# Wood dust with conditioner as gap filler



## Goldbug99 (Feb 27, 2013)

I'm going to use the wood sanding dust to make a filler on a new white pine floor to fill the gaps and imperfections in the wood. Everything I have read online about how to do this mentions to mix the fine dust with my finish, but I haven't seen any specific type or brands of finish (I want to avoid poly if possible) recommended. I don't want to use anything that will set up like glue and end up plugging the sandpaper for the finish sanding. My thought is to mix the sanding dust with a wood conditioner (which I will use on the pine anyway). Has anyone tried this, or do you have any thoughts on how it might turn out? If this is a bad idea, what other products would be better? Thank you for your suggestions.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

I've never attempted to do anything like that but I think it would be a bad idea. The binder in wood conditioner would be too thin to hold the saw dust together and in the crease. I think the particles in wood dust would be too large for this purpose anyway and if you mixed it with a varnish you would have the same problems gumming up the sandpaper as you would with glue. I would be more inclined to use a pastewood grain filler however a lot of help would be needed. The stuff sets up so fast a person would have a hard time wiping the excess off working it alone.


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## Goldbug99 (Feb 27, 2013)

Steve. Thanks for your reply. I was also concerned about the binding quality of the conditioner. I'm not sure how it sets up when it dries. I've heard that polyurethane works well, but I'm concerned that it will be too brittle as a finish on the soft pine.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Goldbug99 said:


> Steve. Thanks for your reply. I was also concerned about the binding quality of the conditioner. I'm not sure how it sets up when it dries. I've heard that polyurethane works well, but I'm concerned that it will be too brittle as a finish on the soft pine.


 I would use a finish intended for a floor. I really don't think a finish on a floor would be thick enough that "Brittle" would ever be a issue. I did a floor one time with plain helmsman spar varnish in my daughters play house just because I had it. It held up pretty good for several years until it just wore thin in a couple of places. Before I could get another coat on it she outgrew it.


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## valechris33 (Jan 14, 2013)

I have the same issue. I believe you can make a paste out of the sanding dust and wood glue. I will try it and let you know how it goes.


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## Hammer1 (Aug 1, 2010)

Floor boards will shrink and swell through seasonal changes in humidity. Any filler will break free and lift out. Conditioner is not a finish nor will it have any binding capability. Saw dust and glue is a terrible filler but you'll hear a lot of folks recommend it. For imperfections in the boards themselves, use a quality wood filler, such as Famowood.


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## commodore (Jan 14, 2013)

*sawdust filler*

I agree with Hammer1: "Floor boards will shrink and swell through seasonal changes in humidity. Any filler will break free and lift out."

I saw the dust from sanding wood with 220 grit and mix it with shellac to create filler. It is near impossible to make a filler that matches perfectly after you apply finish, but since I often use buttonlac to impart an amber color and seal everything else before applying poly I never have to worry about finish interactions problems. The shellac/sawdust filler sands really well too. If you need it to be lighter use super-blonde shellac. Plus in my opinion the smell of the denatured alcohol is nice.


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## lacman (Mar 13, 2012)

I don't think your concoction will work. They specifically make trowel on floor fillers for just this problem. Try Timbermate or Woodwise. They come in different colors and take stain pretty well.


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## thetexaswoodworks.com (May 30, 2012)

On some furniture, small cracks, I have put thin super glue (Hobby quality-not WalMart) and then rub in appropriate colored sawdust. Keep it up until the crack, small hole is filled. Works on furniture-maybe it will work on floors. Might take a lot of glue. Is sandable. The approprite colored sawdust helps with finishing color.


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## Purrmaster (Jul 19, 2012)

I've put together a filler using sanding dust and white glue. Thinned with water. You won't get a perfect color match this way but it's close enough.

If you can find a paste wood filler that matches the color I'd use that. If the dings aren't too huge you could use a clear grain filler such as Aqua Coat.


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## valechris33 (Jan 14, 2013)

Goldbug99, I finished my floors and being it was my first time, also had gaps. To fill in, I used a mix of sawdust from sanding and stain, filling in after stain application dried. 









My biggest gap was where the boards went perpendicular. At the end of the day, gaps are filled and my wife was more than pleased. Hope this helped.


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