• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
The Gracious Wife logo
  • Recipes
  • Family
    • Love & Marriage
    • Parenting
  • House & Home
    • Kitchen and Cooking Tips
    • Cleaning & Organization
    • Budget
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

How to Fill Nail Holes

May 26, 2015 · 12 Comments

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Yummly
  • Mix

 How to fill nail holes easily and frugally with this easy tip!

How to Fill Nail Holes easily and frugally with this easy DIY and home improvement hack.

 Remodeling Tip: How to Fill Nail Holes

As I mentioned in my last DIY post, we live in an old farmhouse that's constantly under construction.  So naturally, we've picked up a few tricks in the way of remodeling and DIY.  Also, Mr. Gracious used to work at a custom cabinetry store before he started his career as a firefighter, so he has a few extra tricks up his sleeve.

One of the tricks that I'm always amazed by is the way he fills nail holes after installing trim.  Normally, you would pick up a wax filler stick from your hardware store in a similar color as your stain or paint color.  These are a bit pricey, especially since it's just a stick of wax. Mr. Gracious' method of filling nail holes is, in my opinion, brilliant and much more frugal.

Now that I've spiked your curiosity, are you ready for his trick about how to fill nail holes?  He uses a crayon to fill nail holes! Yes, a crayon! If you have kids at home, you almost certainly have crayons!  And if you have one of those giant boxes of 96 crayons, you almost certainly have the color you need already on hand, and for way cheaper than your typical wax filler stick.

We've been remodeling our bathroom for a while.  We completely gutted it, redid the plumbing and literally EVERYTHING else (stay tuned for a reveal in the next few weeks!).  We installed all new trim, including crown, and Mr. Gracious filled every single nail hole with crayon.  Our bathroom trim is plain white, so it was obviously easy to match.

 

Here's how to fill nail holes with crayon:

 

How to Fill Nail Holes easily and frugally with this easy DIY and home improvement hack.

For small nail holes, such as those you would use with trim, just take your matching crayon, and with firm pressure, rub the over the nail hole, just like you're coloring.  This will fill the nail hole.

How to Fill Nail Holes easily and frugally with this easy DIY and home improvement hack.

If you get a little crayon on the trim outside of the hole, that's okay.  Just take a dry rag and wipe over the area.  The crayon will come right off.

How to Fill Nail Holes easily and frugally with this easy DIY and home improvement hack.

For larger nail holes, you can use a similar method as above, but the crayon will stick in the hole better if it's just a little bit more soft and malleable.  So take a lighter and warm the crayon, just a little bit.  Be careful here.  You want it just a little softer, but not dripping all over the place.  You certainly don't want hot wax dripping all over your hand. Then rub the soft crayon over the hole.  Wait until the crayon in the hole sets. Then you can rub off any excess with a dry rag.

How to Fill Nail Holes easily and frugally with this easy DIY and home improvement hack.

Pretty easy, right?

Do you have any special tricks you use while doing remodels and renovations?

How to Fill Nail Holes easily and frugally with this easy DIY and home improvement hack.

 

Did you like this How to Fill Nail Holes idea? Find more household tricks on my For the Home, DIY, and In the Kitchen boards on Pinterest!

If you liked this idea about How to Fill Nail Holes you might also like

How to Make Perfectly Straight Caulk Lines | From TheGraciousWife.com

How to Make Perfectly Straight Caulk Lines

house cleaning tips for busy moms fb

House Cleaning Tips for Busy Moms

33 Surprising and Fun Uses for Borax - Cleaning, crafts, laundry, and more! So cool!

33 Surprising and Fun Uses for Borax

64 Unexpected Uses for Baking Soda | From TheGraciousWife.com

64 Unexpected Uses for Baking Soda

See More Ideas For the Home

 

 

Never Miss a Thing!

Join our newsletter to get new recipes, tips, tricks, and tutorials every week!

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription.


There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.




