I’ve stripped a house of paint completely. But before I repaint… There are numerous holes from various things which have been screwed to the house over the years, like shudder hardware, wire mounts and such. There are also several small gaps between the butt ends of clapboards, up to a 1/4″ max.
My question is what is the best method to fill these holes and gaps? Caulk? Wood Filler? Something else?
Thanks, Gerry
Replies
I would use something like the Minwax Hi- Performance Wood Filler for all the holes, etc. It bonds well to the old wood, sets up quickly so you can continue to work, and is pretty easy to work with. Try it on some smaller repairs first to get a feel for it. Its kinda like auto body Bondo, with a filler and a hardener that need to be mixed.
The gaps between the ends of the claps would , IMO, be best dealt with by using a good caulk. Don't use silicone; paint doesn't stick well to it.
I'd either use bondo or epoxy depending on which I had on hand at the moment for the holes.
the gaps, a good quality acrylic latex caulk.
I agree with Shep on using the minwax hi performance filler but be sure to follow the directions on mixing i.e. a little more hardener is NOT good.
The working time for properly mixed stuff is not that long so I would personally "tag" all the holes to be filled with blue tape so you aren't looking all over the place for the hole to be filled while the epoxy hardens on your knife. Maybe partially fill the hole with dowels.
As for caulk, I would prime those butt joints with an oil based primer and then caulk with OSI Quad Sealant in your choice of color.
Eric S.
I used System Three's Wood Sculpt epoxy this past fall and I love it. Long working time and it doesn't shrink. I've repaired stone, plaster, and wood with it. It saved me from having to remove a wooden window. I used auto body filler in the past and it came out after a year of heavy sunshine. It was so light weight that I figured I had wasted some $$$ but it was great the next day.
john
I don't really see the need to use something exotic to fill screw holes. A dab of caulk should do in most cases. For something larger (eg, where a wire was passed through) then either some sort of filler compound or a made-to-fit wood plug would work.
(In fact, for the screw holes the best fix is to whittle some appropriately sized tapered pegs, pound them into the holes, then cut off flush and sand a little. A little caulk or urethane glue can be put into the hole first to completely fill it and glue the plug in place, but in most cases this isn't necessary.)