In a perfect world, you don’t have this problem because you take great care of your floors. But life happens, right? We don’t often give DIY advice, but there are some things that don’t require a professional. If you have light hairline scratches, here’s how to fix scratches on hardwood floors.
First get a set of wood or furniture repair markers. These are like “magic markers” and Sharpies. You may need to blend a couple of markers to get the color you need. This takes some experimentation. Since wood has variation, what matches one area may not work on another area.
For deeper scratches or gouges you will need wax sticks or crayon type sticks, again in several colors so that you can custom blend.
A color matched wood filler and wood putty are other options. Some dry hard, some don’t. These tend to be for holes in the wood and cracks between planks.
If you have a prefinished floor, the manufacturer may make a touch up kit that is blended to the color of the floor. If you know the floor that you have (manufacturer, style, and color) we can check if there is a touch up kit available.
Step 1: Prepare Area
Sweep the area with a soft broom and dustpan and clean it with a gentle soap and water solution. (Avoid waxes or pastes and cleaners that leave protective coats and shines.)
Step 2: Fix Scratches
Light scratches and deep scratches require different repair approaches.
How to Repair Light Scratches
1. Lightly rub fine steel wool over the scratch along the grain.
2. Choose a floor marker that matches your existing floor and test in an inconspicuous area.
3. Brush the marker over a few scratches, continuing if successful.
4. Gently rub with very fine grade steel wool and clean with a tack cloth.
5. For excessive scratches, try rubbing wood stain over the area to penetrate raw wood and then quickly wipe clean.
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How to Repair Deeper Scratches
1. Mix and test the colorants in inconspicuous areas to find a wood match.
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Design Tip So, you have hardwood floors and want a new look. Unfortunately, you can’t click your heels together three times and turn red oak into white or 2 ¼” strip hardwood into a wider plank. If that’s the look you’re dreaming of for your home, you’re going to have to replace the hardwood with new floors. If you’re looking for something a little lighter, a little warmer or a little darker, you can almost always get that effect by sanding your existing floors and staining them. The only barrier to the sand and refinish option is how many times your solid wood floors have been sanded and refinished previously. Most solid hardwood flooring can handle several rounds before it’s time to replace it.
If you have engineered wood floors, please be aware than it may not be able to be sanded. Engineered wood is thinner and is made in plies (layers) with the actual species of wood on the top layer. (The bottom layers utilize other species of wood for stability.) Engineered floors can be ¼”, 3/8” (most common), ½”, even 9/16” and ¾” thick. Unless you know that you have an engineered floor that is at least ½” thick, don’t be surprised if you are told that the floor cannot be refinished. Also, most hand scraped floors cannot be refinished. |
