door case have lot's of nail holes, and door panel are much lighter veneer.i am going to dye lighter panel to blend with darker mahogany any recommendation filling nail holes? and sealing before or after...


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

On a door and frame I normally do all the finishing work before installing it so I fill the nails holes afterwards. Since you have it installed I would fill the nail holes before finishing.


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## mecved (Nov 23, 2017)

my concern is filler turns darker after stain.if i seal surface with thin wash coat, then stain ,would that be ok?


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## WeebyWoodWorker (Jun 11, 2017)

How big are your nail holes?


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## mecved (Nov 23, 2017)

carpenter used 16 gauge brad nail


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

I've never really been concerned with nails holes. Most of the time the filler stains lighter than the rest of the wood and I touch up with a marker. Sometimes the filler gets too dark but they are small and nobody really sees them. It looks better for the filler to go too dark than too light. Since it concerns you make some nail holes in some scrap wood and fill them with what ever putty you have and stain the wood and see what color the filler goes. If it's too dark use a different putty.


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## Jim Frye (Aug 24, 2016)

I fill nail holes in trim with Color Putty after all finishing. The Color Putty comes in many shades and can be mixed together to get a match to the final finish. I prefer the solvent based product which will clean up with MS, but the water based product cleans up with water before it dries. Bostich makes trim nails with brown heads on them. Can hardly see them after nailup.


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