Matching Wood Filler To Wood

As I plan ahead to get ready for the filling stage I have tried my hardest to match wood filler to my cedar canoe as there are a few cracks that I would like to try and get rid of. I have tried a few different glues and sawdust from sanding, lots of pre made store bought filler, but none come close. Why do guys use to make it not noticeable.

 

My experience has been that whenever fine sanding dust is mixed with epoxy and used as a filler it is always darker, even when the dust is from the same wood. I will mix some West 410 microlite fairing filler, which is light beige, in with fine sanding dust and epoxy, to get a range of brownish colors. You will have to experiment. Additionally, the cured epoxy is softer and easier to sand with the 410 mixed in. Tom McCloud

 

Put your rows of staples in alignment, and people will recognize your Skill ! I'd be less concerned about hiding the staples , and more concerned about Craftsmanship !

I do fill my staple holes, after the first rough sanding, with plain Elmers MAX. It works fairly well for me. A dab of glue, forced into the hole with my finger.

Stay away from fillers that have any kind of oil in them !

Good Luck !

Jim

 

Lol no staple holes on this beast!, just a few cracks that I like to try and make go away as best I could

 

In that case, wood glue, again my personal Favorite Elmers MAX, mixed with very fine sawdust from ROS dust . mix a paste, and Putty knife it in ! Save yourself some work, and apply Masking tape on both sides of the crack.

Next choice Dap wood filler. Go Walnut, and make it look like the grain in the wood. Dap has Acetone in it ! Good ! It comes in a small can, and the lid is actually on the bottom.

Jim

 

If you keep some powdered alcohol stain on hand you can touch up almost any color of filler with a small paint brush by mixing and matching the powders. Dries fast so you can varnish over. Get it at any good furniture woodworking store.

 

I saw a really good video by Nich Schade (an east coast kayak stripper with a channel and a lot of good videos) on this recently. He uses a 90 degree chisel to make a square bottomed "V" and then uses Cyanoacrylate glue to stick in a small strip so that the corner mates to the groove then plane it flush.