Ever find a gorgeous piece that’s been through rough times?? A friend of mine was clearing out her storage room, and this piece was buried there. I was happy to rescue it! It has incredible details, but it was looking like it had seen better days.
It looked like it was locked at some point and the keyhole was pulled through instead of unlocked. What do you do to fill large holes in wood? Let’s break it down.
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With a little problem solving and furniture repair tricks in your tool belt, you’ll be able to take on any old piece that comes your way! Here’s a close-up of the keyhole damage. This same technique I’m about to show you will work with any large holes in the wood or veneer you need to fill.
Supplies you will need to Fill Large Holes in Wood/Veneer:
- Popsicle Sticks or small wood pieces
- Wood Glue
- Bondo Wood Filler
- 120 grit sandpaper
- 220 grit sandpaper
- paper plate, damp paper towels, knife
First, you’ll need to use some support for the patch to stick to. I grabbed my popsicle sticks – which I use for everything from hole patching to paint stirring. Attach it to the back of the hole with a little wood glue to keep it in place. This is my favorite wood glue to use for repair and furniture building.
As that dries, mix up your epoxy wood filler. I’m using Bondo Wood Filler for this project. There are a few types of Bondo – there’s auto body filler (which dries pink) and this Bondo Wood Filler which is supposedly stainable (I have not tried to stain it yet!). Either type will work for this repair.
Follow the directions on the back of the can – and mix up a small amount of the filler. You’ll add hardner to the filler which will allow it to dry quickly. I always mix it on a disposable paper plate with another popsicle stick. It’s a little smelly so make sure you have good ventilation.
Once it’s all mixed up it will be a light orange/putty color. Apply it to the hole. You’ll want to add MORE than you need to actually fill the hole. If you are too sparing here, the mark will show later.
Apply it and let it dry. This epoxy wood filler dries quickly – which is nice!
Once it’s all dry, grab some sandpaper – 120 grit – fold it up and get to work. It will create some dust but just keep sanding until the spot is completely level with the surrounding area. If you use a pad sander, use 220 grit sandpaper instead.
Vacuum the dust and this is what you are left with – a smooth finish, and once painted or stained no one will ever know it was there!
Trim off the excess wood (mine actually popped off when I went to trim it) and you are finished.
While you have your wood filler out, fill any other places on the piece in the same manner and just sand down in the same way. It’s great to have a product that will fill small spots and large ones at the same time!
Finish your piece as desired, and it’ll be our little secret that there was ever damage there to begin with!
Don’t be afraid next time when you see a piece with a little damage – now you know how to repair it!
Until next time,
Jenni
Great info!
Thank you so much for your clear instructions and helpful pictures. I found at a garage sale a small antique table with little drp-leaf sides. There is some damage to the veneer that I had no clue what I could do to fix it. Now you have given me the tools. My only question is what if I want to keep the piece stained and not paint it. Do I need to sand down the entire table to re-stain it?
You are welcome!! You could strip it and re-stain it, or follow instructions like in this post: http://www.rootsandwingsfurniture.com/blog/restainingcabinets
It will save you some work but still give you the stained look. Hope that helps!
Thankyou for the tips about how to repair damaged furniture, this is so useful. I will try it at home, because i have table in my house that’s little damaged, with slightly broken and the color faded. I will repair my table to make that’s like a new. kuhlhome.com
Yes, you are welcome! It’s a great trick to know how to do!!
My problem is that the ornate drawer pulls on my moms 1950s bedroom furniture are coming off. One drawer pull was repaired by a furniture refinisher about 8 years ago and the repair failed about 4 years ago. The screws no longer have small enough holes or they are stripped. Since each drawer had a decorative pull (a long rectangle creating a square) I removed the loose pull so that I can open the drawer without a problem. But the pulls are beautiful and I would like to reattach them somehow. Now the bottom drawer in my 1969 dresser has lost one of the slides on the side. I am using boot boxes in the open space to hold my nightgowns. (I blame M. Kondo as it broke when I used her folding tricks to put more stuff into the drawer…It was too heavy.) I put wood toned contact paper on the ends of the boxes. Please note: This furniture was expensive and I would like to keep using it and pass it on to my children.