# Putty/filler for carriage restoration



## signmonger (Aug 14, 2010)

Greetings folks.

I'm working on restoring a 150 year old horse drawn carriage, which is admittedly a little outside my area of expertise (my main line of work is commercial signs). 

After stripping it down to bare wood (poplar), I decided to stay old school and prime with a penetrating linseed primer (Ben Moore), and will top with a deep red gloss alkyd. There are some small gaps (1/32" up to 1/8") between the carriage body and some of the trim elements. After priming, the customer has asked me to fill these gaps. To make matters worse, my initial prep was based on customer's request for low gloss deep red. Can't find such an animal anywhere in alkyd formulation, so I have to shoot it with full gloss, which will make every little flaw stand out. 

Here's my question: The wood is showing it's age in some areas (a little rough) and some of the primer coat is a bit uneven anyway (partly my bad, poor HVLP settings), so I'm thinking of using either homemade Swedish Putty or slightly thinned DAP '53' painter's putty to simultaneously fill the gaps and form a leveling coat. But, I have no experience with such a product used this way. 

1) Is the putty likely to crack from movement between these body parts?

2) Am I about to make an insane amount of work for myself in trying to use putty to level?

Any help would be appreciated.

Todd.


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## ReNt A PaInTeR (Dec 28, 2008)

:blink: Now I know why bill left paint talk


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## Retired (Jul 27, 2010)

signmonger said:


> Greetings folks.
> 
> I'm working on restoring a 150 year old horse drawn carriage, which is admittedly a little outside my area of expertise (my main line of work is commercial signs).
> 
> ...


Basic answer to the putty questions is yes. IMO,a better solution would be to use a paintable acrylic caulk. Those gaps might be there for a reason too.

If you are using Benny Moore's primer/undercoater, it sands fairly easy to get rid of those "oopsies." A second coat tinted gray will help your finish red to cover especially if you are using a red made up from a tint base. 

Alkyd reds in "safety red" can be bought as off the shelf paints. They can be knocked back with black, oxide brown or even green. Most are high gloss. A full service auto paint dealer can add flattners to your paint. For a really sturdy red I would suggest using OneShot. Another alternative would be to use a red Japan and topcoat it with a marine grade alkyd poly in your choice of gloss level. 

If this job is not paying off and I kid you not, Walmart sells an alkyd red from Rustoleum that ain't bad for about 7-8 bucks a quart.


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## TJ Paint (Jun 18, 2009)

is this going to be used? is the cart going to be pulled by horses or other mechanical means? If so, the shocks from the bumps may crack the putty. If its going to sit somewhere as only a showpiece, then putty should work fine. You may look into using bondo (fiberglass body filler) instead to fill in these gaps. If applied right, it shouldn't crack too bad, although it would be dependent on the structural integrity of the frame. Yes, there are ways to flatten a finish, or you could just take some time and find a supplier than can offer you that right off the bat. 

At the end of the day, this thing is 150 yrs old. To have expectations that it can look new and seamless is silly, and would devalue the piece anyway IMO. If they want a brand new shiny replica, build one for them.

I hope you're getting paid enough, either by enjoyment, experience, or otherwise. Goodluck.


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## straight_lines (Oct 17, 2007)

You need to talk to a body man. Especially about the cracks.


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## VanDamme (Feb 13, 2010)

signmonger said:


> Greetings folks.
> 
> I'm working on restoring a 150 year old horse drawn carriage, which is admittedly a little outside my area of expertise (my main line of work is commercial signs).
> 
> ...


A picture would be awesome!


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