More Crafts & DIY Tutorials

  • Hand with latex glove painting a door yellow with a paint brush
    11 Ways to Update Your Home Using Only Paint to Make It Feel Brand New
  • FREE DIY Printable Love Coupon Book for Him makes a perfect, loving gift for your sweetheart for Valentine's Day or even birthdays and anniversaries! Make a Love Coupon Book with 54 love coupons to choose from, some naughty and some nice. Tutorial with entire book printable for you to print!
    Printable Love Coupon Book
  • Although you might swear by YouTube makeup tutorials that use only the latest, there are so many vintage makeup gems out there that can deliver the same results – if not better! With their glowing skin, tumbling curls and perfect pouts, vintage beauties like Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, and Audrey Hepburn are still the envy of women today!  Here are 8 vintage beauty tips that still work today!
    8 Vintage Beauty Tips that Still Work
  • How to Make Your Own easy DIY Homework Station - Set your kids up for success this school year with a DIY Homework Station that's just for them to work on their homework and school projects stocked with everything they might need. School and craft supplies organization ideas for kids 
    DIY Homework Station
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Yummly
  • Mix

Crafts & DIY, For The Home

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. TwoPlusCute says

    May 26, 2015 at 11:24 pm

    What a cool and clever idea! You've no idea how many nail holes we have over here, this tip will be put to good use. 🙂

    Reply
  2. Jody @easypeasymom says

    May 27, 2015 at 8:06 am

    Awesome tip, I will definitely be pinning this! Thanks for sharing!

    Visiting from the Wonderful Wednesday blog hop.

    Reply
  3. bernadyn says

    May 28, 2015 at 4:30 pm

    Wow, I need to try this, we have tons of nail holes and luckily, crayons, lol. Pinned 🙂

    Reply
  4. Trudy says

    May 31, 2016 at 12:21 pm

    I'm the world's worse at being able to measure to hang pictures and having the picture end up where it was supposed to. As a result, I have little nail holes here and there. Nothing that shows...fortunately all holes are currently covered by said pictures...but how nice to know those holes can quickly and easily be turned invisible (VOILA!) with the use of a humble crayon.

    The best tip I personally have is to pour a little of whatever paint your using for a room into a small jelly jar. Use a peel and stick label with the name and type of paint (i.e. semi gloss, flat), the brand name, and the room, just in case you use similar colors in different rooms, or different sheens. That way, if the only crayon you have is green but the paint color is dove gray, you're colored...I mean covered. LOL

    Thanks for this great tip.

    Reply
  5. Ann says

    January 23, 2017 at 4:22 pm

    So many years on Pinterest, so many pins... and this is probably the most useful tip I've come across yet. LOL! It works so well! Hooray!

    Reply
  6. Betty says

    July 26, 2018 at 9:37 pm

    I use a bar of ivory or Dove soap. Just rub it over thd hole and it fills it in. I dont keep crayons so this works for me.

    Reply
  7. Shannon says

    January 14, 2020 at 12:27 pm

    Really smart!!! Thanks for the idea!!!

    Reply
  8. Jerry Schuman says

    November 01, 2020 at 12:45 pm

    Do not do this if you ever plan to paint again. Paint doesn't stick to wax.
    This is a terrible idea.

    Reply
    • Michelle says

      November 02, 2020 at 9:47 am

      This is being passed around the internet as a way to fill WALL holes, but in the WOOD finishing industry, wax is used all the time to fill nail holes in trim and cabinets, which as you can see in the pictures is what my husband is doing (in another life he was a cabinet finisher). But you are correct. I would absolutely not recommend doing this in walls.

      Reply
  9. Elizabeth Lambert says

    January 04, 2021 at 6:31 am

    I was so amaze to see before/after pictures I love everything! I love everything you said and thanks for this helpful tips.

    Reply
  10. Donna Pursley says

    March 18, 2021 at 8:38 pm

    I have used white toothpaste to fill holes on any color painted wall if you are going to repaint it.

