# Best filler for nail holes



## goodasgoldpainting (Jan 28, 2014)

What is everyone's preference on the best filler is for nail holes? I know people use caulk, mh, and wood filler. Wanted to see other peoples responses.


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## Danahy (Dec 11, 2008)

Pink Dap


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## Jmayspaint (Mar 26, 2013)

I just fill em with paint.


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## Epoxy Pro (Oct 7, 2012)

Pink DAP or Light Weight Spackle.


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## MSJ Painting (Jan 27, 2013)

Shrink free from sw

Sent from my SCH-I535 using PaintTalk.com mobile app


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## paintball head (Mar 3, 2012)

Doesn't matter they all shrink.


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## chrisn (Jul 15, 2007)

asked and answered about 20 times in the last 5 years


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## skinne9 (Nov 21, 2009)

Dingle-berries


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## Epoxy Pro (Oct 7, 2012)

skinne9 said:


> Dingle-berries


Do you need to use stain blocker? :blink::whistling2:


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## skinne9 (Nov 21, 2009)

cdpainting said:


> Do you need to use stain blocker? :blink::whistling2:


That'll cost extra


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## finaltouch0 (Jul 14, 2011)

Lightweight spackle, sand, paint 2 coats

Sent from my SPH-L720T using Tapatalk


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## Professional Painter (Mar 15, 2014)

5 minute mud that has been spent and cut into chunks. Workable between 6 to 7 minutes up to around 20 to 25 minutes depending on the bag and the amount of hardening agent within the mix. Zero shrink. 

Professional Painter


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

chrisn said:


> asked and answered about 20 times in the last 5 years


Yes, but today there were not fifty posts that simply said



>


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## TheRogueBristle (Mar 19, 2010)

daArch said:


> Yes, but today there were not fifty posts that simply said


There you go bro, Elmer's, FTW, haha.


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## paintball head (Mar 3, 2012)

daArch said:


> Yes, but today there were not fifty posts that simply said


Good product but hard to sand and not feasible for doing a whole house trim package.


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## Paintdian (Apr 17, 2013)

Elmers wood filler feels like Mustard.


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## driftweed (May 26, 2013)

Depends on the quality of the work you sold.

Been using S.W. spackling paste lately. Meh its o.k.

If they're itty bitty pinholes, I caulk em. Otherwise any spackle will work. 

We are talking walls correct?


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

driftweed said:


> We are talking walls correct?


I assumed trim


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

paintball head said:


> Good product but hard to sand and not feasible for doing a whole house trim package.


we'll have to agree to disagree on that one.

But I grew up in a time when some folks liked Durham's (ROCK HARD) Water Putty


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## Damon T (Nov 22, 2008)

50/50 Elmer's wood filler and lightweight spackle. 
Whatever happened to that paint & primer & filler in one?! That was ridiculous! 


Sent from my blah blah blah


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## Susan (Nov 29, 2011)

Professional Painter said:


> 5 minute mud that has been spent and cut into chunks. Workable between 6 to 7 minutes up to around 20 to 25 minutes depending on the bag and the amount of hardening agent within the mix. Zero shrink.
> 
> Professional Painter



State your times and places. Prime then fill, fill sand and prime? I prefer the glazing with an oil prime myself. Why fux with what works? 


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## chrisn (Jul 15, 2007)

daArch said:


> we'll have to agree to disagree on that one.
> 
> But I grew up in a time when some folks liked Durham's (ROCK HARD) Water Putty


 
nasty


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## mv8710 (Jul 28, 2010)

I use this stuff. It dries hard and is still easy to sand level.
AND it smells like spearmint!
www.paintaids.co.nz/contractfiller-specs/


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## Monstertruck (Oct 26, 2013)

http://www.crawfords.com/public/static/Putty_Tech_Data.html


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## Epoxy Pro (Oct 7, 2012)

Damon T said:


> 50/50 Elmer's wood filler and lightweight spackle.
> Whatever happened to that paint & primer & filler in one?! That was ridiculous!
> 
> 
> Sent from my blah blah blah


It's such a good product they can't keep it on the shelves :whistling2:. Wait sorry that is the booze talking. It is complete crap.


