That time a customer's complaint made me rethink how I fix furniture

I used to just slap wood filler on any scratch or dent and call it a day. Then this lady in her 60s came in and said my repair looked like a 'band-aid on a corpse' because the color was off. She showed me how to mix sawdust from the same wood with glue to match the grain exactly. Now I spend an extra 10 minutes on color matching and the jobs look way better. Has anyone else had a customer's feedback totally change your go-to repair method?

2 comments

2 Comments

margaret_nelson1mo ago

Mixing sawdust with glue is fine for small stuff but it's not some magic fix all. I've tried that method on deeper gouges and the filler shrinks and cracks after a few months because the glue dries different than the wood around it. Plus if you're working with stained furniture good luck matching that sawdust blend to the existing finish. Wood filler has its place especially on painted pieces where color matching matters less. I'd rather use a quality filler and sand it flat than deal with a patch that looks good for a week then craps out.

loganhart1mo ago

Hate when that happens. Try using epoxy instead of wood glue next time - it doesn't shrink near as much and holds up way better on deep repairs. Just gotta be quick with sanding before it fully cures.