Wood Filling Epoxy Paste

PC-Products Wood Repair Epoxy Paste and Wood Hardener Kit is a wood rot remedy to use in order to avoid a major repair job. It is an easy enough product for a DIYer to use and work with. No real special tools are needed. The PC Woody paste is a 2 part epoxy (part A and part B) wood resin which has a chemical cleanup with acetone. The PC Petrifier is a liquid type glue which has a H2O cleanup with regular water. The hardened epoxy is easy to sand, by hand and using regular sandpaper. The epoxy doesn't sag very much and has a long enough working time, even in 85 degree sunny weather, when using it in small mixed batches. You fill holes, crevices and depressions with a glob of the epoxy but it will take longer for it to set up, dry and begin curing. You can build up the epoxy in layers, even after sanding it. It takes primer and paint well. The PC Petrifier is to be used after exposing the rotted wood area and cleaning out as much rot as you can reasonably do with out taking out everything or at least cleaning and prepping the area as if you were going to just be painting it--meaning, get it to reasonably sound and clean state which may involve sanding, removing the debris, then wiping down with isopropyl alcohol. The PC Petrifier is a liquid and the best way to apply it if it is not a flat horizontal surface is to paint it on with a small sponge brush from a disposable plastic cup. Be warned that it can get messy and dries like hardened glue to whatever it gets on so tape off the sounding areas and really tape off below the area with perhaps plastic sheeting overlaid with newspaper to soak up the drips and have a rag and bucket of water nearby toe wipe if necessary. The PC Petrifier will soak into the wood as much as the wood will take and then dries to a darker hardness. Here is what I used (and recommend to use) for repairing about 10 window sills on my house that had various degrees of weathering/aging conditions, the worst being on the south side: disposable gloves, multiple pairs; a rectangular 5"x8" or so piece of thick plastic or plexiglass that is smooth to mix the 2 part epoxy on and use as a pallette to apply the epoxy from; a 1 1/2" putty knife with the corners slightly eased or at least not sharp pointy to mix the epoxy, apply it to the surface and shape with; 2 popsicle sticks or a pint stir stick cut down to similar size,then clearly mark one A and the other B (for each of the epoxy parts); acetone, at least a quart to start; paper towels, lots; painter's blue tape, enough to tape off areas where you don't want epoxy to get on and may want to use paper in conjunction with the tape to cover more as needed; wax paper if filling crevices next to surfaces you don't want epoxy to get on and bond to; paper to tape off surrounding areas as needed, any paper but newspaper or painters paper work well; a small wood rasp, like Stanley tools small 8 inch that is shaped with flat side and a rounded side, each side is half rough and half finer for rapsing and can easily knock down the dried high edges and boogers left from applying the epoxy; sandpaper in 60/80 grits and 100/120 grits to smooth out the dried epoxy; and, acetone, or isopropyl alcohol to wipe the finished sanded surface. Things to remember about epoxy in 2 parts: READ the directions, watch some videos to see how people do it and suggestions, even the dumbs one, so you get an understanding of the product and what to do with it; the size of each epoxy container is going to be doubled in totality so 6 ounces of part A and 6 ounces of part B equals 12 ounces; it is better to get only as much as you think you need but always prepare to get a bit more; the PC Petrifier seems to go a long way in comparison to the epoxy but definitely use what the repair area can soak in; keep each epoxy container well marked, like a A on one lid and B on the other, and closed when not scooping some out; only take out small amounts of epoxy to mix at a time because it does start to get harder to work with in 20-30 minutes time and you can always mix more; when you measure the PC Woody epoxy parts for mixing, use one popsicle stick for only that container of epoxy and wipe it clean with a paper towel soaked in acetone after getting the epoxy part off the stick and set it aside then do the same with the other epoxy part--scoop, deposit, clean and set aside; mix thoroughly the two parts of epoxy for at least 30 seconds to 1 minute, it should like light brown like fluff-n-nutter/peanut butter mixed with marshmallow; smear on the mixed epoxy and smooth it out as much as possible--PC Products says you can smooth it out with acetone to minimize sanding later but I found it to be a little difficult to not make a bigger mess so using the putty knife and layering was better for me even if it took a little more time to get to the final sand; warmer air and direct sunlight cuts down the epoxy work time so you may have to move faster at applying it during certain times of the day/season; let the dry fully,which is 24-48 hours before sanding because it will gum up and ruin the epoxy layer you had put on and need repair; if doing multiple layers, perfecting the smoothness of the repair, and sanding in between, wipe the surface down with acetone or rubbing alcohol to remove the dust; use wax paper, not parchment paper, to stick between the areas where you are putting the epoxy and where you do not want to end up with epoxy (see photos 4 & 5 show where I had to fill in missing wood at the bottom of the sill but I did not want it to seal or get on the siding below); CLEAN your plastic palette and putty knife after each time you apply the epoxy with acetone and paper towel so that you take off any residue and refresh those surfaces--your tools will not get gummed up and you will be able to mix more epoxy without issues; and, take your time. Also, if you need to attach something to what you are repairing, PC Products make a 2 part epoxy adhesive in a syringe for that--it worked great, did not sag and held a 1/4" piece of wood good as I went nailed it. I have used the PC Woody Epoxy and PC Petrifier years ago and I think the repair made then, although on wood in direct contact with the gravel on the ground, is still holding up. I am banking on that what I accomplished with the window sills will be as effective or more so because I don't want to revisit this particular house maintenance issue again. I can definitely tell you NOT to use Bondo on wood as was recommended to me years ago because it does not hold up at all. Bondo is actually more difficult to work with in my opinion, too. I recommend PC Woody.

