# filling nail holes and moulding gaps then staining



## dubele (Feb 23, 2010)

Hello. I am building a kitchen bar. It is a slab of 8/4 Red Oak. I attached moulding on the front and sides with a brad nailer. Also, there are some slight gaps on the joinery of the moulding...ie: my 22.5 degree cuts don't perfectly line up and I need to fill them.

In the past, I have used Elmer's wood filler, sand it, then stain.

Question: With both of the these (holes and gaps), when I stain it I would like to limit the amount that I see the filler. What do you suggest?

Thanks,
Doug


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## TimPa (Jan 27, 2010)

i'm no expert, but i've learned 2 things. you can mix in a drop or two of stain to your filler before applying it, that seems to also allow the filler to accept more stain when you stain project. and, filled nail holes disappear more when they are darker then the wood then they do if they are lighter then the wood.


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## Dave (PacNW) (Apr 19, 2009)

Rockler sells a product called Wunderfil (sp) It is waterbased an completely stain-able.You can use as is to fill small gaps or thin it wtih water and use as a grain filler. It works as advertised!

Dave (PacNW)


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## dubele (Feb 23, 2010)

Thanks Guys....I actually just remembered something....I built a shelf for my TV console out of red oak and attached some of the pieces with brads...these were visible from the front. I used a minwax pencil instead of filling. It did a nice job.

No matter what kind of filler you use, you will always see it due to lack of grain and color....you can buy the pencils that match particular stains. 

I also used the pencil on the TV Console (which is stained oak) where there were cracks...they pretty much disappeared.


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