This is how to make colored epoxy wood filler. In this post, I’ll show you how to add color to epoxy and use it as an effective wood filler. Enjoy.
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Updated 2023
Colored Epoxy Wood Filler
Two part epoxy is a great alternative to traditional wood fillers. This is a two-part, reactive product that is made by mixing two different ingredients. Once they are mixed, the reaction begins, and the product hardens.
The benefit to using epoxy for your wood filler instead of using standard putty style fillers is that epoxy also acts as an adhesive. This means it also grabs on to the surrounding wood much stronger as it fills your defects.
Since most epoxy is clear, the next logical step when using it as a wood filler is to simply add some color to the mixture. You can create a batch that looks just like the surrounding wood, and that will make your fills very difficult to point out.
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See Also: How to Use Wood Filler
Benefits of Colored Epoxy Filler
There are several different benefits to using epoxy that is tinted to match the surrounding wood color instead of using standard filler pastes. This is what makes epoxy wood filler so much better to use.
One of the key benefits is that epoxy sets up into a very dense material that is extremely difficult to remove. It doesn’t shrink, move around, or alter in shape in any way. This is great, because you don’t have to worry about your fills getting loose over time.
Epoxy also sands really well, which means it’s a quick process to level out any areas that you have to fill in your project. That keeps you moving forward, and that’s always a good thing.
See Also: 17 Important Tips on How to Sand Wood
Start With Good Epoxy
The biggest thing that you can do to get yourself started off on the right foot is to start with a really good epoxy product. In most cases, if you start with a brand name that you recognize, you’ll do just fine.
Most companies that make two part epoxy create a very good product that has a long track record of success. They have been around for a while and millions of woodworkers that rely on them, so it’s in their best interest to serve up good epoxy.
If you have absolutely no idea, start with a middle of the road priced two-part epoxy with a 60 minute open time. That will give you plenty a room for mixing in your color pigments, and it still takes 24 hours to cure either way while you really don’t save any time with the five minute variety.
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See Also: How to Choose the Best Epoxy Resin for Wood
Buy Compatible Pigments
The next thing that you need to get is a pigment product that is compatible with the epoxy product that you are going to use to create colored wood filler. This is pretty easy, because most pigments play well with epoxy.
You can find pigments in a liquid form or in a powder form, and each of these work well when creating colored epoxy. No matter which product you choose, follow the directions to create the color, and your epoxy will look outstanding.
The only thing you might need to pay a little bit of attention to or possibly learn is some color theory, and that’s coming up in the next section. Once you know how colors work together, you can literally create any color you choose.
See Also: How to Fill Cracks in Wood With Epoxy
Color Theory for Making Tinted Epoxy
Mixing colored epoxy definitely a lot more of a process than just dumping a bunch of pigment into your epoxy and stirring. To hit your target color, you need to understand some color theory in order to know what colors need to be mixed together.
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Thankfully, it is fairly basic. The only thing you really need to do is practice mixing your colors together and hitting different target colors. Since most wood comes in shades of tan and brown, those should be the colors that you practice with the most.
One quick tip that is super helpful when it comes to matching colors is to think more about what color you need to add to your existing color to change it to be closer to your target. This is very different than trying to hit the target directly.
Remember, once you have a little bit of pigment in your mixture you’re not trying to hit the target as much as you’re trying to modify your existing color to get to the target. For that to happen, it’s more like an addition problem than just coming up with the exact color.
See Also: 15 Helpful Tips for Doing Epoxy Inlay in Wood
Mix Epoxy and Pigments Together
When you do mix your pigments, you want to make sure you do everything you can to ensure that the product is blended very well. The last thing you want to have his little bumps or uneven sections in your color, because they will be easy to see.
This mixing is going to be done by hand, because the batches are very small. If this is the case with you, make sure that you scrape the walls of your vessel really well as you mix, and don’t be afraid to mix it for a couple minutes.
Spending a little extra time mixing the material is definitely worth it, especially if you destroy all of the random pockets of dense pigment, and prevent your project from being ruined. It’s definitely worth your time, so make sure you mix really well.
See Also: Woodworking Glossary
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Pour and Fill Your Cavity
When it’s finally time to pour, make sure that your cavity is clean, and that there are no exits out of the bottom for the epoxy to pour through. If there is an escape route, cover it with a piece of blue masking tape.
Pour the epoxy mixture with color into the cavity slowly, and stop when you get close to the top. You want to overfill the cavity slightly, so add a little extra epoxy if needed.
Continue around your entire project like this, and once everything is filled, allow it to cure to the recommended time by the manufacture. Also, if the pigment that you use suggests allowing more time, then make sure to leave that additional time as well before you start sanding.
See Also: 19 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started Woodworking
People Also Ask
Is epoxy wood filler better than wood filler? Epoxy wood filler can be better than regular wood filler, and that is because the epoxy acts as more of an adhesive than wood filler. This means a more secure fill that will resist breaking loose or falling out over time. It can also help keep a split or abcess from getting larger as time goes on.
Can wood filler be colored? Yes, wood filler can be colored, and there are a number of products on the market to do that. Mixol tints are one of th emost common, and they are available online and in stores.
Can I use epoxy as wood filler? You can absolutely use epoxy as wood filler, you just need to take a few steps to color match it so that it not only fills the void, but looks good as well.
Your Action Assignment
Now that you know everything you need to know about making colored epoxy wood filler in your shop, it’s time to get out there and take action. This is actually a really fun process, and it can be super helpful on your projects.
If you’ve never done this type of a fill before, I recommend that you purchase some epoxy online, and also grab some pigments. Once they get home, head out into the shop and start mixing some colors.
From there, you can use a hammer to create some holes that need to be filled on a scrap piece of wood, and you can test fill with your epoxy. Once it’s fully cured, sand the fills level, and see how well you did. I’m sure you’ll enjoy the process.
If you have any questions about tinting epoxy and using it for wood filler, Contact Me and I’ll be happy to answer it. Happy building.
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