How to Make Wood Filler Look Like Wood? [5 Different Ways]

Nail holes and defects in woodworking jobs may be easily filled and repaired using the numerous wood filler solutions that are currently present. The hard part is achieving a color match of the filler and the stain used on the wood. 

All woodworkers know the end result: an appealing woodworking item with visible nail holes because there is a little different color from the rest of the piece. When you first apply the filler followed by sanding and staining. 

When you begin with staining and then try to fix nail holes on the final job, you may have difficulties. However, there are techniques for making wood filler seem like wood so that it may be used to complement existing woodwork.

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Making Your Own Pull Out Filler?

Sort the sawdust into a mound. Stir in wood glue using a craft stick to get a thick putty, similar to cookie dough. Do not add too much glue to make it runny. You should know that wood glue sets fast, so don’t waste time-you have approximately 10 minutes to make and smear the filler. 

Form a dough with your hands from the ingredients. If the dough has starts to harden, it won’t be easy to apply. If this happens, start over with a new batch and add a little more wood glue. Immediately after achieving the desired texture, smear the filler to the work material. 

This is an easy way of making your pull-out filler, and you will fix floors, cracks or make wood lighter and match it with stain.

How to make stainable wood filler?

Regardless of whether it is commercial or homemade, wood filler hardens and loses the absorbent properties of the surrounding wood. So the filler won’t soak, and the stain will not affect it. The fill color cannot be changed with dye or wood stain. 

Since the filler doesn’t blend with the stain, blend it a shade darker than the initial wood. If you’re staining light wood, make the filler dark than the original piece. It helps the filled part blend well with the lighter wood after staining it. Even though you don’t stain the wood, the filler should be a shade darker than the initial wood. 

Darker filler gradually mixes with the surrounding wood as it grows old. Wood fillers, on the other hand, do not generally take stains as well as genuine woods. This might cause the wood filler patches to seem considerably lighter or darker than surrounding stained wood, depending on how light or dark the wood filler is. 

When applied to wood filler, the same stain used in the woodworking item has a somewhat different appearance.

How to Make Wood Stain Lighter?

You can lighten stain wood by first shedding it of its present varnish and then bleach it. Within 30 minutes, neutralize the bleach using vinegar and then remove the excess mixture and let it dry at night. 

Once it appears to be the right shade, perform sanding and smear a new and lighter finish for a perfect seal. To use the bleach product of your choice, dampen a sponge or cloth with it. Smooth movements, following the grain of the wood, should remove the stain or discoloration from the wood surface. 

You can apply numerous applications of bleach until you get the desired shade of gray. Always test the final finish on a scrap piece first to ensure that you are satisfied with the final outcome. You will have achieved making a wood stain lighter by using bleach and following the steps.

How to Make Wood Filler from Sawdust?

To produce wood filler from sawdust, combine it with a binding agent to form a paste. The resultant paste works well to fill the wood void and dry. It may be sanded smooth after drying. Binders include wood glue, CA glue, epoxy, and shellac. 

Make a big mound of sawdust in the middle of the wood or cardboard. Mix some binding agent with some sawdust and then craft stick. If your mixture is dry, put in some more binding agents to achieve the appropriate consistency. Finally, use a craft stick or a putty knife to spread it as a typical commercial wood filler.