Expert: Greg Scholl - 4/10/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hello, I have a beautiful cherry wood dresser that has a veneer top and I noticed a long thin gash and two small chips missing.  Is there a filler that I can use that will harden to fill the gaps?  I have some furniture pens that I can use to color in the filler.  Is there a website where they sell furniture repair kits?  Anything you can do to help me would be greatly appreciated.

ANSWER: Hi Myrna, Elmers makes a Latex filler, that's really stain-able...but the key to getting a near invisible repair is to use a touch up stain, an alcohol dye based stain is the ultimate, but you can try a Gel stain, typical oil stains are not recommended because their pigments "muddy" the finish, and tend to make the repair stand out rather then blend. The key is to be accurate with your coloring, and resist the temptation to apply the coloring too heavily....slowly work up to the color with thin coats to build the final repair..... but that takes experience to be able to achieve. Learning to fill invisibly,mix and match color, and finish opacity, gloss level, depth, etc., is really only learn-able from experience..and a keen eye and a careful hand.You'll need to take down the filler when it dries, and that needs to be done with extreme care, because you can easily make the repair area much bigger...and therefore harder to camouflage.  Everything looks different on a given wood, too. If you have a decent touch up marker meant for furniture, the colorants in that may be good enough to do a decent job, but on a top, where everything shows, it's tough to make an invisible repair....Hope that helps a little, post back if need be, and don't hesitate to call in a Pro...even for just an opinion and an estimate...most will give you a free one and a little education as well. And there's always the chance that you might actually hire them for the job, because the estimate might seem reasonable....to have it done right...hope that helps a little- Post back if need be- Greg

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Greg, thanks for your input.  Is the filler somehting I can easily manipulate to fill in the small scratch and the two tiny pieces of missing veneer?  How fast does it harden and does it harden like wood?  Can I buy this filler at a hardware store or do I have to purchase it from a specialty store?

Answer
It's available at Home Depot and hardware stores...whether you can easily manipulate it really depends on your abilities...any type of filling, and touch requires some of that, too. It dries in a few hours, as it's waterbased. Hope that helps- post back if need be- Greg