Can you stain over an area where you had to use wood filler or do you

Shawn ellison
by Shawn ellison
I am using the top of an old broken dresser as the top of a coffee table. I had to use wood filler on several holes and gouges. I would prefer stain to paint.

  5 answers
  • Mary Coakley Mary Coakley on Feb 16, 2018

    Yes no problem

  • Zita Braun Zita Braun on Feb 16, 2018

    What you can do is a little cheating using craft paints and texturing tools to make it look like the surrounding area. Let it dry then put a sealer over it so it will not rub off over time. Do not pledge over it just dry dust. this works. I used to do stuff like this on certain things for a living. I won't say what.

  • Ken Ken on Feb 16, 2018

    You certainly can use stain but it will not make the filler disappear. If you don't care for the appearance you could possibly drill where the filler is to make the plugs more even and incorporate them into a design.

  • Sunimae Sunimae on Feb 16, 2018

    Yes, but they might absorb the stain darker than the surroundings, and you'll have dots and gouge-shaped markings. If the top is wood (I'm assuming) and you don't like the dots and gouge shapes, you can use use water-clean-up paint and a very fine tipped brush, (and your innate DIY skills) to blend the dots and gouges into the grain, or make them more irregular, like natural knotholes. If you don't like the end result, water-based paint can be removed by acetone even after it dries. NOTE: Water-based paint (or even just water) can darken raw wood, but the oil-based stain will protect the wood, so do this after, not before, you stain. I had an antique table that was my grandmother's, but it had cigarette burnholes that I had to sand out, fill, and blend in, and it turned out pretty good if I do say so myself, and it was fun.

  • Amanda Amanda on Feb 16, 2018

    Hi Shawn. Most wood fillers are stainable. Good Luck!