After much consternation and a few bad words, I finally found a way to make putty match the wood so the 'repair' won't shout at you saying, "Look at me. I'm an imperfection, and no matter which way you look at me, I'll always be there!"

I went to an art supply store for some gold leaf and a few other things, and ran across a display of coloring pencils. I thought this might be the answer I was looking for. On the drive home, I wasn't too confident that these would work, but thought I might as well give them a try since nothing else seemed to work.

Much to my surprise, they worked really well on wood fillers. They didn't change color when topcoated, they didn't bleed out of the finish, and they worked really well for adding grain lines to filler repairs.

As you know, gray has been a hot color in decor this year, so rest assured: good old #2 Graphite and Charcoal Pencils will do the trick in giving you the gray color you might need.

Alan can be reached directly via email c/o Alan Noel Furniture Refinishing at alannoel@comcast.net .