Worked well on our wicher chairs. The light brown color almost matched that of the chairs. It takes a little effort to thoroughly mix the parts but once done and applied, it hardens well. I let it sit overnight before sanding it.

Works great

They only seem to sell this in a light wood color, which is odd because it barely darkens when you apply stain. YOU ALSO CAN'T PRE-MIX IN STAIN. Maybe oil-based stain would work but PC recommends not mixing with anything liquid. The water-based stain I tried pre-mixing actually left the wood filler like soft rubber even after five days of curing. A comment on my review mentioned that the PC Woody web site says you're supposed to buy dry pigments to add to the filler in order to tint it. I tried to use some online color mixing tools to figure out what color I needed to mix in but the colors I came up with were not even close. It seems real materials don't behave like RGB colors. Unable to find anyone recommending tools or methods of color matching other than experimentation, I picked a dark reddish brown that was the same hue and shade as a stained piece of wood but much lower luminance (using an hsl color picker). Since it was so dark, it only took about 10% pigment to get a stained filler that matched fairly well. The color was "burnt umber" from Earth Pigments Company and I was matching a redwood-toned stain on pine. Since the wood darkens more than the putty when you stain it, you have to pre-color it to be darker than the wood, but not as dark as the stain. The putty turns a disturbingly purplish hue with 5-10% pigment mixed in but ends up matching the wood pretty closely after you stain them both. I don't think you'll ever match it exactly but it's worlds better than untinted putty.Keep in mind that tinting makes more go to waste. I can no longer fill a bunch of voids and stop halfway through one. When I mix another batch, it won't be exactly the same color so filling the other half of where I stopped won't look so great. So you have to stop wherever you think you won't have enough to complete the next void and waste the rest of the batch. If it's still soft enough I suppose you could try mixing some new stuff into the previous batch.As other reviewers have mentioned, the filler is sticky. I think that helps it bond well to wood because when I accidentally cracked a piece of hardened putty off the wood, the putty took a layer of wood with it - no part of the putty pulled away from the wood it had been touching. Unfortunately the stickiness makes it stick to your tool as well, so as you try to smear it into a hole it will pull away from one side of the hole because it's sticking to the tool. You can keep pushing it down and working it back and forth until it bonds well to the wood, but you can't get a very smooth finish unless you use denatured alcohol on your tool. I later discovered that using a metal putty knife such as Allway Tools 1-1/2-Inch Stiff Nylon Handle Putty Knife works much better than a plastic putty knife for smoothing. Even with metal, it's pretty inevitable that you'll have to sand it thoroughly after it dries or it just looks sloppy. With some practice and the use of alcohol it may be possible to get it smooth and avoid much sanding, but my attempts at that didn't feel any faster than just sanding it. When it's closer to dry I think the alcohol trick would be a lot more successful but I haven't bothered since I'm going to be sanding everything. I also read someone say you can wait for it to "almost" harden and then shave it smooth with a sharp chisel putty knife as if it were hard cheese, but I haven't tried that.Once dry it's stronger than wood, though still possible to gouge with a fingernail and enough force. It sands at about the same rate as the wood around it. It cuts more easily than wood with a sharp knife and almost feels like very hard rubber as you're cutting. It also absorbs some stain - more stain than water-based Elmers - but it doesn't darken very much. Water will soak into it just like stain will, so it has some amount of porousness. But water won't disintegrate or weaken it - it didn't budge when a 1900psi pressure washer was placed a couple inches above it. Dried stain doesn't crack off of it like it does on Elmers.I also think PC Woody smells kind of nice, like wet wood, and it doesn't contain anything too toxic like the non-water based single-part fillers. The can warns that epoxy resin can irritate skin but I've gotten it on my fingers and had no reaction. It's also nice to be able to make a big batch and have an hour