House Painting - The Differences Between Sheens

By Hklbrries

Q. The woodwork in our house is almost 30 years old and has a lot of nicks. I’d like to repair the nicks without having to sand each piece. Any suggestions?

A. You can fix nicks in wood without a lot of sanding – sometimes with no sanding – but a lot depends on the color of the wood finish and the number of defects.

If the wood has a stained, wood-tone finish, there is a good chance you can fill nicks and some scratches with Minwax Blend-Fil pencils. These ready-to-use color sticks are made of putty in a variety of wood-tone colors.

If your wood is finished with a Minwax stain and you know the color, you can find putty sticks to match that color by consulting a chart at the Minwax Internet site (visit www.minwax.com, then click on Maintenance and Repair, then on Blend-Fil pencils; click on Colors to find the chart).

Even if you haven’t used a Minwax stain, there is likely to be a Blend-Fil color that will be a reasonable match.

To use a putty stick, simply rub it on the nick until the cavity is filled; smooth it by rubbing with a soft cloth. Smears or excess putty can be removed with mineral spirits (paint thinner).

If your woodwork is painted instead of wood-toned, you’ll need a different approach, but you can still minimize sanding. I’d use vinyl spackling compound, which can be bought at any home center in small plastic tubs.

Ingredients

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Details

Adapted from spokesman.com

Preparation

Step 1

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