Crawfords Painters Putty Usage & Review

Crawford’s Painters Putty: House Painters Preferred Nail Filler

Painters have several go-to tools and materials used for simple solutions. The issue is that most painters’ cannot explain why specific tools or products are preferred. But today is the day you will learn why Crawford’s Putty is crucial to professional house painters’ surface preparations. We provide a Crawford’s Putty review that you can understand. 

Materials and tools will ease the process of any house painting project. Today, with so many different painters products on the market, it can be hard to evaluate the best.

When applied and used correctly, Crawford’s will make interior trim appear seamless and without flaws. Here, we offer the composition, techniques, and tips that will guide you to properly prepared interior or exterior surfaces using one of the best painter’s weapons of choice, painters’ putty. 

Where to Use Crawfords Painters Putty

Here’s a trick question! Have you ever seen a nail hole covered by an unidentified material? If you can see the nail hole, chances are the wrong material was used, or paint materials were misapplied. 

We see it all the time – nail holes filled with caulking. While caulking is excellent, its intended usage is not for filling nail holes. Painters’ putty is a soft compound designed to fill nail holes and fix minor imperfections on wood and other rigid substrates such as PVC and composite trim. 

Tip: If painters use caulking for nail holes, it’s hard to fix. We all have to learn, but if you are paying for quality service, your painter should know what they are doing. 

Shrinking Resistance & Tips Using Painters’ Putty

The cool thing about painters’ putty is its resistance to cracking. Unlike caulking, putty is also resistant to shrinking. Painters’ Putty shrinks about 90% less than conventional caulking. The dryer the putty is when applied, the more resistant it is to shrink.

Painters’ putty dries slowly, but when left out for a few days, the extra water is released, and the putty pre-shrinks before application. This trick works exceptionally well with new cans of putty.

Tip: A trick painters use to resist minor shrinking is to remove a small amount from the can of putty a day before use. 

Benefits of Crawfords Painters Putty

A few other painter’s putty brands are found in places such as Home Depot and Lowes. We will reframe from name-dropping, but remember that just because a particular product has market share doesn’t mean it is the best. 

So, if you are reading this article, you are to be commended. We don’t mean to bore you; we just wanted to shed some light on why Crawsford’s Painters Putty may not be available in your area. For understandable reasons, price point rules in today’s market. Another consideration is the lack of consumer research or knowledge. 

Beyond its simplistic concept and resolve, Crawford’s has environmental draws worth acknowledging. There are no hazardous materials or compounds, so gloves are only optional. It is ready to use, easy to apply by comparison, and outperforms other brands, offering long-term resistance to cracking, sagging, splitting, or shrinking. 

What Exactly is Painters’ Putty

Crawford’s is a non-toxic filler that contains no lead, asbestos, or chemical preservatives. Its ready-to-use compound is a multi-purpose painter’s putty applied indoors or out. Crawford’s Putty contains refined natural linseed oils, Water0Ground calcium carbonates, and paint-grade titanium. 

This painter putty is best used for small cracks, nail holes, hammer marks, bridging wood imperfections by knifing, and so much more. Its ease of usage and beautiful results make it a secret weapon that painters love. 

The Drawbacks of Putty

1) A handful of painters would argue that putty compounds are not the best means of filling a nail hole, and in many ways, they make a good point. 

2) When there are a lot of holes to fill, painter’s putty puts a lot of wear on the tips of your fingers. Fingertips are typically rubbed raw for new construction, commercial, or high-production applications. We can see how this would be a real issue for new construction painters. 

3) Also, painters’ putty generally takes a while to cure. However, it can be painted over within a few hours. This can sometimes lead to subtle shrinking, measured as tiny as microns, but can be more pronounced with glossier paint finishes. 

4) Combining putty and spackle or wood filler will offer bulletproof results if you want a perfect paint finish. But putty is more than enough for most applications. 

Tip: Thicker interior paints will bridge the subtle shrinkage if you need to paint immediately.

Our experience Using Crawfords Painters Putty

For our home re-paints, we use painters’ putty on nearly every nail hole. In some cases, especially for exterior siding, we will spot prime around nail heads because they are not recessed enough, meaning there is no actual hole but a 1/128-inch recession.

Tip 1: Keep your hands clean while applying Crawford’s Putty. Since Crawford’s contains linseed oil, the oil transferred onto your hands will be transferred and smeared on whatever you touch.

Tip 2: Linseed oil can leach through cheap vinyl paints. So, if you are applying painter’s putty to new wood, a good coat of quality primer is highly recommended. 

How to Apply Painters’ Putty

Using your finger to force the putty into the hole is best. Some painters will try to tool the putty with a 5-in-one painter’s tool or putty knife. Tooling a painter’s putty to form shapes is advantageous, but tools should not be used to close nail holes. Knifing is better used to form the putty over larger areas such as outside corners. 

Step 1

Take a pinch of putty for nail holes and roll it into your fingers using the index and thumb. After creating a mini ball, take the putty and forcefully press it against the hole. 

Step 2 

Using your fingers, spread the residual materials over the hole until it is filled. Remember not to press or rub too forcefully. Instead, gently glaze over the hole to prevent causing a recessed nail hole fill. 

Step 3

Repeat the process until the hole is bridged seamlessly.

And that’s it! Easy right? It takes a little finesse, but it is relatively easy with practice. 

Conclusion And Recommendation

Painters’ putty doesn’t require tools or additional sanding to close holes or cracks in wood, vinyl, or composite trim. 

Painters’ putty does the job without fuss or added health risks. We love it! It offers outstanding results for most applications and is a must-have material for professional house painters and DIY interior or exterior painting projects. 

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