How to Fix a Missing Chunk of Wood
There are so many reasons I love vintage furniture! Its uniqueness, character, and craftsmanship are just a few. And while these pieces have withstood the test of time, there are often repairs that are needed when giving them a new life. So let’s talk about how to fix a missing chunk of wood. This is not an uncommon issue. The next time you see damage like this, don’t pass on that piece, it’s totally fixable!
I’m going to share two examples here. The repair was similar for both, however, I used a slightly different process for each one. I will walk you through both repairs and share which I liked best. So let’s get started!
Fixing the missing wood chunk with a mold
Here are photos of both pieces when I found them. Both beautiful, vintage pieces with lots of character, but also some damage. I decided each one would be painted, so creating a mold to fill and replace the missing wood was the perfect option
Making a mold with a glue gun
For the first project, shown below, it was my first time trying to make a repair like this. After doint a little researhc, a technique that jumped out at me was using a glue gun to make a mold and then filling that mold with Bondo. This was perfect because I had everything I needed on hand and could get started right away.
I started by putting some vegetable oil on the leg (to keep the glue from sticking), and then covered it with a generous amount of glue from my glue gun. I let the glue cool completely and then peeled it from the intact leg.
Making a mold with putty
After using the glue gun method several times, I discovered Amazing Mold Putty that I wanted to try. It’s a two-part product that you mix together and then apply around an intact leg (similar to the glue except you don’t need to worry about the vegetable oil step). I used it on this larger dresser with a damaged leg.
Filling with Bondo
The magic ingredient in both fixes? Bondo! Each mold was ready to go and I decided to use Bondo as my filler because it doesn’t warp or shrink when it dries, it sands well, and will be solid and strong. More details on using Bondo can be found in this post here. Before filling the mold, I added some nails into the wood to increase the strength of the repair. Bondo bonds very well to metal, so adding these supports will prevent the entire piece from simply breaking off. I filled the mold with Bondo and then placed it on the leg, adding more Bondo as necessary to fill in the area.
The other great thing about Bondo is that it dries quickly. I held the mold in place until very firm to the touch and then gently peeled it away. And viola, a repaired leg that matches exactly!
I let the repair dry overnight just to be sure the Bondo was totally hardened all the way through. Then I sanded it back, and it was ready to prime and paint with the rest of the piece, following my steps on how to paint furniture. Pretty cool, right? Once painted I couldn’t see the repair at all!
My favorite way to fix a missing chunk of wood
Okay, so I showed you two ways to make a mold and fix a missing chunk of wood. Which one did I like better? The putty. While they both get the job done, I found the putty to be easier to work with. The mold itself was smoother and required less sanding at the end. And I didn’t have to worry about using vegetable oil and then cleaning that at the end (any residual oil could create adhesion issues for the paint. However, the glue gun method is great in a pinch, and I would definitely use it again if I ran out of the putty and didn’t want to run out or wait to order more.
Other Helpful articles:
- How to Fix Furniture: Common Repairs Before Painting
- Using Bondo to Repair Wood Furniture
- Update a Dresser by Cutting the Base
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