On 17 Jul 2006 07:06:46 -0700, "Chris"
wrote:

I need to smooth out lots of screw holes and various dings in some
plywood shelving. I was going to use wood filler putty but it seems so
hard to work with, not very smooth, kind of dry, crumbly, difficult to
spread. So I notice all these different spackling varieties at the
HD--"crack shot", "vinyl spackling", "fast and final" etc. They all
list wood as an acceptable substance, although I have always thought of
spackling in terms of repairing drywall dings. The spacking seems to
spread on much more easily than the wood filler.

So, what's the best product to use for filling lots of holes in some
wood that will be sanded & painted (oil based paint)? Will the
spacking perform well, or is there some reason to stick with the wood
filler stuff? I was using Elmer's wood filler.

I'm sure Kevin's advice is good, and I'm not saying not to use wood
filler, which sounds like it would be the right thing.

But I have to tell my story about spackle.

Bought a new vinyl roll floor for my apartment, then went home to take
up the old floor, before they installed the new one the next day.
Found some holes or uneven spots underneath it, and stores were closed
and didn't have anything else so I filled them with spackle. I'm sure
I stepped on these spots many times, but it seemed fine for the 8
remaining years I lived there.

It may be of course that the spackle crumbled into powder and the
powder filled up the hole as well as something solid would. Never
looked under it again.

Thanks,
Chris