to work with it instead of trying to beat the clock with single-part fillers or having to keep popping open the single-part filler can and hammer it closed every time you remove a small amount. It also won't dry out when stored in the can for too many years like at least some single-part fillers.Since it contains real wood it hopefully will behave somewhat like real wood and expand/contract with the humidity so it won't crack away from what it's filling, but I have no idea if that's the case. I do know the few places I used it on the deck survived a winter and maybe 25 days covered in snow without any problem. I've read that Bondo (often recommended for outdoor wood repair if you paint over it to hide its odd color) is too hard and doesn't expand/contract so it can crack away from what it was used to repair over the years. As far as I can tell, PC Woody does not expand or contract at all as it dries or even a year later.One other important thing I noticed - there's one hardware store in our mountain community that all the contractors go to for supplies and I've noticed they seem to only carry the best brands due to lack of space. PC Woody is the only epoxy filler they carry so that must mean something. However, they have a much larger section of single-part Famowood in all sorts of tints. I actually found a can of Famowood that came with our house and the can looks really old but it still works. It's too dark for my purposes but I did a little test with it and it's pretty good other than I hate the acetone smell and it hardens too quickly. Didn't try it outside.Oh and the PC Woody can says it's made in the USA so that's a big plus.The second can of this filler I bought seems slightly thicker and harder to mix than the first can. It also seems slightly less sticky, which makes it slightly easier to smooth, but I worry it won't bond as well to the wood. I also found that it started to get unusably stiff and less sticky after only 15-20 minutes, much faster than the batch from the older can I'd been using immediately before opening the new can. I originally thought the second can was defective and curing too quickly, but I think the problem was actually that I mixed too much of it. From what I've read, if you mix a big blob of it, the heat of the curing process builds up more in the core of the blob and it hardens faster. I mixed a smaller batch and it stays workable longer. You can also spread a larger batch out as a thinner layer on a mixing surface instead of making a blob. I still feel like the second cans might be hardening a little faster than the first cans, but it's hard to be sure.Finally, this filler is really expensive compared to real wood. I thought the 48 oz cans would last forever, but I'm already running low for my project. When I got down to 1/3 a can left, I thought of mixing in chunks of real wood in amongst the epoxy filler in the larger voids. I tried using chunks left by a tree chipper machine but almost all had heavy damage to the wood. Since voids created by dryrot are long and somewhat triangular and fairly straight (as rot follows the grain), I cut 2" off the end of a 2x4 and used a chisel to break it up into small strips. Many strips were triangular and some square - a good mix. I then fit these into the rot pockets like a puzzle before epoxying. I lifted each wood chunk, laid epoxy paste under it, pressed it in, then filled in around and sometimes over it. Of course doing it that way takes a lot more time, but it does save a lot of filler. The filler was almost too hard to work before I finished with it, so remember to mix less than usual.

Excellent results. Very easy to use

This stuff REALLY REALLY WORKS !!! on rotted wood. A lifesaver if need a to stabilize , a bottom & rails on an old porch.

This package combo of Woody and the PC petrifier is the way to go. I had a vertical support post that had dry rot which was 1/4 in deep and was 3 inches wide by 4 inches high. I chipped out the real bad rot then I drilled several 1/4 holes into it as directions stated and then I totally soaked it with the Petrifier and let that set for 24 hours. The next day it was hardened and no softness at all. Then I mixed the two P.C Woody together and applied with a large hand trowel while applying pressure to the trowel and forcing the mix into the holes that were drilled the day before. This saved me so many hours of work and I have no doubts that it will last for many years. I hope this helps you decide what to do.

Product was fine but did not take a stain so had to add a pigment powder.