    Reply
    • Michelle says

      March 19, 2021 at 9:24 am

      Yes. This post was for wood trim and cabinetry only. They sell more expensive wax sticks for color matching at the hardware store. That's why I was selling a cheaper, equally effective way to do the same thing. It has been repeatedly shared incorrectly. But, yes, I do not recommend this for walls.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Picture of Michelle Medlin, The Gracious Wife

Hello! I'm Michelle!
I'm a comfort food lover and self-taught cook with five amazing kids and a firefighter husband, surviving mostly on coffee. I love to create easy and delicious family recipes, and share creative family tips I've learned along the way.
Welcome to The Gracious Wife!
MORE ABOUT ME>>

Celebrate Moms!

Overhead view of chilaquiles rojos topped with crema, jalapeno slices, red onion, and cilantro with a fried egg on top and the yolk running down.

Red Chilaquiles (Chilaquiles Rojos)

Hard boiled egg halves with the yolks face up on a small black plate

Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs

Overhead view of southern chicken fried steak smothered in white gravy and sprinkled with black pepper and parsley on top with a fork cutting a bite off it on a plate with mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables.

Southern Chicken Fried Steak with White Gravy

A stack of red velvet cake mix pancakes with a wedge taken out of the center and cream cheese glaze dripping down on a small plate surrounded by fresh strawberries.

Red Velvet Cake Mix Pancakes

A piece of eggnog French Toast casserole on a small plate topped with eggnog glaze with a red mug and Christmas lights behind.

Eggnog French Toast Casserole

Two waffles stacked on top of each other drizzled with vanilla glaze and three sugared cranberries on a small ceramic plate.

Gingerbread Waffles

More Breakfast & Brunch Recipes & Ideas

Fresh Spring Time Treats!

A slice of banana cream pie on a small white plate with blue stripes around the rim.

Banana Cream Pie

A lemon Oreo truffle with a bite taken out sitting on top of a bowl of other truffles, all coated in white chocolate and topped with pink and yellow sprinkles.

Lemon Oreo Truffles

No Bake Banana Cream Cheesecake topped with a vanilla wafer on a small white plate.

No Bake Banana Cream Cheesecake

Oven roasted asparagus and lemon slices on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Oven Roasted Asparagus

Creamy Cucumber salad topped with fresh chives in a white ceramic bowl sitting on a rustic wood background.

Creamy Cucumber Salad

Blackberry lemon spritzer in a stemless wine glass with ice and fresh blackberries with a lemon slice on the rim.

Blackberry Lemon Spritzer

Side view of a bowl of avocado pesto pasta topped with grated parmesan and fresh basil with a fork in front and an oil bottle and linen napkin behind.

Creamy Avocado Pesto Pasta

Square slice of strawberry icebox cake topped with a fresh strawberry on a small white plate with the rest of the cake in a glass dish behind

Strawberry Icebox Cake

A slice of strawberry pretzel salad on a small plate topped with whipped cream and a fresh strawberry.

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

More Spring Recipes

Reader Favorites on The Gracious Wife

Close up picture of a Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes with a bite taken out on a marble background.

Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes

A glass mug of green mint white hot chocolate topped with whipped cream and crushed green mint candy pieces on a white marble surface surrounded by more star mint candies.

Mint White Hot Chocolate

A slice of no bake s'mores cheesecake topped with mini marshmallows and graham cracker crumbs on a small plate.

No Bake S'mores Cheesecake

Slice of crockpot breakfast casserole on a white plate with stainless steel crock pot in the background.

Crockpot Breakfast Casserole

A corner slice of chicken pot pie with golden crust on a small plate with a fork with a bite on it, on a rustic wood background with a striped linen

The BEST Chicken Pot Pie

Footer

  • About The Gracious Wife
  • Contact Us
  • Copyright Notice
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure

You can find me here too!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Disclosure

The Gracious Wife is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. All our thoughts and opinions are our own and we are not paid for or mandated to provide a positive review.

2024© The Medlin Group
  • Blog
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2025 The Gracious Wife ·

91.9K shares
91.9K shares