Elmers Wood Filler warning

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3boydad

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Elmers seems to be discontinuing the cheaper indoor/outdoor wood filler. You know the one you can buy for 6 bucks for 32oz? Now they will be selling the stainable kind only. It's about double the price. Home Depot has already pulled the wood filler, and replaced it with the high dollar batch. Lowes still had the other type. I bought a couple while i can for half price. Just a FYI. I doubt there is any difference in the product besides the price.
 
Actually the stainable one is much grainier and really sucks, in my opinion, for filling balsa voids. Time to buy a few tubs of the good kind. Though, the tubs I buy aren't 32 oz... more like 2 ounces or some such.

Marc
 
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Actually the stainable one is much grainer and really sucks, in my opinion, for filling balsa voids. Time to buy a few tubs of the good kind. Though, the tubs I buy aren't 32 oz... more like 2 ounces or some such.

Marc

Yeah, I'll second that. Not only is it grainer but it dries hard as a rock, nearly impossible to sand (by hand) and makes a very poor watered down version for fill coating balsa. Might be good to patch up holes in a chipped brick though.
 
i read the new container. it claims sandable, stainable etc. never used it. Couldnt justify spending double the price when i'm just filling spirals or balsa grain. If you have a lowes they have the 32 oz containers. 5.98 each. the small ones are like 4.98. it was a no brainer on what size to buy. Kind of like the tightbond 2. the large container is 6 bucks and the small (half the size) one is 5 bucks. really????
 
Where did you hear that the product was being discontinued?
 
Don't know if anyone else has tried this, but I make my own putty using sawdust and wood glue. I figure it may be advantageous to use balsa sawdust, from a density standpoint.
 
It sands quite nicely, also, and has a set up time comparable to that of wood glue.
 
Pippen, I heard it from Home Depot. When i asked the question "where is the regular stuff"? That is when they informed me, they didnt even try to sell it off. Elmers sent the new stuff and they are to ship the old stuff back to them.
 
The wood filler is still on the Elmer's Website. Would they leave it on the site when the product is discontinued?
 
I just went to the web site and posted a comment. If they really are going to stop making it then the least we can do is grumble at them about it. Anymore, I've gotten to the point that no matter who it is, I'll post a comment in their "contact us" tab at the bottom of the page if I have a complaint, question or a compliment. Here's that page if you want to weigh in.
https://www.elmers.com/about/contact-us

Funny, you should have read the reply I got back from Hershey's about their "Air Delights" chocolates. I was groaning about how they were making the package 3.5 oz lighter with all that air and selling it at the same price as the regular chocolates. You know you got them when their reply is like..."We're sorry you weren't satisfied with our product....yadda yadda yadda" Then they send you coupons for it.
 
Why don't you share your recipe. I tried making some with balsa dust and it pretty much stunk.

Well, I'm not terribly scientific about it, I just ground up a bunch of balsa scraps using a dremel, and dumped some elmers in. I'm guesing I had roughly 2/3 cup of sawdust, and maybe 1/8 cup elmers. The way I ground the balsa resulted in some longer wood fibres being produced, which may have some effect on the final consistency. It doesn't spread like I imagine a commercial putty would, rather, I press the putty into place. This results in some jagged bumps, but these sand out pretty quickly. As you sand, you will likely encounter areas of putty that haven't fully cured, so this mix may need to be sanded in stages, depending on how bug of a void you're fillling.
Just curious, what did you try?
 
Well, I'm not terribly scientific about it, I just ground up a bunch of balsa scraps using a dremel, and dumped some elmers in. I'm guesing I had roughly 2/3 cup of sawdust, and maybe 1/8 cup elmers. The way I ground the balsa resulted in some longer wood fibres being produced, which may have some effect on the final consistency. It doesn't spread like I imagine a commercial putty would, rather, I press the putty into place. This results in some jagged bumps, but these sand out pretty quickly. As you sand, you will likely encounter areas of putty that haven't fully cured, so this mix may need to be sanded in stages, depending on how bug of a void you're fillling.
Just curious, what did you try?

Same thing you did but I was also trying to use it as a grain filler thinned down some. That REALLY doesn't work. I have plenty of the regular filler for now.
 
Based on these comments, the stainable is the only kind I have tried and perhaps that is why I have been less than impressed with it.
 