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## Carl (Jun 18, 2011)

Actually, 3Ms patch plus primer does work. You can fill holes with it and it doesn't flash. Doesn't sand well though which makes sense to me considering there is primer in it.


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## Jmayspaint (Mar 26, 2013)

Carl said:


> Actually, 3Ms patch plus primer does work. You can fill holes with it and it doesn't flash. Doesn't sand well though which makes sense to me considering there is primer in it.



So does Crackshot. It won't flash through most paints.


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## ttd (Sep 30, 2010)

Sw shrink free or Elmer's wood filler.


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

Damon T said:


> 50/50 Elmer's wood filler and lightweight spackle.
> Whatever happened to that paint & primer & filler in one?! That was ridiculous!
> 
> 
> Sent from my blah blah blah


interesting combo.

I always felt that lite spackle and Elmers had a common ingredient of "micro-balloons" (that's what makes them easy to sand and able to feather so well). But obviously that is just speculation on my part. 

In model aviation we would mix micro-balloons with epoxy to fill larger gaps while still being light and very sandable.


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## Damon T (Nov 22, 2008)

Jmayspaint said:


> So does Crackshot. It won't flash through most paints.



I like the Crackshot. 


Sent from my blah blah blah


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## Jmayspaint (Mar 26, 2013)

I just tried the 3m spackle/primer stuff for the first time last week. It was on close out at lowes, so I got some. 

It looked and felt like lightweight, with all the drawbacks that come with that. It's also hard to sand. 

On the plus side, it dries fast and didn't flash (at least with my limited tests). Overall it was a fail, no wonder its on close out. I'll stick with Crackshot.


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## Pretty Handy Mandi (Oct 6, 2013)

daArch said:


> Yes, but today there were not fifty posts that simply said


Elmers wood filler is the best product for the best results. However, this product is best for new and unpainted trim. It requires a two step process, sometimes three. Put it on with a putty knife, sand, very little shrinking. Spot prime with kilz oil in a can. For super high end finish, it might need an additional sanding. The primer will smooth any indentation. Looks like glass. Caulk all concave corners and putty the convex ones.

For quick repaints, lightweight spackle is fine. Quick one step process, wipe with the finger.

IMPO, MH is crap for nail holes. 


Arch hit the proverbial nail on the head. Durhams is a great product. It really does dry rock hard. Literally can do a pretty good size skim coat over a fairly large hole and after it dries, you can come back the next day and knock on it. Yep, rock hard. But it is knarly to sand, so don't leave a lot of excess. 


If you use caulk to fill a nail hole, you are both retarded and lazy. The shrinkage alone is reason enough, but c'mon.... it leaves a film on the wood that looks disgusting painted over. Totally unprofessional.


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## bklynboy1970 (Oct 8, 2013)

Damon T said:


> I like the Crackshot.
> 
> Sent from my blah blah blah


Haven't found here in fl when I was working ....nyc had it


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## Pretty Handy Mandi (Oct 6, 2013)

When the customers budget calls for accommodations, I.e.they don't have the budget for wood replacement and they just want an asthetic fix a.k.a. band-aid. Sometimes there has been instances of wood damage, termite damage (post remediation), or other wood failures. 

I have used Durhams Rock Hard to fill those areas, with good success.


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## bklynboy1970 (Oct 8, 2013)

chrisn said:


> asked and answered about 20 times in the last 5 years


Why are so grouchy  love what you do and do it, it's great that in today's tech we can help one another ... it's a great place quit winning


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## bklynboy1970 (Oct 8, 2013)

bklynboy1970 said:


> Why are so grouchy  love what you do and do it, it's great that in today's tech we can help one another ... it's a great place quit winning


Patch & paint for economy paint jobs and elmers wood for top jobs....;-) love Durham rock hard ....but not for trim exteriors


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## paintball head (Mar 3, 2012)

bklynboy1970 said:


> Why are so grouchy  love what you do and do it, it's great that in today's tech we can help one another ... it's a great place *quit winning*


If a guy wants to win don't be "THAT GUY" and tell him to quit winning.


