How To Repair Hardwood Floor Scratches

After testing a few popular methods, I'chiliad sharing the all-time manner to gear up scratches and gouges in your hardwood floors (including engineered hardwoods). This method is super fast and easy and it gives gorgeous results.

We take beautiful dark engineered hardwood floors that I installed around five years agone. I still absolutely dear them, but over the years they accept gathered quite a few scratches, gouges, and pocket-sized holes that don't look so great.

I accept three little boys who are incredibly active and they are pretty hard on our house, including our floors. And so it is definitely time to do something about all of the scratches our floors have accumulated.

My floors are engineered hardwood floors. Some of the methods y'all might use to fix scratches in real hardwood floors don't piece of work then well for engineered floors. However, the method I'm using to ready my scratched engineered hardwoods will also work but fine on solid hardwood floors.

This post contains affiliate links which ways if you lot make a purchase after clicking a link I volition earn a modest commission merely it won't toll you a penny more.  Click here to see my full disclosure policy.

Iii ways to set scratches in hardwood floors

I always first every project I practise in our abode with some research. I did a bit of enquiry into the all-time and most popular ways to gear up scratches in hardwood floors and chose a few methods that seemed promising to test out for myself.

Touch-up stain

I actually tried this method a couple of years agone since it seemed like the easiest method and I already had all the materials on hand.

I simply used a q-tip dipped in wood stain that closely matched the color of my floors and rubbed it on the worst scratches. And so I used a clean cloth to wipe off any backlog.

It was easy enough to do and immediately improved the appearance of the floor. You lot could still see the scratches if you lot looked closely, but they were way less noticeable.

Unfortunately, it has now been a couple of years and I tin can easily run across the spots where I did this. I didn't seal the stain, then the sheen of these spots is more than matte than the surrounding floor. And because it wasn't sealed, it has also faded over fourth dimension.

Woods Filler Kit

Afterward doing some more searching, I found some small wood filler kits that are popular for fixing scratches in forest floors and piece of furniture.

These kits comprise tubes of a resin woods filler in multiple colors to match a diverseness woods tones. I bought 1 of these kits with decent reviews to try for myself.

In theory I thought I would really similar this solution because information technology is a very uncomplicated i-step procedure. Only in reality it didn't work and then well.

The fillers come in small tubes that go far really easy to apply.

That is, they are piece of cake to apply unless you lot need to mix a custom color to friction match your floors which you will nigh e'er have to practice. In that case you demand to mix the two colors together before applying them to the scratch which is a bit more difficult.

I likewise didn't love the consistency of this product. The resin wood filler had a consistency that was more similar to paint than a traditional woods filler so information technology wasn't really thick enough to hands fill up deeper scratches and holes. '

While this kit may work swell for fixing scratches in piece of furniture, but it wasn't quite plenty for fixing wood floors.

Wood Repair Markers

I also institute that these wood repair mark kits are pretty popular then I ordered one of these to examination every bit well. Luckily, I was much happier with the results.

The kit contains eight wax filler sticks that wait like crayons for filling in holes and scratches. It also contains eight markers for fixing the color of the wood scratches. And it came with a sharpener to use for getting a abrupt point on the crayons for filling smaller areas.

This kit is pretty simple to employ, but I did observe in that location is a bit of a learning curve. At beginning I had a really hard fourth dimension figuring out how to make the scratches truly alloy in seamlessly.

But I kept experimenting and I figured out a few simple tricks that really help make it easy to become amazing results.

Materials

• Wood Repair Marker Kit – there are several different versions available that all look somewhat similar. This is the kit I used and I was super happy with it.
• hairdryer – for warming the wax crayons
• small plastic putty knife or quondam credit carte du jour – for smoothing the wood filler
• clean cloth or newspaper towel – for wiping off backlog product

How to Set Scratched Wood Floors

Make clean your floors

The first stride is to clean your floors thoroughly. Information technology's fine to use any method you usually apply to make clean your floors; you just desire them clean and free of debris that could keep the filler/color from adhering well.

Make full deep scratches and holes with the filler

For deeper scratches and holes, you'll outset with 1 of the wax crayons in the kit.

