Furniture, Wood and Cabinetry Finishing - Wood Filler

I just had new pella windows installed. Now it is time to stain and finish the windows. The casing was put up with a brad nailer with a tiny head.

So the nail holes are VERY small, but they tell me i need to still fill them. But i am not sure. I can never find anything that matches well, when i use filler.

Any tips, advice?

I have never found a wood filler that takes stain well (to match the surrounding wood), so using filler before you stain may not be the answer. Your best bet is to locate small jars of colored nail putty, there are several brands (Dap, Minwax), and fill the nail holes AFTER you have stained and sealed the wood. Sealing the wood first, before using the nail putty, will prevent the nail putty from discoloring the wood around your nail holes. After the nail putty has been applied you apply the rest of the coats of finish.

If you cannot find an exact match, you may have to buy 2 or more colors and combine small amounts in your hand until you have the desired color.

So far I've only tried Minwax Stainable Wood Filler. It's decent but not spectacular. It takes stain like a champ, but it has a weird, granular appearance in contrast to the surrounding wood.

You can mix small amounts of universal colorant with certain types of wood filler. I've done it for my customers before, but it takes a great deal of trial and error. Most wood fillers take very small fractions of regular paint formulas (disregard any white pigment, and calculate the formula for a 'clear' or 'deep' base)

I second the recomendation for using colored putty after the staining and 1st coat of sealer/poly is applied. I usually mix several different colors [by utilizing 2 or more jars] to better match the wood - lighter putty for lighter areas, darker for darker, etc.

Someone suggested doing nothing and letting the stain fill the holes. The holes were made by a small brad nailer. Is this even an option?

Also let me make sure i understand the above suggestions. Apply the nail putty AFTER the first coat of poly. Correct?

What do i do to it from here? Obviously i can't sand it, correct?

18 gauge nails leave a small hole so I suppose if you are not too fussy they would be ok. Neither stain or paint is thick enough to adequaetly fill the nail holes.

After staining and sealing, use color putty to fill nail holes. basically you take a ball of colored putty and push it into the nail hole in a twisting motion, wiping it even with surface either using your finger or a putty knife.

While putty isn't exactly sandable there shouldn't be any problems with sanding the trim [including over the putty] which will also help to make the putty level.

You will then need to apply 1 or more coats of poly/varnish over the wood.