Same thing you did but I was also trying to use it as a grain filler thinned down some. That REALLY doesn't work. I have plenty of the regular filler for now.

For that I would suggest using gluing paper to the balsa, then sanding it down. The mixture of paper fibre and glue is an excellent grain filler. I use wood glue, but I suppose white glue could work.
 
For anyone that doesn't know what to look for, I'm posting a pic. If in fact it IS being discontinued, I'd suggest getting some before it's all gone. I know Ace carries it. Our Lowe's doesn't.

Elmers Wood Filler.jpg
 
Gary,

You try a product request at the local lowes if it is not being discontinued and the "price label" is removed. Speak with store management.

With line up of Elmers products and filler the buyer is carrying I can only see dropping that filler only if the numbers have dropped significantly. It's good stuff to work with.

I can check when things calm here a little.
 
Elmers seems to be discontinuing the cheaper indoor/outdoor wood filler. You know the one you can buy for 6 bucks for 32oz? Now they will be selling the stainable kind only. It's about double the price. Home Depot has already pulled the wood filler, and replaced it with the high dollar batch. Lowes still had the other type. I bought a couple while i can for half price. Just a FYI. I doubt there is any difference in the product besides the price.
Thanks for the heads up-went out and bought a tub today from Lowe's-our local Hose Despots no longer has a space for it on the shelves...good tip, sir!
 
Thanks for the heads up-went out and bought a tub today from Lowe's-our local Hose Despots no longer has a space for it on the shelves...good tip, sir!

did you notice what they filled in it's place? I asked them about it. They told me Elmers sent them that product, and requested the old shipped back. Home Depot defiantly is discontinuing it.
 
The wood filler is still on the Elmer's Website. Would they leave it on the site when the product is discontinued?

the only one i saw was the stainable one. not the one in question here. Although, the package looks different than what HD sells. those tubs are tan n color with fancy writing on it, so you just know you need to pay double!
 
did you notice what they filled in it's place? I asked them about it. They told me Elmers sent them that product, and requested the old shipped back. Home Depot defiantly is discontinuing it.
Be careful evaluating the information you get from a salesperson at a big box store. They are not the one's doing the ordering and don't usually know what's coming in.

All Elmers products have a shelf life that is typically 1 to 2 years. I'll hazard a guess that Elmers cares about the quality and perfromance of their product and they ask the stores to send back the stuff on the shelfs that did not sell and that they credit the stores for the product they return. The average employee is most likely unawate of policies like this, and some of the store management may not even be aware of it. They are thinking the product is being recalled or discontinued when infact it is a good qualtity control insurance policy. Just imaging a pro having a problem with a product resulting in lost time an revenues because the product fails and the job need to be redone. He won't buy that product again. Elmers and other companies will do just about anything to insure their market share is not eroded as they expect and get a premium price for them.

I saved $580 on a $1799 TV 2 years ago because the BJs made a mistake. Someone in the TV department thought a certain 55" Vizio TV was being discontinued so they marked down the last one in stock, the floor sample, from $1799 to $1219. This was a really good deal as the list price of the TV was $2299 and BJs already was $100 cheaper than any other source I could find. Buying it was a no brainer. There was no sales person around so I sent my wife to find the manager and buy the TV. In the meantime, someone can to the TV and took down the discounted price sign. After 25 minutes, my wife came back and said she had good and bad news.

The bad news was they wouldn't sell us the TV. It seemed someone made a mistake and they actually go 6 more new ones that morning, and couldn't find the box for the floor sample. The good news was that although the pricing was a mistake, it was their mistake so they would give us a brand new in the box TV for their clearance price!

Lesson learned. The store managers often don't have a clue about what's being discontinued, or replenished. If the manager doesn't know, there's a good change the sales person knows even less about stock changes.

Bob
 
+ 1 on the "store employees rarely have a clue" comments.

Anyway, I went to WalMart today for a bunch of things, and checked out their stock. They had mostly just tubs of the Stainable wood filler. They did have one last tube of the plain wood filler (though, it just listed it as interior, rather than the usual interior/exterior). Mildly paranoid and concerned that this might be the last tube of CWF on the planet, I shelled out $2.50 and bought it.

Next I went to Lowes. There, they had 32 oz, 8 oz, and 2 oz tubs of our usual interior / exterior CWF. A whole freshly stocked shelf of it. Dozens of each size. I bought a 32 oz tub and a 2 oz one. I usually use the 2 oz tubs, and it takes me a long time to go through it, so when I eventually crack open the 32 oz one, I'll portion it out and make sure I keep it sealed/moist.