There will be several dissimilar colors of wax sticks in your kit. The color of the wood filler doesn't have to exactly match your floors because yous volition set up any colour variations in the next step. But choosing a colour that is a pretty close match will brand the whole process easier.

You would think you should choose the one that looks the most like to your floors, but actually it is all-time to start with one a couple of shades lighter than your flooring.

The color often ends up looking much darker than yous expected once it's applied. If yous use a color that is too dark, it tin be difficult or impossible to lighten information technology with the wood repair markers; merely it is very easy to darken a colour that is too light.

Once yous've chosen a crayon, you need to warm it to soften the wax. Initially, I just tried warming the crayon by holding it in my fist to warm it with torso heat, but that really didn't work very well.

After a fleck of experimenting, I realized a hair dryer was the perfect solution. If you lot warm the tip of the crayon with a hair dryer for five to x seconds, the wax volition soften the perfect corporeality for it to cook right into the scratches and fill them smoothly.

One time you've applied the filler, you can utilise a plastic putty knife or an sometime credit card to scrape off any excess filler for a super smooth finish.

Cover scratches and scuffs with the markers

One time everything is overnice and smooth, it's fourth dimension to pull out the markers. I promise this goes without saying, but these are not the same as the Crayola markers that kids use. These are markers especially formulated for fixing scratches in wood.

These markers are perfect for using on their own to fix scuff marks and superficial scratches likewise equally using in combination with the filler to fix larger divots and scratches. They will non fill in deep holes and scratches though; that is what the filler sticks are for. The markers just correct the colour.

Because this step is all about fixing the colour, choosing the right colour is especially of import.

Be certain to start with a color that is a couple of shades lighter than your floors. If the colour ends up existence besides light, you can ever add a second coat to darken it or fifty-fifty add a coat of a darker color.

Using a marker that is likewise low-cal is easy to fix while using a marker that is too dark is nearly incommunicable to fix.

Originally I chose two colors that looked closest to my floors and tested them in an camouflaged area. Even though they looked like they should friction match, they were really fashion too dark! The marker that actually ended up matching well looks much lighter than my actual floors.

Once yous've figured out which mark looks the all-time, using them is incredibly easy.

Lightly colour over the scratched area with the marking then wipe it with a clean cloth to remove the backlog. The mark will adhere to the raw, exposed forest of the scratches but hands wipes off the residuum of the floor that is even so sealed.

Simply exist sure to work in small sections and work speedily because the markers do dry fast. If the marking dries completely without being wiped, it will not blend in well with the balance of your flooring.

And that'due south it. It really is crazy easy and I have been thrilled with the results.

Here are a few more than before and afters from other areas around the firm.

And now I'm excited to attempt using these markers to ready upwardly a few scratches on some wood furniture I have. Somehow it seems like there is always something scratched or cleaved or in need of repairs around here!

Video Tutorial

I also put together a quick video tutorial showing the whole process that you lot tin can lookout man below.

I'd love for you tosubscribe to my Youtube channel!

Other simple fixes I think y'all'll dearest:

• How to Keep Your Shower Curtain from Falling Downwardly
• Save your Couch: How to Make clean a Microfiber Couch
• How to Refinish a Worn Out Dining Table

I'd honey for you to pin this post on Pinterest!

Materials

• Wood Repair Markers
• Paper Towels

Tools

• Hairdryer
• Small Plastic Putty Knife

Instructions

1. Clean your floors thoroughly.
2. Fill deep scratches and holes using one of the wax crayons in the forest repair kit. Warm the wax crayons start to soften the wax with a hair dryer and and then fill in the scratches.
3. Utilize a plastic putty knife to scrape off any backlog filler.
4. Use the included markers to fix scuff marks and superficial scratches. Be sure to start with a marker that is a couple of shades lighter than your floor. You can always go over information technology with a darker marker if needed.
5. Lightly color over the scratched area and immediately wipe it clean.

Source: https://www.lovelyetc.com/how-to-fix-scratches-on-wood-floors-the-quick-and-easy-way/

Share this post