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## paintball head (Mar 3, 2012)

Pretty Handy Mandi said:


> Elmers wood filler is the best product for the best results. However, this product is best for new and unpainted trim. It requires a two step process, sometimes three. Put it on with a putty knife, sand, very little shrinking. Spot prime with kilz oil in a can. For super high end finish, it might need an additional sanding. The primer will smooth any indentation. Looks like glass. Caulk all concave corners and putty the convex ones.
> 
> For quick repaints, lightweight spackle is fine. Quick one step process, wipe with the finger.
> 
> ...


Come back in 5 years and say this.


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## chrisn (Jul 15, 2007)

Pretty Handy Mandi said:


> Elmers wood filler is the best product for the best results. However, this product is best for new and unpainted trim. It requires a two step process, sometimes three. Put it on with a putty knife, sand, very little shrinking. Spot prime with kilz oil in a can. For super high end finish, it might need an additional sanding. The primer will smooth any indentation. Looks like glass. Caulk all concave corners and putty the convex ones.
> 
> For quick repaints, lightweight spackle is fine. Quick one step process, wipe with the finger.
> 
> ...


He meant it was worthless; as in, he was being sarcastic to the max

It all falls out in a year or so, good for nothing

So says the grumpy one:notworthy:


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

chrisn said:


> He meant it was worthless; as in, he was being sarcastic to the max
> 
> It all falls out in a year or so, good for nothing
> 
> So says the grumpy one:notworthy:


Actually Chris, Mandi inferred correctly my thoughts about Durham's. I was not being sarcastic. It is good, just a PITA to sand (also time consuming to mix up) I never had it fall out. The last job I used it on was my folk's shore home when they gutted and remodeled. So I was able to see the results for many years. Never saw any evidence of fallout.


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## loaded brush (Dec 27, 2007)

I have seen Durhams fail many times over the years. Mostly when it's used for filling areas where the rot or damaged area was too big for a just a filler. Sometimes the harder the product the more brittle it can be. (I know oxymoron, but its true) A little vinyl added to Durhams ingredients would make it an outstanding product.


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## Gough (Nov 24, 2010)

daArch said:


> interesting combo.
> 
> I always felt that lite spackle and Elmers had a common ingredient of "micro-balloons" (that's what makes them easy to sand and able to feather so well). But obviously that is just speculation on my part.
> 
> In model aviation we would mix micro-balloons with epoxy to fill larger gaps while still being light and very sandable.


That's what we started using for for boatbuilding and now use for filling larger holes. West System epoxy and fillers.


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## chrisn (Jul 15, 2007)

daArch said:


> Actually Chris, Mandi inferred correctly my thoughts about Durham's. I was not being sarcastic. It is good, just a PITA to sand (also time consuming to mix up) I never had it fall out. The last job I used it on was my folk's shore home when they gutted and remodeled. So I was able to see the results for many years. Never saw any evidence of fallout.


 
interior?

I know for a fact it is worthless outside:yes:


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## ridesarize (Jun 19, 2012)

Damon T said:


> 50/50 Elmer's wood filler and lightweight spackle.
> Whatever happened to that paint & primer & filler in one?! That was ridiculous!
> 
> 
> Sent from my blah blah blah


Ok Damon knows what's up.. that mix of elmers and Crawfords is the best for lots of things.

I go less elmers though, like 30/70. Still a nice solid filler for trim.


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## painter1986 (Mar 19, 2012)

Crawford's Painter's Putty! Usually can make em disappear after one pass with the stuff. You can find it at SW or other smaller paint stores usually.


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## Damon T (Nov 22, 2008)

Just used the dap pink stuff today. Sands really nice. Dries fast too. It's harder to find for sanding tho as it's white. The Elmer's adds a little color which is helpful. 
I've added colorants to spackle but it's hard to add a small enough amount. 


Sent from my blah blah blah


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## andy1015 (Apr 28, 2011)

Ive tried everything...best for me is drywall mud...i mostly use setting type...ez sand...whatever i'm using at the time....20 or 45 minute mud usually...


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

chrisn said:


> interior?
> 
> I know for a fact it is worthless outside:yes:


OH SH!T, was this an EXTERIOR filler thread? I read it to be for * interior* trim.

I never did come across a good exterior nail hole filler - except caulk and putty. 

Exterior specific fillers that are sandable could be their own thread.


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