To cover scratches on wood furniture, rub a matching color crayon into the scratch and smooth with the fingers. Heat and oil from your finger will blend in the crayon. Alternatively, cover with petroleum jelly overnight. Rub in well, remove excess and buff.
To fix light scratches or blemishes on walnut, rub the scratch with a piece of walnut or pecan meat, then wax with the product you normally use.
For mahogany, rub the scratch with a dark brown crayon or a brown commercial wax product, then buff with your fingers, then a cloth.
For red mahogany, apply ordinary iodine with a small brush and wax with the product you normally use.
For maple, add iodine to denatured alcohol to get the right color and apply with a q-tip, then dry, wax and buff.
For ebony, use black shoe polish, black eyebrow pencil or black crayon.
For teak, rub very gently with 0000 steel wool. Rub in equal amounts of linseed oil and turpentine.
By Ron from Cortez, CO
This page contains the following solutions.
For furniture scratches, rub the meat of the walnut (no shell!) over any scratches or nicks. Test the method on a less visible area to be sure it doesn't darken the wood.
Use shoe polish (paste or wax-based) to touch up nicks and scratches on door frames and furniture. It's quick and easy to use, and when rubbed in really makes the scratch seem to disappear. By Kathy
A couple days ago I was given a lovely old dresser, oak I think. Unfortunately it got scratched in a couple tiny spots in the move. I didn't have any kind of scratch cover on hand.
I bought a nice oak look cabinet at a thrift store for my redecorated bathroom but it had some scratches and nicks. At the dollar store, I bought a bottle of brown liquid shoe wax and with a cotton ball went gently over the nicks, scratches and worn spots.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I have a coffee table that is a dark wood finish. It was given to me by my husband's mother, not exactly sure how old it is. It is starting to loose its shiny service and upon that my son decided to play on it and has made several scratches on the surface. How can I bring back the shine and make the scratches at least a little less noticeable.
They have wood coloring that comes in crayon form at hardware stores to put on the scratches. Just match to the color of your wood. Then you can put the shin back in several ways. To just put a shine on you can get linseed oil or a paste wax and rub into the wood. To put a protection on the table you can polyurithan(not sure I spelled right) or for a heavy protection you can put epoxy coating on the table, these take a little longer to set and dry but if you have the time it may be worth it in the long run to keep the table longer.
The best thing I have found for your problem is a liquid called Old English Scratch cover. It comes for light or dark wood. Follow bottle directions and I think you will be very happy with the new finish. After, simply shine it with furniture wax. I love Behold.
I agree with Joan, Old English works wonders on the scratches and there is Johnson's Mini Wax go to your local Lowe's store and ask the person in the paint dept. what would restore the lustre back. I hope i have been helpful to you.
I got paint stain markers from walmart that matched the wood colors of my furniture. They worked perfectly. The come in alot of shades too.
Use Old English to blend the color then take dark shoe polish (Kiwi is one, it is the wax type) rub all over the table then buff well with a soft cloth. I used to do upholstery work and this remedy worked very well for me. You can build up the wax shoe polish over the scratches so they don't show.
Old English scratch cover is the best way to repair your table. I'd apply it all over the whole table. This method is tried and true.
On HGTV's Design Remix, the host talks about a product called "furniture restorer." I'm not sure what that is, but would like to find out. Years ago we had a product called Liquid Gold that was said to restore furniture to its original luster.
But, I have used Old English Scratch Cover (for dark wood) and have had success. I always keep it on hand for touchups when needed. Your furniture will look like new.
I agree on the Old English scratch cover. I have antique mix&max dining room chairs and using this stuff covers any little nicks or scratches and makes them shine with a rich glow. Great stuff and inexpensive. A bottle will last you for years.
Does anyone know how to repair damage done by acetone? I accidentally dropped nail polish remover on my new coffee table and caused damaged. It looks awful! Any help would be appreciated.
I've just purchased a second hand table. In transport it was scratched by accident. It's a clear varnished maple coloured table. The scratches are white and quite deep. Does anyone have any ideas how to cover them? Thanks.
By dolly123 from UK
You can buy some kind of sticks in different colors that if you can find one in an identical color or close to it, you can use that to fill in the scratch. On dark furniture nothing beats the dark Old English polish.
Any store that sells paint and stain sells the touchup filler sticks and touchup stain markers right in the same area as the wood stains usually. I like to cut a sliver of the filler crayon off with a smooth polished putty knife and wipe it onto the scratch that way. Then hold the polished face of the putty knife blade firmly down on the damage and rub the filler into the scratch.
If the underside of the table is finished and has any scratches I would try my repairs there first until I liked my results. If there isn't a scratch, I might even make one where it doesn't show if I really like the table. You would hate to ruin the table by getting the wrong color that shows worse than the scratch. Not to scare you but a voice of experience.
I have really old unfinished wood floors all through my home. We can't afford to refinish them right now, but I got two great ideas that really work, from this site.
1- plain mineral oil cleaned the wood well and hid scratched.
2- Liquid Gold acted like a small miracle in our house. It made the wood warmer looking, shined, hid scratch mark. I won't be without it.
However, if you have a real antique work real money, I'd take it to a professional. It would be an investment. Good Luck!
Best way to remove scratch from an oak table top?
Jerry from Lee's Summit, MO
You can't really remove the scratch, but you can fill it in the so it will blend with the rest of the wood. Use a crayon which is a close match to the oak table top. Gently melt the crayon to soften it and apply over the scratch, then buff with a soft cloth.
It really works!
You might try lightly sanding it if the scratch isn't deep and apply a matching oak stain over the entire table top. I worked out a sizeable scratch on an old cherry sewing machine cabinet and then restained over the drawer and you couldn't tell it was ever scratched and I used an electric sander. If you try this out, you will need a protective finish.
Go to your hardware store or French Polisher and get special crayons that are made for just that problem. Don't use the 'rub it with a shelled walnut' tip if it comes up, I've tried it and it's a myth!
How can I get rid of small scratches on my dark wooden table?
By Ginseng from England
I have successfully used brown shoe polish, both solid and liquid.
I use the meat of the walnut. Not the shell but the walnut itself.
How do you fix scratches on a coffee table?
By Helen Bra
If this is a stained and finished wood surface you can sand down and refinish the table or the use the product - "Liquid Gold" which is a kind of furniture polish that minimizes scratches. You might also try using wood filler and stain the filler to match. I have never tried it but I have been told by furniture restorers that you can add the stain to the wood filler. But if this is not a wood surface (ie has the laminate) you can use a product called "Furniture Touch Ups!". It will not repair but will minimize the visible scratch. You can also tell your sister that scratches add to the value of a piece of furniture when it becomes an antique. That "aged" look.
Good Luck!
I mix a little hot water with some instant coffee, making a paste. Then rub on the scratches and rub in well. Let dry. It will match walnut wood perfectly.
This is a page about covering up nicks and scratches on wood. In addition to store bought scratch repair items, you can try instant coffee and crayons to try covering up scratches and nicks on your furniture.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
How can I remove a couple scratches on a dark wood table?
An antique dealer told me this useful trade secret for covering up light scratches on dark wood furniture.
An antique dealer told me this useful trade secret for covering up light scratches on dark wood furniture.
I put a flower pot on my sister's new dining room table while I was arranging flowers and have scratched her table as I was turning the pot while adjusting the flowers.
A tip for covering scratches on dark furniture - Using a partially green walnut husk, simply rub the scratch until you're satisfied with the darkening effect.
