Screw Hole Repair Suggestions

cobraguy

Clay
Corporate Member
I recently bought a new (to me) desk for my office. It's in pretty good shape for a used piece, but there is one thing I need to address before putting it in place. The previous owner mounted something to the side of the desk leaving four holes in the veneer. I have a few ideas on how to clean things up a bit, but am interested in the collective wisdom from the group. I'm under no illusion I can make the holes disappear, but I would like to blend them somehow so they don't stand out so much. Here are a few pics of what I'm dealing with. Thanks for any suggestions.

185255


185256


185257
 

SteveColes

Steve
Corporate Member
Do have any place on the desk that you could cut a veneer patch that would not be very noticeable?
 

TENdriver

New User
TENdriver
Clay, Some questions about where the holes are located.

Is this for a CEO type office and the holes are on the front (as on the part everyone sees) of the desk where everyone who walks in might notice a repair?

Or, are the holes on the sides or back where it’s likely nobody would notice...and I mean nobody would notice (besides yourself) even if you didn’t repair the holes.

I’m no expert (I’ve done a couple) but under the majority of circumstances, Charlie’s suggestion will be by far the easiest and probably 100% effective.

OTOH, a reasonably done veneer patch also can work, but you are increasing the number variables that can end up requiring attention. For example, grain, surface texture, color, top finish and general blending of the area.

Personally, I would start with the crayons (and this part is important) and then live with that repair for quite awhile before I would move towards a patch. In my experience, what seems obvious at first glance, will totally disappear the second you quit focusing on the repair.

Assuming you don’t have severe OCD!!!

Besides, you can try the crayons first, and still do a patch if you hate the crayons.
 

gmakra

New User
George
I would hammer the high spots to as close as level as you can get.
Take a steam iron over a damp rag to lift the dents.
Mix some fine saw dust with glue and fill the holes.
Then use color match crayons to blend it.
 

Graywolf

Board of Directors, President
Richard
Staff member
Corporate Member
That is a shame, and not an easy repair. It may be that you can repair it but the repair will show. You can cut away some of the raised area and make the repair uneven with a sharp knife. Making sure there no loose material in the hole. You can then purchase (Mohawk is a good product) some burn in sticks and an inexpensive burn in iron (Klingspor has both). Using these products you can fill in the damaged areas and blend the color. Matching the grain and surface texture with some experimentation and a fine paint brush you can brush in the grain and blend into the finish. Now this is just a quick explanation of the process and you may want to experiment on a piece that you like a lot less than your desk. This is the process I use when making small repairs on cabinets. In most cases you can make the repair unnoticeable. Good luck and feel free to ask questions.
 

JimD

Jim
Senior User
I believe the burn in sticks Richard discusses are color shellac. I've never tried them but it might be a bit more durable than the colored crayons Charlie suggests. I've used the crayons multiple times, always successfully. I would buy an assortment - I don't think you can get a color match from a picture. If you get those areas flat first, I think a crayon will make them move to the background. They will be visible but will not draw your eye. For most purposes, they will not be seen. The degree to which they are visible depends on the color match. You could mix waxes from multiple crayons to improve the match but I never have. Just using the closest crayon gets me close enough for me. Sometimes the repair has been so good I could not find it later. Usually I can find it but only when I go looking for it.

The big advantage of these sort of repairs is they do not make the area any bigger. It is possible to drill our a hole and insert a plug, then stain it and finish it. But that increases the size of the problem area. The match has to be better to compensate. I believe it is almost always preferrable to not do anything that increases the size of the issue and just try and make it significantly less visible.
 

cobraguy

Clay
Corporate Member
Do have any place on the desk that you could cut a veneer patch that would not be very noticeable?
I could probably find an area in the knee well to take a patch from. This solution is one on my original list, but I'm not confident in my veneer skills. Could be an opportunity for practice.
 

cobraguy

Clay
Corporate Member
Clay, Some questions about where the holes are located.

Is this for a CEO type office and the holes are on the front (as on the part everyone sees) of the desk where everyone who walks in might notice a repair?

Or, are the holes on the sides or back where it’s likely nobody would notice...and I mean nobody would notice (besides yourself) even if you didn’t repair the holes.

I’m no expert (I’ve done a couple) but under the majority of circumstances, Charlie’s suggestion will be by far the easiest and probably 100% effective.

