I am nearing the end of my flooring project. I need to fill the nail holes in the last couple rows where it was face nailed. What is the preferred material and method for filling holes? I have purchased a couple different products and hardwood store & hardware store and received a wide range of advice on the best way to fill holes.

I have 3" hard maple, factory finished (aluminum oxide, etc). Most of it is really light colored, with some variation. It seems like it would be easy enough to match, but the hole fills I tried really stand out on the light stuff. Interestingly enough, I have no trouble matching with a darker fill in the more "brown" boards.

Anyway, what do you guys usually use? Putty? Wax "crayon"? Something else? Do you need to clear coat it after filling?

Any suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks for all the help so far, it's been great!

I use color match wood filler, to match the woods color. Depends how big the holes are if they need a little finish to blend. My holes are so small, they are not visible unless it is a light color wood.

floorguy, what type of nails do you use when face nailing?

mine are pretty noticable. It is real light flooring though.

Thanks.

Hemlock,

Have you tried taking a scrap of the maple and putting it on a belt sander and creating some sawdust, then mixing it with wood glue to a paste, and use that as your hole filler?

perryrip