How to Repair Holes in House Wood as You Prep to Paint

Filling Holes in Wood before Painting and Finish Sanding

It would be nice if your wooden home needed no more than a little home maintenance. Only caulk and scrape a bit, lay down some painting drop cloths, and roll on some layers of outdoor acrylic paint.

It is never that easy. Rather than easy, one almost always has to repair the wood exterior of your home.

My home needed more than just some new paint. The galvanized metal near the roof gutters was badly done and permitted rain to repeatedly dampen the wood behind the eve. As the house aged, the wood shrunk and the protective coat of paint flaked.

I researched how to get it done right. I was sure that wood putty would last.

My next door neighbor repaired his wooden home often fighting termite infestations. These jobs looked good years later. He knew something I did not.

Fix Wood Holes with the Auto Repair Filler Called Bondo then Use Cordless Wood Working Power Tools to Sand

He revealed that his brother had told him that automobile filler called Bondo to fill any imperfections in the home’s surface. For some background look at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bondo_(putty)

Bondo was great for car dents. This auto filler kept its shape. Bondo could be sanded. When he suggested doing this, I instantly knew that it would do the job.

With auto filler, the method is to fill in the large holes in layers with big gobs initially and less material thereafter. Furthermore, you can make nice sharp corners, combining molding boards and regular kitchen wax paper. To sand before priming and painting just use one of the many power belt sanders that can sand quickly.

Homeowners with a wood deck, consider the fact that you could also apply Bondo to fill in gouges in the planks of a wood deck design. It is sometimes necessary, when you are waterproofing an old redwood deck.

You should note that Bondo looks light red after sanding and this will be obvious, if you only use a non-hiding water treatment on your wood deck. If you intend to seal a wooden deck after patching with Bondo, you will get the best results with an opaque sealant.

Finally it is not necessary to go to an auto parts store to get Bondo. You can get Bondo at Lowes or Home Depot. You probably would also like to know that my house wood fixing job shows no signs of deterioration after many years.