Using G/5 as a clear filler for dented varnished trim

A few years ago a customer approached me at one of the trade shows to say he loves our G/5 Five-Minute Adhesive for filling dents in wood trim prior to reapplying varnish. I thought what a great idea. It cures clear, can be wet sanded in an hour (longer if you are dry sanding) and can be varnished over without a problem. It looks much better than filling with wood putty because it is clear. It can be difficult matching the surrounding wood color when filling with wood putty.

I used his tip the last time I prepared my wood strip canoe for a fresh coat of varnish. It had picked up a few dents over the previous 15 years. The best time to identify dents is after sanding the hull with a palm sander. The dents remained shiny because the sander wouldn’t dip into low spots. I abraded the dings with a 3M Scotch Bright™ abrasive pad to dull the shine prior to applying the G/5. Filling the dents with G/5 took about thirty minutes. On the sides of the boat where the epoxy was prone to running away, I covered the uncured epoxy with clear packaging tape and removed it a short time later after theG/5 cured. The repairs are absolutely transparent and difficult to detect once a coat of varnish is applied.

Abrade the dings with an abrasive pad to dull the shine.

After filling the dents, cover the uncured epoxy with clear packaging tape.

The repairs are transparent and difficult to detect.

How will these repairs hold up over time? 

To be sure we weren’t recommending something that would lose clarity over time, we dented several varnished wood samples and repaired them with G/5. After it cured, we sanded them smooth and varnished over them with Captain’s 1015 Varnish™, my favorite single- part varnish. 

After drying for several days, I handed them off to Julie so she could torment them in the QUV Weathering Machine. After months in the machine, the varnish eventually went dull but the G/5 repairs below the surface remained nice and clear.