How to fix sanded textured cabinet?

granit

Hi all,
I made a rookie mistake and need some expert advice on how to fix it.
What happened:
• Had a screw hole in a textured kitchen cabinet wooden panel 
• Filled it with Polyfilla Skim Finish Professional Interior (the one for minor surface imperfections, fast drying, minimal sanding)
• Used high-grade sanding paper to smooth it down. Hoped white filling could cover the whole and match with the panel’s texture 
• Problem: The sanding removed part of the original textured surface around the hole, which I wasn’t expecting!
Current situation:
• The hole is filled but now panel is ruined and holes’s borders are very noticeable 
• in general it is very noticeable because the texture is missing in that area

Questions:
1. How can I recreate the wood grain texture to match the existing pattern?
2. Should I have used a different type of filler for textured surfaces?
3. Can I use a texturing technique/tool to blend this back in?

Dave-1

Evening @granit 

Id like to say Howdy and welcome to the Bunnings community pages 🙂 A good start with your first question, and man you have some elbow grease there!

A couple of ways come to mind and both are theoratical 

- If the holes edges are smooth? Spay lightly with a matching grey tone, just in that area. Spray once, dry, spray again, dry and again to build up depth.

Cart yourself off to office works or equivilent where they have a LOT of permanant marking pens, We are after similar coulurs to the texture of what you have. I would actually take a photo of it and print it out as an A4 and practice this next part. you are trrying to take what you can see and extend it, much like photo editing but by hand. So copy and paste, extend some more and fill in like a jigsaw. I would stay away from the darker colours tho as much as posible as they will draw attention to the "powerful sanding ability" that you have... (yes we have all done that 🙂 )

- Similar to the first but this is a litlle more invasive, holes edge is smooth? Grab yourself some fine tooth hacksaw blades. Where safty goggles and gloves for the next part. Snap the end off the blade (teeth facing you) We are after a serated edge, a stanely knife would work but not provide enough texture I think. With the blade (wrapped in a rag so you can grip it) we are trying to score/work a few new paths for those texture lines. Start in one of the valleys and extend it a bit, you dont want a straight line so curves are good or forks even in the line. I would gentley drag the blad back and fourth at a shallow angle as if you are just starting a cut for best effect. I wouldnt go for the quantity that are on the rest of the door but a few. Then spray paint as above. See if you like the look and highlight as necassary.

Both of these are really a theory. I prefer the first one as less invasive. And you get to practice it.

Would love to see whatever you atempt as ive seen this type of question pop up a fair bit. Even if it dosnt work it adds more knowledge for the next.

Dave