Scratches in your furniture is an eye sore, and sometimes they're unavoidable. Puppies, kittens and other pets have been known to use table legs as chew toys, leaving your dining room chairs a mess.
Use these tips to help get rid of unsightly scratches in any type of furniture you have around the house.
Wood furniture
Wood furniture is pricey but it will last you a lifetime if taken care of properly. However, sometimes Fido decides that the wooden leg on your sofa is the perfect chew toy. Luckily, depending on how deep the scratch is, the damage can be easily repaired.
For surface scratches you will need:
- paste wax
- lemon juice
- olive or vegetable oil
- a lint free cloth
If the surface is waxed, scratches are an easy fix. Just apply a bit of paste wax to the scratch and buff until it's smooth. The wax will fill in any ridges and make them disappear.
Instead of using the wax, you could use a mixture of equal parts lemon juice and oil. Moisten the cloth and rub it firmly over the scratch until it disappears. If your wooden furniture has an oil finish, look for a product designed by the manufacturer to remove scratches.
With deeper scratches on wood furniture (ones that actually penetrate the wood), you'll need to recolor the wood to make the scratch disappear. There are a number of commercial products available to use--however, it can also be taken care of with a DIY remedy.
- You will need:
- nut meat (Brazil, almonds, pecans or walnuts),
- shoe polish/dy
- marker
- colored pencil
- wood stain
- paint brush
- cotton swab
- furniture paste wax or polish
Any of the above mentioned items can be used to recolor
the wood--choose one that best matches. The goal is to camouflage the scratch, so choosing a darker stain on a light piece of furniture is not the best route to take.
Fill in the scratched area and then cover with a bit of wax or polish and buff it to restore the shine to the wood.
Lacquered furniture
Lacquered furniture can often be forgiving when it comes to wear and tear, however, it is not impenetrable. To remove scratches from a lacquered item you'll need:
- scratch remove
- automotive wax
- 1200-grit wet sandpaper
- polishing compound
- a sponge
- a bucket.
Cover the scratches with the scratch remover -- usually a special marker found at furniture repair store or even craft stores. These markers work best with thin scratches.
If you can't find a scratch remover, rub a quarter-sized amount of the automotive wax over the area to help camouflage the scratches. Repeating this every few months will help keep the furniture mark-free.
For larger scratches you'll need to bring out the sandpaper. Dip the sandpaper in water and sand the entire scratched area to remove a layer of the lacquer paint. The scratches will blend in and make it easier to paint a new layer of lacquer.
Polyurethane or urethane finishes
If you have furniture with a polyurethane finish, a similar method of sanding and filling will be needed.
You'll need:
- 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper
- water
- 0000 steel wool
- paste wax
Moisten the sandpaper and carefully sand the scratched surface following the direction of the scratch. Be careful not to over-sand the area. Once the scratch is removed, apply paste wax and buff the area with 0000 steel wool to bring the shine back.
Now that you know how to remove scratches from furniture, why don't you finally train Fido to stay away from the chair legs?