Wood filler vs wood putty
Use filler on bare wood before you finish it; use putty on finished wood after. Filler dries hard and sands flush; putty stays soft and is never sanded. That split comes straight from the makers' own directions, below.
| Question | Wood filler | Wood putty |
|---|---|---|
| Goes on | Bare wood, before stain or paint | Finished wood, after stain and topcoat |
| Hardens | Yes, and sands flush | No; Minwax: it "will not harden to a sandable surface" |
| Wait before sanding | About 2 hours for a shallow repair (makers span 0.5–6) | Not sanded |
| Colour | Takes stain or paint (test on scrap first) | Pre-coloured to match the stain already on the wood |
| Outdoors | Minwax, DAP and FAMOWOOD all list interior and exterior use | Minwax lists interior only |
Median of 3 sources
The products behind it
| Product | Goes on | Hardens and sands | Dry before sanding | Outdoors | Maker's notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minwax Stainable Wood Filler One source: Minwax (Sherwin-Williams), the maker of that product | Bare wood, before the finish | Yes | 2 h shallow2–6 h deep fills | Yes | Deep fills in layers of about 1/4"; not for holes larger than 3/4"; test the stain on scrap first |
| DAP Plastic Wood-X One source: DAP, the maker of that product | Bare wood, before the finish | Yes | 2–6 h shallow36 h deep fills | Yes | Goes on pink and turns natural when dry; fill deeper than 1/4" in layers; DAP says to stain the wood before filling |
| FAMOWOOD Latex Wood Filler One source: Eclectic Products (FAMOWOOD), the maker of that product | Bare wood, before the finish | Yes | 0.5 h shallow | Yes | Dry "approx. 30 minutes" before sanding; deep repairs in layers; apply at 40–90 °F |
| Minwax Wood Putty One source: Minwax (Sherwin-Williams), the maker of that product | Finished wood, after stain and topcoat | No | Not sanded | No | Non-hardening, colour-matched to Minwax Wood Finish stains; stain and topcoat first, then press in and wipe off the excess |
Picking one
A nail hole in trim you are about to paint: filler. A dent in a finished tabletop you don't want to refinish: putty, in the colour of the stain. A hole deeper than about 1/4": filler, built in layers, as both Minwax and DAP direct. Rotted wood: Minwax points to its two-part High Performance Wood Filler rather than either of these. Details on the wood filler and wood putty pages.