Crawfords the Best Painters Putty Usage & Guide
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 so crucial to professional house painters’ surface preparations, and we provide a Crawford’s Putty review that you can understand.
Suitable materials and tools will ease the process of any house painting project. Today with so many different products to market, it can be hard to evaluate what’s best in terms of usage and final results.
When applied and used correctly, Crawford’s will make interior trim appear seamless and without flaws. Here we offer not only the composition but techniques and tips that will guide you to properly prepare interior or exterior surfaces using one of the best painter’s weapons of choice, painters’ putty.
Where to Use Crawfords
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 is used, or paint materials are misapplied.
We see it all the time, nail holes filled with caulking. While caulking is great, its intended usage is not for filling nail holes.
Note: On a side note, if you see your house painters use caulking for nail holes, you are in for it. We all have to learn, but if you are paying for quality service, your painter should know what they are doing.
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.
Benefits of Painters’ Putty
The cool thing about painters’ putty is its resistance to cracking. Unlike caulking, putty also is resistant to shrinking.
Painters’ putty does shrink; however, it shrinks about 90% less than conventional caulking. Although, there is a caveat here. The dryer the putty is when applied, the more resistant it is to shrink.
Tip: A trick used by painters to resist minor shrinking is to remove a small amount from the can of putty a day before using.
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.
Why Crawfords 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 keep in mind 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, and we don’t mean to bore you; we just wanted to shed some light on why Crawsford’s 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.
Outside of its simplistic concept and resolve, Crawford’s has environmental draws that are also worth acknowledging. There are no hazardous materials or compounds, so gloves are merely 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 serves as 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.
Crawford’s is best used for small cracks, nail holes, hammer marks, bridging wood imperfections by knifing, and so much more.
Ease of usage and beautiful results make this product a secret weapon that painters love to use.
The Drawbacks of Putty
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.
Painters’ putty does put a lot of wear on the tips of your fingers when there are several holes to fill. For extreme or high production applications, fingertips are typically rubbed raw. We can see how this would be a real issue for new construction painters.
Also, painters’ putty, in general, does take a while to cure. However, it can be painted over within a few hours. In some cases, this can lead to subtle shrinking, measured as tiny as microns but can be more pronounced with glossier finishes.
If you are looking for absolute perfection, a combination of putty and spackle or wood filler will offer bulletproof results. But for most applications, putty is more than enough.
Tip: A tip to success is using semi-gloss interior paints that are less viscous. Meaning thicker interior paints will bridge the ever-so-subtle shrinkage if it were to occur.
Our experience Using Crawfords Painters’ Putty
So, it’s worth noting; we have little entire interior new home construction usage with painter’s putty -we don’t offer that service. However, we use painters’ putty on nearly every nail hole for our home re-paints.
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 rather a 1/64 of an inch recession.
Tip: Another tip is to keep your hands clean while applying. Since Crawford’s contains linseed oil, consequently, the oil transfers to your hands and can be transmitted and smeared on additional areas.
Tip: Also, linseed oil can leach through cheap vinyl paints. So, if you are applying putty to new wood, a good coat of quality primer is vehemently recommended.
How to Apply Painters’ Putty
Suppose you use painter putty to fill small nail holes; it’s best to use your finger to force the putty into the hole. Some painters will try to tool the putty with a 5-in-one painter’s tool or putty knife.
Tip: Tooling putty is one of its advantages, but not for nail holes. Knifing is better used to form the putty over larger areas such as an outside corner.
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 the putty against the spot.
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.
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 Takeaway
Painters’ putty doesn’t require tools or additional sanding to make those holes or cracks in wood, vinyl, or composite trim look amazing!
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 tool for professional house painters and DIY interior or exterior painting projects.
From the painters of A Touch of Color, we now conclude this article. Thank you for reading.
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