OTOH, a reasonably done veneer patch also can work, but you are increasing the number variables that can end up requiring attention. For example, grain, surface texture, color, top finish and general blending of the area.

Personally, I would start with the crayons (and this part is important) and then live with that repair for quite awhile before I would move towards a patch. In my experience, what seems obvious at first glance, will totally disappear the second you quit focusing on the repair.

Assuming you don’t have severe OCD!!!

Besides, you can try the crayons first, and still do a patch if you hate the crayons.
No, not a CEO office, just my study. They are on a prominent corner though and will be visible. Agree the crayons should be near the top of my list. I never thought about it, but you are correct. I can always go with the patch idea later no matter what.
 

cobraguy

Clay
Corporate Member
That is a shame, and not an easy repair. It may be that you can repair it but the repair will show. You can cut away some of the raised area and make the repair uneven with a sharp knife. Making sure there no loose material in the hole. You can then purchase (Mohawk is a good product) some burn in sticks and an inexpensive burn in iron (Klingspor has both). Using these products you can fill in the damaged areas and blend the color. Matching the grain and surface texture with some experimentation and a fine paint brush you can brush in the grain and blend into the finish. Now this is just a quick explanation of the process and you may want to experiment on a piece that you like a lot less than your desk. This is the process I use when making small repairs on cabinets. In most cases you can make the repair unnoticeable. Good luck and feel free to ask questions.
Have never heard of the burn in sticks. I'll have to research that. Sounds interesting, and I'm always up for trying something new.
 

cobraguy

Clay
Corporate Member
I would hammer the high spots to as close as level as you can get.
Take a steam iron over a damp rag to lift the dents.
Mix some fine saw dust with glue and fill the holes.
Then use color match crayons to blend it.
I had forgotten about the steam trick to raise dents. Thanks for the reminder!
 

Graywolf

Board of Directors, President
Richard
Staff member
Corporate Member
The burn in sticks are that shellac and colorant. The plus side with them is they are more durable in the long run, they are mixable so you can melt several colors together to achieve a match. The crayons are mixable as well.
Look up "touch up solutions" for the burn in sticks. Again I suggest practicing on something to get the hang of it. When I was first introduced to this material the gentleman who was teaching me stated, "sometimes you have to make it worse before you can make it better." It sounded like something my father would say.
 

Brantnative

Jeff
Corporate Member
I would cover it with a nice brass plate, perhaps inscribed with the date, your name or something else sentimental or nothing at all.
 

Jeff

New User
Jeff
Lots of interesting ways to fix that cosmetic blemish, but...
Is it really that objectionable after just tamping it down to smooth it out? Take a little dark wood stain and apply it to the white looking screw holes with a Q-Tip and live with it.
 

TENdriver

New User
TENdriver
Lots of interesting ways to fix that cosmetic blemish, but...
Is it really that objectionable after just tamping it down to smooth it out? Take a little dark wood stain and apply it to the white looking screw holes with a Q-Tip and live with it.


Jeff, In this case, past experience has shown that using these crayons or burn sticks is extremely effective at masking the damage.

There’s really very little risk and probably no reason to not attempt it. I think even an imperfect attempt with these products will camouflage the holes.

Some of the outcome from any repair comes down to whether or not you have serious OCD or you are able to accept that under some circumstances, good really is good enough. That’s why I suggested to use the products and then leave it alone for a long time. Let the camouflage do it’s job.
 

Graywolf

Board of Directors, President
Richard
Staff member
Corporate Member
Jeff, you do bring up an interesting point, how far down a particular rabbit hole dose one want to go. All of the options listed here including the brass plate and doing nothing are viable options. I'd say Clay has some decisions to make. It dose remind me of something.... I believe it's in my signature below.
Clay if you have any questions I'll try and help. There may be others better than I at such repairs and hopefully they will chime in.
 

Mike Davis

Mike
Corporate Member
A friend of my wife's asked me to repair a table leg that was damaged by movers. It was in my shop for a year then I asked danmart77 to look at it. He had it back to me in a couple weeks and I could not tell which leg had been broken. The veneer matched perfectly and the finish looked 40 years old just like the rest of the table. He even fixed a burnt spot on the top that we didn't ask him about because we thought it was beyond repair. And all at a very reasonable price that she was happy to pay.

I learned my lesson, when it comes to furniture repairs that really need to be invisible I leave it to an expert. There is just too much I don't know and too many ways to wreak a nice piece of wood.
 

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