Neat Wood Putty Trick

Putting wood filler putty into small holes where finish nails have been countersunk can be a pain - not the application of the putty, but the cleanup thereafter. The problem is that putty doesn't stain to the same color as the surrounding wood, and any putty that exceeds the boundaries of the hole will seep into the wood slightly, causing a larger area of discoloration when the stain is later applied.

There are many ways to deal with this issue. We discussed this topic in our article on Matching Wood Fillers & Stains.

However, Ted Raife at Woodsmith has come up with a neat little wood putty trick, one that might be worth trying.

One note of caution that comes to mind: Ted is using masking tape as part of this "trick." Be sure that none of the adhesive from the masking tape remains after removal, or this could affect the staining of the wood as well.