Meanwhile, I'll do some tests on the plain "interior only" CWF tube I bought from walmart, to see if it acts like the usual stuff or the nasty "stainable" stuff.

Marc
 
One more thing on the "employees don't have a clue" idea.

My favorite soda is Pepsi One, and I drink a lot of it. It's not terribly common; not a lot of stores have it. The Walmart near my workplace has it in 24 can cases, as does usually the Marsh (supermarket) near my home. The Kroger near my work used to carry it, but now just has the 12 can case.

Shortly after the Kroger stopped carrying the 24 can case, I ran into the shelf-stocker (actually, a Pepsi contract employee) and one of the Kroger flunkies as they worked together to set up the stock. I mentioned the lack of the 24 can case. The pepsi guys said how they were discontinuing the 24 can case; not making it any more. That was 18 months ago. All the other places still have it. A similar statement of demise of the product went around in 2009 (I think) when Pepsi Max came out. "They are discontinuing it in favor of Pepsi Max" I was told by one store. Uh, no... there was a MARKETING PROMOTION going on but they weren't discontinuing the product.

These things drive me nuts, as my favorite items are usually not the mainstream ones. Be it soda, paint, glue, wood filler...

Marc
 
Be careful evaluating the information you get from a salesperson at a big box store. They are not the one's doing the ordering and don't usually know what's coming in.

All Elmers products have a shelf life that is typically 1 to 2 years. I'll hazard a guess that Elmers cares about the quality and perfromance of their product and they ask the stores to send back the stuff on the shelfs that did not sell and that they credit the stores for the product they return. The average employee is most likely unawate of policies like this, and some of the store management may not even be aware of it. They are thinking the product is being recalled or discontinued when infact it is a good qualtity control insurance policy. Just imaging a pro having a problem with a product resulting in lost time an revenues because the product fails and the job need to be redone. He won't buy that product again. Elmers and other companies will do just about anything to insure their market share is not eroded as they expect and get a premium price for them.

I saved $580 on a $1799 TV 2 years ago because the BJs made a mistake. Someone in the TV department thought a certain 55" Vizio TV was being discontinued so they marked down the last one in stock, the floor sample, from $1799 to $1219. This was a really good deal as the list price of the TV was $2299 and BJs already was $100 cheaper than any other source I could find. Buying it was a no brainer. There was no sales person around so I sent my wife to find the manager and buy the TV. In the meantime, someone can to the TV and took down the discounted price sign. After 25 minutes, my wife came back and said she had good and bad news.

The bad news was they wouldn't sell us the TV. It seemed someone made a mistake and they actually go 6 more new ones that morning, and couldn't find the box for the floor sample. The good news was that although the pricing was a mistake, it was their mistake so they would give us a brand new in the box TV for their clearance price!

Lesson learned. The store managers often don't have a clue about what's being discontinued, or replenished. If the manager doesn't know, there's a good change the sales person knows even less about stock changes.

Bob

while i get what your saying. The one thing that is puzzling is. They are not carrying that typical wood filler anymore. It was completely revamped with brown tubs on the stainable kind. at about 11.99. If Elmers needed to rotate stock, why would they replace the product with a completely new line of filler?
 
I sent my retired Dad to Home Depot to buy some Elmers. He came back with the new stuff and I definitely didn't like it. The Home Depot guy told him that they just got the new stuff in.

I used it on a large balsa noe cone that I had just turned and it dried extremely hard. I noticed that the carton said something about being able to drill it and put a screw in it. The impression that I got was that it would be a great product for the 'typical' use of a wood filler where you really want it to dry hard and be drillable without crumbling, but it was way too hard, and coarse, for balsa wood.
 
OK, we can all relax now. I just got a reply from Elmer's and here's what they had to say...

Dear Gary,

Elmer's Carpenter's Wood Filler is not being discontinued. Home Depot has simply decided to stop sell that formula.

Regards,

Brian Rumschlag
Consumer Response Analyst


-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Saturday, April 21, 2012 6:00 PM
To: Comments
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: Comments from Elmers.com


I suppose Lowe's is following HD's lead on this but as I mentioned before, ACE still has it on the shelves.
 
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