I’m about to refinish my oak hw floor. I hae a number of knots, nail/staple holes, and seams (30 year old floor) to fill. Do I need a special wood filler/putty for floors? I assume I’d want something that dries extremely hard to withstand floor traffic.
I’ve use some wood filler on handrails but that stuff was made to be used after the stain and finish was applied (and it stays soft.)
Replies
I can't think of the brand off-hand, will get back to you, but it's an oil-based putty in a red and yellow can. I think Lowe's carries it. Dries hard, reasonably quick. I used a light oak on an unfinished red oak markerboard/bulletin board surround in a private school (pilasters, rails, panels with ogee, crown), puttied, sanded and then the painter stained. Matched great. Get several shades and test with your finish to get a good match. Not 100% if it'll hold up to extreme traffic but should work for staple holes, nail holes and such.
Are you talking about Durham's Rock Hard Water Putty? That's sort of a red/yellow can IIRC. I've heard some good things about it, haven't had a need to use much of it myself. I know it can be tinted with stain when being mixed. (That red/yellow combination isn't much help. That is what the marketing dept uses for everything these days - 2 colors that catch your eye.)
Don
I meant small tins of mixed putty already tinted but they do take a stain well. I think they're oil-based or alcohol or some such. I've used Durham's but never tinted while mixing, it won't take stain when dry.
Use a product called "Wood Dough" (it's a clear oil-base product, I believe, and made for the purpose).
Mix the Wood dough with the sanding dust from your final sanding pass to a putty consistency and fill as needed.
The final screening will clean it up.
http://www.woodwise.com has great fillers, putty
One last question...do I fill holes before or after sanding the floor? Of course I would lightly sand down the putty before applying the finish.
This filler is toweled over the whole floor. First fill the heavy gaps with straight putty, let it dry. Then thin the putty with water and trowel over the whole surface, let it dry. Sand the whole surface.
If you trowel the entire floor, you'll have problems in the space between strips as the floor expands and contracts.Cracks.
Though you could fill and sand individual strips.
the filler I posted is for floors, how wide are these cracks