teak rail holes

[KEVMAR]

what is good to use on filling holes in the teak railing left by unwanted items. thank you

 

[Carolena]

Depending on the size, you could drill out the hole and glue in a teak bung, similar to how they fill and hide screw holes on handrails. The only other thing I've done in the past is to mix up some teak sawdust or sanding dust with epoxy to create a paste and fill with that. Once you sand and varnish it is difficult to pick out the repair from any distance. You can also purchase paste/putty fillers at the hardware store, but you may have trouble getting a good color match.

 

[TDunn]

I prefer bungs to using epoxy with fillers. Drill out the holes with a forstner bit, epoxy the bungs in, cut and sand flush.

 

[kchace]

I prefer to use teak bungs. They're available almost everywhere. You drill out to the smallest standard size that will take care of the hole 1/4, 3/8 etc. glue it in. Then sand and varnish as usual.

Ken

 

[koliver]

I have had good success with teak bungs. If you have a lot to do you can make your own, the cutters are inexpensive.
I have had failures with epoxy/sawdust. It has turned out to be much darker than the surrounding teak paneling. The epoxy/sawdust doesn't fade, the varnished woodwork it is in does.

 

[DHeckrotte]

Teak bungs are dandy, West's epoxy with their filleting filler works fine. The advantage to the West is that you 'wet out' the hole before filling; the neat epoxy fills the cracks and deeper part of the screw hole.

And if you don't think so after a coat of varnish/cetol then get out your sharpest Forstner, drill out the epoxy and bung in a bung!

 

[C lectric]

Another vote for teak plugs.

 

[Aft Deck Capt]

If the holes are deep or in a crowded pattern, odd location or have an elliptical opening, I will use epoxy thickened with wood flour. You can tint the epoxy with "oil soluble" aniline dye. I've had good results using System 3 Gel Magic epoxy. The wood flour they sell is very fine and mixes in without being lumpy.
Even if you don't hit the tint dead on it will still look great and never be a moisture intrusion point.