Wood filler for unstained Mahogany?

[Powercat80]

Wanted to see if I could get a few suggestions from the board. I am building a wine room and I am using some very nice reclaimed Honduran Mahogany racks. Obviously because they are reclaimed there are a few nail holes that need to be filled. I will not be staining these racks and they will be kept in natural state. With that said what do you guy's think the best wood filler is that will dry hard and sand to a like color and appearance? I realize that it won't be invisible, but better than the exposed nail holes. Any help is appreciated. Thanks

[JR]

I did a project with unstained Honduras mahogany a couple of years ago. I settled on a mixture of sawdust and crazy glue for a very small repair. Sawdust and epoxy would work for larger repairs.

Obviously, you have to work in small batches. Just put some epoxy on a board and swirl in a bit of sawdust with a toothpick. Use something fine to put the mixture within the hole, trying very hard to keep it from touching the area around the hole. Build it up proud of the surface. Once it sets up you can use a file and sandpaper to get it flush.

Find a piece of scrap to practice on. This technique if surprisingly effective. You will notice it, but no one else will. It will just look like a knot or imperfection in the wood.

JR

[cabinetman]

Since you don't want to put on a finish, there are a few fills that work in bare wood, or wood with some finish. Minwax has Blend-Fil Pencil, that comes in many colors.

Dap also has a filler called Blend Stick, in many colors.

Both of these products can just be rubbed in, or used with a putty knife, and wiped off with a rag. No need to sand the finish afterward, or apply any finish. Both of these are available at hardware stores and home centers.
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[JimD]

The other suggests are good, I have used them, but what I generally do now is just pack some sawdust into the imperfections before applying the first coat of finish. I then make sure that the finish saturates the dust (to bind it together). It is generally a little darker than the wood but it costs nothing and looks OK to me. I am dealing with little things, of course, this would not work for a big imperfection. If it does not totally fill the first time, I repeat in the second coat. It also makes the area a bit rougher but I have to sand between coats anyway.

Jim

[Powercat80]

Thanks for the suggestions

Because I am not going to put a stain or finish on these racks I think I'll initially go with Cabitnetman's suggestions of the Blend fil pencil. Providing I can get one to match the natural color. Sometimes I find that these have stains in them, but I'm sure I can do some blending. Otherwise the sawdust suggestion is a good one. Thanks again.