: Wetting the wood will close staple holes. Most people are afraid of applying
: water
: to the wood, it goes against your mother's scream training of you, for
: putting your glass on
: her wood table.

: I soak the wood down with a DRIPPING WET sponge and squeeze water into any
: staple holes.
: The staple holes usually close totally but you will still see a dark mark
: because the staple has cut the grain and the end grain will absorb more
: and turn dark.

: In order to cause warpage you would need to soak the surface for hours.
: I found this out when I had a hull that sat around too long with the outside
: glassed and the interior
: bare wood. The wood dried out and the hull shrank and curled together like a
: pea pod. I knew if I wet down the interior, the wood would swell and
: return the hull to the correct dimensions. What surprised me was how long
: and how much water it took to do the job. The wood does not absorb water
: very fast or deep with just a quick soak down.

: Again, if you soak the wood, drip water on the staple holes they will close.
: If that doesn't work do it again and apply a heat gun while wet.

: I would not use epoxy to fill holes or cracks.

: One, it's too hard, surrounding wood will sand away leaving an irregular
: surface.
: Two, it's a mess, and takes too long to set-up.

: I use water based wood filler, or wood slivers to fill gaps.

: All the best,
: Rob Macks
: Laughing Loon CC&K

I did this a couple of weeks ago on my stripper hull. Worked like a charm! The wood was spruce and not wrc but that shouldnt affect the outcome.