The 8 Best Wood Fillers 2025

This water-based wood filler dries in about 15 minutes without shrinking or cracking, which allows you to start sanding, staining, and painting right away. It works for both interior and exterior projects and accepts stain and paint like natural wood. Available in multiple colors—including dark ebony, cherry, and walnut—this filler has a great chance of matching your wood’s natural color.

There’s very little odor to deal with while using this filler, and it’s a breeze to clean up. The smooth texture scoops well and quickly fills in those pesky finish nail holes and smaller assembly gaps, but if your gaps are on the larger side, this probably isn’t your wood filler of choice.

This water-based filler comes in a wide range of colors to match specific wood species, including Brazilian cherry, mahogany, and walnut. You can also use the “natural” version and tint it yourself. Just be warned that it doesn’t have the most pleasant smell, though the odor is neutralized during the drying process.

The wide opening of the jar makes it easy to scoop and put back what you don’t use—unlike tubes that can be a mess. And if it dries out, just add water to bring this filler back to life. Because of possible chemical reactions with low-grade steel, Timbermate recommends applying this filler with only stainless steel or plastic tools.

This user-friendly filler changes color from purple to white when dry, letting you know exactly when you can sand or stain it. This eliminates the chances of accidentally starting your finishing process too quickly, which could force you to start the whole process over again.

It’s a water-based filler that cleans up easily with a little water and accepts water-based paints after just two hours. (Other paint types should wait 24 hours.) Unlike fillers packed in squeezable tubes, this easy-access tub provides a nice wide opening to easily scoop up with your putty knife. The only downside to this filler is that it’s not meant for outdoor applications.

When it comes to wood putty, it doesn’t get better than this. I’ve used this exact product on several furniture repair projects, and I’m a big fan of its overall strength and versatility. You simply knead this two-part epoxy together by hand, which gives you about 15 to 20 minutes of application time before it starts to set.

While this product lacks the absorbency to accept stain, the manufacturer states that you can mix stain in during the kneading process to achieve a specific color. If you need to fill wider gaps or recreate damaged surfaces and edges, consider this putty over a much thinner wood filler.

This solvent-based filler lacks the convenient clean-up of water-based fillers, but its superior durability makes it ideal for exterior applications. It dries harder than most wood species, which creates an extremely strong bond and surface to screw into or paint.

The tube is pretty small, and although it doesn’t provide the wide opening that would make scooping with a putty knife very easy, the narrow opening easily squeezes into holes and small crevices. Plus, since it closes securely, it reduces the chances of drying out. Just be sure you have some mineral spirits on hand for cleaning up any excess after applying.

You can make your own wood filler in pinch by combining wood glue (I exclusively use Titebond wood glue for all carpentry projects) and a sawdust from your workpiece. This closely replicates the color of the wood and gives you the ability to customize the thickness of the filler for a range of applications.

Through this process, you also get the added benefit of the glue’s superior adhesive qualities. But while I’ve had success with this technique in the past, the wood glue binder doesn’t accept stain very well, so go with a dedicated filler product if that’s a priority.

Minwax Natural Stainable Wood Filler accepts both oil- and water-based stains well. It comes with a very detailed manual, which makes it one of the more user-friendly options on the list for those who are new to wood fillers. Although its sandy texture applies easily and fills in small cracks and holes, it lacks both the thickness needed for larger gaps and the thin viscosity for grain filling, which limits its effectiveness.

It also takes a bit longer to dry than most wood fillers—Minwax recommends two to six hours—but that extra time is a worthy compromise if the ability to beautifully accept staining is a priority for your woodworking project.