: I have found it to be much more satisfactory to precoat with epoxy before
: doing the filling. If bare wood is filled and because I cannot match the
: wood exactly, every place I smear the epoxy filler leaves a blotch that is
: very difficult to completly sand off if the bare wood is filled. If the
: epoxy coat is on first, it keeps the filler from getting in the wood
: pores. As to sanding it is very easy to use a scraper and scrape down the
: filler patch without going through the epoxy precoat. Also with a precoat
: I can see the shade of the finished wood more closely and get a better
: match.
: Earl

I tried the Durhams putty but could not get it the consistancy I wanted. I do think it is the best filler if you can make it work. When I fill with thickened epoxy, I use masking tape on both sides of the fill, no matter how narrow it is. This prevents most of the discoloring, just scrape off the high spot. I also agree with filling before seal coat so you dont sand off seal coat when removing excess filler.

Larry C.