How to remove scratches on furniture at home

If you find that there are scratches on the interior items, do not be discouraged, in this text you will find the answer to the question of how you can repair scratches on wooden furniture.

Dusting off — When wiping dust from wooden furniture, it is difficult not to notice cracks, scratches, scuffs.

The most common ways and answers to questions about minor furniture repairs are described below.

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How furniture scratches appear
How to remove scratches
Care rules and preventive measures
Video: how to disguise scratches on furniture

How furniture scratches appear

Unfortunately, damage to furniture is not an isolated incident, but rather a common occurrence. Over time, furniture acquires imperfections in the form of mechanical damage to the surfaces.

If the furniture does not break, then external mechanical damage still cannot be avoided.

And it doesn't matter if old age, children play or just careless handling of furniture is to blame. The main thing is that there is always an opportunity to correct the appearance with the help of improvised means.

Scratches spoil the ideal look of the lacquered product and leave an unpleasant residue.

Whether these methods will be using professional tools and materials, or you will use methods proven by the people, it does not matter. The most important thing is to get a result that suits you completely.

How to remove scratches

In fact, some tools can help you deal with the problem in the form of chips, nicks or scratches quickly enough. All methods of eliminating defects can be divided into two types.

You can find various polishes for wood furniture in the store.

One of them will be using special substances, it can be described as:

Effective.
Possible increased toxicity.
Not the cheapest.
There is not always the availability of the required color scheme.

If you have the time and money, then you should turn to professionals for help.

The second method appeared thanks to folk ingenuity, it will be:

Not the most expensive (sometimes the cheapest).
Safe to use.
It can be found in almost any home.
It does not cope with all damage.

Scratches and chips on wood furniture or doors are a common problem.

Consider the most famous and most effective substances that help us understand how we can remove scratches from polished furniture.

The earlier you start repairs, the less effort you will have to make to repair the damage.

Wax

The most important thing is to make the surface clean before applying the wax. We remove dirt, dust, any streaks and start repairing.

More serious damage is removed with special furniture wax.

Important! Use a lint-free cloth for this operation. Moving the cloth in a circle, gently rub the wax substance at the site of damage. Then we wait until it dries completely (10-20 minutes). The next step is to polish this place with a soft material, and you should not try too hard, it will be enough to get wet and remove unnecessary residues.

Shoe polish

Sometimes, when you're thinking about how to remove scratches from furniture, look at your shoe polish. If it is dark, it will help hide damage on dark furniture. And vice versa. The main thing with this method is to find the necessary color balance.

The found scratch is cleaned and treated with a cream.The waiting time for the absorption of the substance is from five to ten minutes. Then we just remove unnecessary leftovers. There are some disadvantages when using this tool:

the ability to repair only very small scratches;
after some time, the procedure must be repeated (especially if wet cleaning is carried out).

apply cream — Before applying the cream on a visible surface, you need to test it on an inconspicuous area.

It is advisable to select a high-quality shoe polish for this action, so the time for the next repair will be postponed.

Iodine or machine oil

Many people, looking at scratches on furniture, think about how to remove them simply by looking around them. And someone very clever guessed to use iodine when repairing furniture. This pharmaceutical product will be able to remove shallow damage on wooden interior items.

This will be especially effective when applied to dark woods.

Note! It is necessary to work with gloves, iodine is a strong coloring agent. Using a cotton swab, we wet it in an iodine solution and paint over the whitened areas left over from damage.

Also, for deep and superficial damage, regular machine oil will work. It should be noted that this substance is also not suitable for light wood, as well as iodine.

We take the oil, abundantly soak a cotton swab or disk in it, and carefully treat the scratches that have appeared. Absorbing into the structure of wood fibers, it fills both the upper and deeper layers, which has a positive effect on the appearance of the treated surface.

Putty process

A very important decision in how to remove scratches on furniture at home will be the use of putty. This remedy comes to the rescue when the defect is very noticeable. To make home repairs and remove severe damage to furniture, you need to purchase a putty of the required color.

wax shade — If you are not sure if you have chosen the right shade, start with the lightest one.

Fortunately, the color gamut of this material is quite large. The applied special composition of this material, after its drying, is practically indistinguishable from the structure of the wood used for furniture. The first step is to clean and degrease the area where the problem has arisen.

putty furniture — The leg of the table or the corner of the dresser can be putty, but the edge of the drawer or the top is unlikely.

Then, using a plastic or rubber spatula, carefully apply the putty. Wait until the part to be processed is dry and using fine emery material to process the repair site.

After putty — After the putty, the furniture is sanded.

After you have been able to remove the irregularities, sand with a piece of felt. If the item was varnished, apply a layer of fresh, required varnish on top.

Specialized tools

You can remove scuffs from furniture in just a couple of minutes if you use compositions specially designed for furniture items for this. Despite the increased cost, you can still find budget options. But the effect from them will be many times better.

remove scratches — There are special markers for removing scratches.

The main types of such assistants:

a pencil with a wax filler, sometimes just one movement is enough to remove a scratch from the table. The wide range of colors pleasantly surprises.
Hatch. Help when furniture has scuffs, small tears or scratches, while masking small seams. It is similar in principle to a proofreader used in clerical work. Wear-resistant, resistant to external influences.
Markers. Easy application, fast action. It is used to paint over scratches with furniture paint inside the marker.
Paint (acrylic, alkyd).Sometimes furniture that is old enough is best covered with paint. The area for processing is degreased, painted, dried and, if necessary, covered with varnish.
A substance called mastic. One of the materials that deal with damage reliably and very quickly. Gives a gloss to the wood structure, can remove chips, cracks, traces left by the claws of pets.

Masking deep cracks

When there is severe damage that deeply violates the structure of the object, it is necessary to use purely professional means, developed specifically for furniture restoration.

cracks in furniture — You can get rid of deep cracks in your furniture.

They should fill the resulting defects (scratches, dents, cracks) as much as possible. It can be both putty and paste, wax crayons, sometimes sealant or any other mixtures intended for furniture repair.

In case of serious damage, special equipment should be used.

Care rules and preventive measures

When self-repairing furniture damage, it is very important to remember that the product used should not contain substances that are aggressive towards the wood or its coating. If you are not sure about the composition, do some testing on an inconspicuous area of the furniture.

If minor damage is easy enough to clean it up with home remedies.

Perhaps additional information will be useful to you for the prevention and care of furniture:

Clean your furniture regularly using special cleaning products and soft materials.
Eliminate all solvent-based products.
Provide the optimal temperature and humidity indoors, then your furniture will serve you for many years.
Dry cleaning using special nozzles of a vacuum cleaner is necessary for hard-to-reach places near furniture items.
If you polish your furniture with mastic once a month, it will look great.