# Nail head fill on stair treads?



## joea (Sep 14, 2018)

Have some Red Oak stair tread I made, stained and installed. Medium dark stain. Stained them before install as I wanted contrast with risers and side panels.


Before I put a floor finish on them I am puzzling over how to, or if, to fill the finishing nail holes. Right now they are sunk just a bit below the surface.


Question is, should I drive them deeper and fill with something, then spot stain or otherwise color the filler, or, just dab some dark paint or stain in there and call it good?


Needless to say, this is my first attempt at putting a finish on indoor "nice" stairs.


Thanks in advance.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

A nail doesn't have to be set very deep. There just needs to be enough space to hold a filler. As far as filling, a lot depends on how much trouble you want to go to. I think most of us would just use soft putty on woodwork such as Minwax Wood Putty. It comes in different colors and you just rub it into the nail hole with your fingers and wipe off the excess with a clean cloth and you are done. You could also mask around the nail hole and fill it with a hard putty such as Famowood. Allow it to dry and sand it down to the tape with coarser paper and then remove the tape and finish the sanding with 180 grit. Then stain the putty and allow to dry. Then brush a little finish on just the spot and allow to dry. Then sand the entire tread and put another coat over all of it.


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## joea (Sep 14, 2018)

Steve Neul said:


> A nail doesn't have to be set very deep. There just needs to be enough space to hold a filler. As far as filling, a lot depends on how much trouble you want to go to. I think most of us would just use soft putty on woodwork such as Minwax Wood Putty. It comes in different colors and you just rub it into the nail hole with your fingers and wipe off the excess with a clean cloth and you are done. You could also mask around the nail hole and fill it with a hard putty such as Famowood. Allow it to dry and sand it down to the tape with coarser paper and then remove the tape and finish the sanding with 180 grit. Then stain the putty and allow to dry. Then brush a little finish on just the spot and allow to dry. Then sand the entire tread and put another coat over all of it.


 How about minwax Wood filler, the stuff in the tube, as I have a fresh tube on hand? I guess my main concern is having the filler pop out over time. But then, I guess a repair now and then is not the end of the world.


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## pro70z28 (Feb 26, 2018)

I've never had filler pop out. If the nail is deep enough, as Steve said, it doesn't take much, it won't go anywhere. You could always dab a little of the floor finish on the putty spots with a cotton swab or anything that allows you to cover just the putty, if you want a little extra insurance.


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## JIMMIEM (Oct 12, 2014)

Another option is to make your own filler with Red Oak sanding dust and wood glue. Then stain with the same color you used on the treads. Either premix the glue and sanding dust to a peanut butter consistency and press into the nail hole or drizzle a little glue into the hole and then add the sanding dust.


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## Quickstep (Apr 10, 2012)

When the guys did my floors (professionals), they had balls of filler they made by mixing oil based window glazing compound with Minwax stain. They had about 5 different shades and they would just peel off a little glob, press it into the nail hole and smooth with their finger. The would use the color that best matched the grain in the spot they needed to fill. As I recall, they did this step after the first coat of finish, then just topcoated with the second and third coats.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

joea said:


> How about minwax Wood filler, the stuff in the tube, as I have a fresh tube on hand? I guess my main concern is having the filler pop out over time. But then, I guess a repair now and then is not the end of the world.


The minwax wood filler in a tube is basically the same stuff as the hard filler in a can. Since you already have some finish on you need to be careful not to get any on the surface. By the time you sand it flush you might sand through the finish. I imagine it's too late now but what I like to do when using that kind of putty is put masking tape on the part first and then put the nail through the tape. It makes for perfect masking that way.


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## joea (Sep 14, 2018)

Thanks for the replies. Unfortunately, I did not realize the default notification for replies was "daily" and thought no one had replied, so went ahead with the Minwax filler, without masking. And yes, despite being a careful as I could be, some of the finish was removed. The filler took stain quite readily, but some of the "halo" areas took 3 or 4 "spot" applications of stain and careful wiping to restore a reasonably even look. 



I liked some of the other ideas as well and may give them a try at some point.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

joea said:


> Thanks for the replies. Unfortunately, I did not realize the default notification for replies was "daily" and thought no one had replied, so went ahead with the Minwax filler, without masking. And yes, despite being a careful as I could be, some of the finish was removed. The filler took stain quite readily, but some of the "halo" areas took 3 or 4 "spot" applications of stain and careful wiping to restore a reasonably even look.
> 
> 
> 
> I liked some of the other ideas as well and may give them a try at some point.


The halo was likely caused by the finish in the wood. Applying 3 or 4 coats of stain on the spots is likely to cause the finish to peal off. Stain can't be applied like paint. If any of it is dried on the surface the finish will bond to the stain instead of the wood and peal off.


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## joea (Sep 14, 2018)

Steve Neul said:


> The halo was likely caused by the finish in the wood. Applying 3 or 4 coats of stain on the spots is likely to cause the finish to peal off. Stain can't be applied like paint. If any of it is dried on the surface the finish will bond to the stain instead of the wood and peal off.



There is only stain on the wood, about a week old. The halos were spots lightened by my sanding the filler. Used several "coats" of stain, wiping between coats, over several hours, to achieve a reasonable evenness. Not sure what else you might mean.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

joea said:


> There is only stain on the wood, about a week old. The halos were spots lightened by my sanding the filler. Used several "coats" of stain, wiping between coats, over several hours, to achieve a reasonable evenness. Not sure what else you might mean.


OK, a stain has linseed oil in it to hold the pigment together. Linseed oil is one of the components of varnish. Once the stain dried it's like you put a thin coat of varnish on it and sealed the wood. 

From where you are I would recommend washing the steps with lacquer thinner and then sand the wood again. This is the only way to get rid of the halo. Just be careful to not have any open flame in the house and provide ample ventilation when working with lacquer thinner in the house. If the fumes are thick enough even the spark in a light switch can set it off.


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