Wood furniture is a beautiful investment to have in your home, but over time, it can become nicked, scratched and damaged. Instead of replacing your precious wood furniture, you can learn how to repair it. You should be able to make scratches less noticeable and dings a thing of the past.
Whether your dog chewed up the leg on your favorite bar stool or the packing tape ripped off some of your finish, there are ways to save your wood furniture without taking it to a professional. It will take some elbow grease, but it will be worth it to learn these basic techniques.
Wax crayon
For smaller scratches, you could try filling in the scratch with a wax crayon. Wood wax filler crayons can be bought at the hardware store, but you can also try it with a regular crayon-- as long as it's an appropriate color. The colored wax will help fill in the scratch to make it less noticeable and the wax can easily be removed if needed.
Coffee grounds
If a scratch or nick left your wood furniture with a lightly colored mark, you can try this trick to make it less noticeable. Take some coffee grounds on the end of a cotton swab and dab the scratch. Allow it to dry for a few hours before applying more.
Nuts
Nuts are not only healthy for you, but they can also help disguise any scrapes and scratches in your wood furniture! Rubbing a pecan/almond/walnut/Brazil nut onto a scratch of your wood furniture will help hide the scratch.
Lemon juice
If there is a scratch in the finish of your wood furniture, don't despair. Mix equal parts lemon juice and vegetable oil or olive oil. Then, with a clean cloth, rub a generous amount of the mixture onto the scratch and rub firmly in the direction of the scratch until it fades away.
Filler, paint and sanding
If you have a deeper gouge, scratch or maybe your dog decided the wooden leg on your chair was a chew toy -- you're going to need a bit more work and effort to get your wood furniture in top shape again.
- With a utility blade, make cross hatch marks in the damaged area and slice off any frayed pieces of wood.
- Spread some epoxy filler over the entire damaged area and build up in layers.
- Slice off any excess filler before it dries completely and then sand it smooth using a 150-grit piece of sandpaper.
- Once it's smooth, use a wax filler crayon to fill in any small pits and holes.
- Double check for smoothness, and go over any parts that aren't smooth.
- Apply a few coats of acrylic paint, taking care to make it match the wood and then coat in clear coat.
Once the clear coat is dry, the damaged area should be less noticeable.
Seek a professional
If you're worried about damaging your antique sewing table or aren't sure how to fix the broken shelve on your mahogany bookcase, contact a professional. It may cost you some money, but the job will be done correctly.