(NEWSnet) - This time around on Jill of All Trades, Jill shows us how to patch a damaged piece of furniture with putty. Jill found this dresser on Facebook Marketplace. It was a great deal. It just need a little repair work.

While this piece looks pretty good and functions well, it is not a piece of fine furniture. It’s made from particle board, not solid wood. Still, it’s worth repairing and using.

Jill’s favorite product for patching furniture is Durham’s Water Putty. It’s a powdered product that is easy to find, inexpensive, and easy to work with. You just mix it with water to make it into a paste.  The putty is easy to shape when it's wet and easy to sand once it’s dry. It also dries very hard and is very durable.

Jill sometimes mixes the putty with a little white glue mixed in, as well. She feels that the glue helps it stick to the piece a little better.

All you do is put a little of the Durham’s powder in a paper cup (or whatever container is appropriate of the project you’re working on) and add enough water (or water + glue) to make a paste-like consistency for the putty. Then you apply it to whatever you are patching.

Because this piece is particle board, the putty wasn’t sticking as well as it might to other surfaces. To remedy this, before she started, Jill drilled a couple small holes into the damaged spot. Jill pushed the putty into the holes first before she started to cover the rest of the damaged spot.

Just having the putty in the holes will help anchor the patch. On top of that, though, Durham’s swell a bit as it dries, so having it expanding into the holes, will really help keep the patched spot solid.

Once she had the putty pushed into the holes, Jill then proceeded to build up the putty over the rest of the damaged spot. She built it up higher than she needed, knowing that she was going to sand it back down, once it was dry.

Durham’s dries fairly quickly, but Jill let it set for days before coming back to sand it. If you damage the patch, or sand it too much, Jill says you can come back and add some more Durham's and build your patch up again.

Once the patch is sanded, shaped and smoothed to Jill’s satisfaction, the piece is ready to paint.  Unfortunately, in this case, Jill can’t just paint the patched part. She’s going to have to repaint the whole piece. Jill says not to sweat that. Ultimately, the dresser is going to end up looking brand new.

Jill will show the sanding and painting process on a future Jill of All Trades episode.

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