Best wood putty to cover scratchs for MDF

[AMDman13]

Hi all,

I am at the point where I am going to me prepping for paint. I need a wood putty that will bond well with MDF..

I am only looking to use this putty for filling in countersinks and scrapes. So, I am not looking for strength just cosmetic. For strength I have used a combo of the add water wood putty powder except instead of water I used Tight Bond wood glue to mix it with. This turns out to be very strong. However, it is way over kill for filling minor scratches ( sanding takes forever)

Any suggestions? I heard somewhere that waterbased putty doesn't work well with MDF.

[nostrebor]

Plastic filler (Bondo), or my personal fave for small scratches and bumps... drywall mud.

[AMDman13]

drywall mud.

You mean joint compound? The white chalk stuff?
Is this hard to make smooth?
Thanks for the quick response.

[kaz1961]

I use MH Ready Patch. You can buy it in Home Depot in the paint department. It comes in cans premixed. The stuff works great and goes on and sands easily.

[prOk]

try 'evercoat' from your local auto body store.. it's very smooth, almost like plastic so paint doesn't look funny on it like it does with bondo or wood fillers.

[nostrebor]

drywall mud.

You mean joint compound? The white chalk stuff?
Is this hard to make smooth?
Thanks for the quick response.

Now I'm not talking about the stuff that Wal Mart sells for patching nail holes. I'm talking joint compound like you use when taping drywall joints. I use the pre-mixed stuff.
I don't necessarily think it is good for major patching, but it is great for rubbing over the little spots like I mentioned above. It's easy to sand, takes paint similar to MDF, and CHEAP! It does require primer, just like any other good patch material, to completely disappear in the paint job.

[RickDIII]

Elmers makes some wood putty in a squeezable tube I've used on mdf before.  Was invisible once sanded and painted.  Found it at lowes for a couple bucks.  Kinda gritty, sands really easily.

[F1r3f1ght3r]

elmers...

[USSEnterprise]

elmers as well

[AMDman13]

Sweet! Good old elmers it is!

Thanks guys!

[ragnar]

I use MH Ready Patch. You can buy it in Home Depot in the paint department. It comes in cans premixed. The stuff works great and goes on and sands easily.

I am thinking that this is hte best option.  ANyone else use this?  I want to use it for filling in holes from countersinks.

[javeryh]

Everyone should really be using bondo for this type of stuff.  It sands easy but is rock hard.  There's really no reason to use anything else, IMO.

 

[bkenobi]

Bondo requires mixing and then cleaning tools.  If you use a putty product (especially a premixed one), things go much quicker for a small job.  If you are doing more than a spot or two, it's probably better to just use the good stuff.

I used a wood filler product that I got from Depot that has worked ok.  It won't create a structural fix though, so when I run out, I'll get bondo.

[javeryh]

Bondo requires mixing and then cleaning tools.  If you use a putty product (especially a premixed one), things go much quicker for a small job.  If you are doing more than a spot or two, it's probably better to just use the good stuff.

I used a wood filler product that I got from Depot that has worked ok.  It won't create a structural fix though, so when I run out, I'll get bondo.

I use toothpicks to mix and posterboard to apply and then I throw it all out!  Works great and no clean-up.   

[bkenobi]

You don't have to mix a large batch?  I thought that the package only gave mixing directions for 1+ cups of bondo.  I guess you could just eyeball it since this isn't structural stuff anyway.

[The Lumberjackass]

bondo / isopon p38 is a great filler . it sets rock hard in under 10mins if mixed correctly and can be worked on in just over 15mins.
any other filler used for wood , including the plastic based types ( rawlplug plastic wood filler for example ) take ages to set and
sometimes in the sanding stage , chunks can come away leaving the user to re-apply more to cover the flaw.

the only downside to using bondo / p38 on bare mdf , is that the filler is harder than the wood ( its polyester )
and the mdf sands easier than the filler . this can be a problem when trying to get a proper smooth finish as
the area around the hole can be sanded away more than the filler itself . bondo is designed for wetsanding and you
need to be used to handling it / sanding it / working with it to get the best from it , especially if you are not using water.

and lastly , while i do reccomend the use of bondo / p38 as the best filler out there , dont use a water based
filler on mdf , for obvious reasons . but any filler out there should work okay for you . just watch out for the slow curing type
as you cant fill a hole in 1 go with them. you have to apply it bit by bit and then sand it back.

[mgb]

Everyone should really be using bondo for this type of stuff.  It sands easy but is rock hard.  There's really no reason to use anything else, IMO.

 

I agree. the single part nail fill putties dont really fully cure.
There are also different levels of body filler such as bondo, for fine scratches, there are smoother top coat fillers.

Minwax 2 part wood filler is also great.

For fine sanding scratches, you should be using lighter grits of sandpaper to work out, not just filling.

[atomikbohm]

I didn't realize that there we so many options when it came to repair materials.  So seeing that there are way more choices than I knew ... What would you guys recommend to smooth out the particle board on my NFL Blitz cab.  I already pealed the vinyl off, it was in bad shape.

Little history - Last summer I pealed sanded and had my father in law help me "skim coat" one side with a premixed wood filler I picked up at home depot.  That's when I learned that my father in-law will not be helping me with any other projects, arcade or other wise.  I'll be getting a belt sander soon and taking it down to the wood again.  My plan was to thin the wood filler down so that it spread easier and not so thick as before.  As I'm covering a large area is wood filler the best choice?

Sorry for the thread hijack.