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I've used Billy book selves from Ikea to create a built-in unit along a wall. I am going to put the shelves up inline, then I need to fill the rest of the holes which are in the sides. After the holes are filled, it will be painted.

What would work better in this case to fill the holes? Painter's caulk or joint compound. I'm heavily leaning towards joint compound because it is sandable. I just want to ensure I'm not doing the wrong thing.

Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2
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    wood filler is made for filling holes in wood – OrganicLawnDIY Nov 14 '15 at 19:13
  • @OrganicLawnDIY - Thanks for the thought. I wasn't planning on using wood putty for three reasons: 1) the units will be painted anyway, which would cover up any wood putty; 2) the shelves aren't made of wood; 3) I don't have any wood putty. – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 Nov 14 '15 at 19:15
  • Caulk would be my least preferred. Joint compound is probably okay if you're willing to do a few coats (it'll shrink). Best would be bondo. (Note that you can catch bondo at a point in its curing cycle when it's firm but pliable and easily cut flush with a sharp chisel/blade. Practice makes perfect on that one.) Texture of any filling you use versus the texture of the billy will be an issue, so you might consider rollering paint on to get an orange peel effect. And to your other question, if the sides are hidden, I'd put screws through. Maybe pocket screws for exposed sides. – Aloysius Defenestrate Nov 14 '15 at 19:28
  • @AloysiusDefenestrate - You're talking about body filler you'd use on cars? I hadn't considered this, but definitely understand where you are coming from ... I don't believe it shrinks, right? Also, these are buil-in already ... no room to put screws through the sides now, though that would have been a good choice. I'm spraying the paint on with an airless sprayer to catch all the nooks/crannies. I've already sanded the shelves to accept the primer, as it won't stick otherwise. I want it as smooth as possible. – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 Nov 14 '15 at 19:34
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    The particles in particleboard are wood particles. Wood filler/putty isn't just used to match color but to match the physical properties of wood. Gun to my head if I had to choose between the two I'd choose joint compound, preferably a setting type you mix yourself. Honestly though, I'd do everything different. Particle board sucks, would never use in built ins. Melamine is difficult to paint. I think you would have saved a lot of time, money and frustration building yourself out of plywood or even MDF even if you needed to buy tools and learn simple woodworking. – OrganicLawnDIY Nov 14 '15 at 19:36
  • Yup, bondo the car body filler. You'll also find a suspiciously similar product in a smaller container that's marketed as Minwax "High Performance Wood Filler". (Though to be fair, I've also occasionally seen bondo in a tiny container...) Among its merits are non-shrink and really fast cure times. Also, I suggest you google melamine primer if you haven't already. – Aloysius Defenestrate Nov 14 '15 at 19:48
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    You might need to ignore my rambling about the minwax product... I just looked and saw that you're a car guy, so you probably have a 5 gal drum of bondo in your garage... – Aloysius Defenestrate Nov 14 '15 at 19:50
  • @AloysiusDefenestrate - By melamine, I guess that is the outer surface of the bookshelf? If so, I have already gone through and sanded all of the surfaces with some 220grit sand paper so primer will stick to it, but I will probably now get the primer you suggest so as to be doubly sure the primer will stick to it and then the paint to the primer. Thanks for the tip ... you really need to put the Bondo solution down as an answer so I can mark it as right. – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 Nov 15 '15 at 23:08
  • I've installed plenty of IKEA cabinets, and beware that some surfaces have more of a paper-based covering that might not react well to a water-based primer. If you have and extra shelves, I'd suggest breaking a corner off of one to see what the covering is made of, and to test finishes. – JPhi1618 Nov 16 '15 at 16:30

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Caulk would be my least preferred. (One can't sand it.) Joint compound is probably okay if you're willing to do a few coats (it'll shrink). Best would be bondo -- the car body filler. (Note that you can catch bondo at a point in its curing cycle when it's firm but pliable and easily cut flush with a sharp chisel/blade. Practice makes perfect on that one.) Texture of any filling you use versus the texture of the billy will be an issue, so you might consider rollering paint on to get an orange peel effect. I'm pretty sure Billy shelves are covered in melamine, so would strongly suggest a melamine primer. (It bonds better than normal primer.)

Aloysius Defenestrate
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