New woodwork needs some filling

It's knee-work ...which gives you good practice for Sunday Mass.

I prefer using a non-shrinking water-based cellulose filler for its convenience. Standard putty is made with linseed oil, takes time to dry, and also shrinks. Who has time to wait? Realizing that your thoughts and preferences may differ from mine (and your stand-by rates as well), after several thousand fills, I remain convinced that you'll eventually come around, see the light, and start going to Sunday Mass with your plastic knees.

Pin-holes created from air-driven brads are small enough to fill with a finger, but sometimes woodwork is fastened with large-headed screws rather than these near-invisible brads. Filling these larger holes needs a different approach.

Wiping off these larger fillings using a thumb and rag will scoop out part of the filling, leaving an indent.

Dampen a cotton cloth and double-fold it over the working edge of a flexible putty knife.

Put some stuff (muscle) on that flexible blade. Bend it flat against the trimwork to get the most benefit from it.

Rub this tool over the filled holes. A couple of good swipes will level the filling and leave it flush with the surface, rather than indented by a thumb or palm.

The cotton rag will soon get clogged.
Refresh it often by re-folding.

If a tinted filler was used, the filled holes would now be ready for a final clear-coat finish. But since woodwork always varies in tone and colouring, I don't bother with a tinted filler. Instead, I take a thinned stain and go back over all the fills with a # 6 fitch. Because the white filler isn't sealed (like the surrounding wood), the stain takes well and any excess onto the surrounding wood can be readily wiped off.

NOTE:

It is common trade practice for woodwork to be stained and sealed prior to filling and final clear-coating. Don't apply this method to unfinished raw woodwork.