The end of year is upon us and along with it the holiday hurly burly of dressing up the house to greet family and friends. Perhaps, part of your hurly involved single-handedly relocating the furniture in the room for a fresh feel. You push and shove in cautious spurts marveling at the complicity of your smooth wood floors in allowing you to easily glide the bookcase across the room with the ease of a hockey puck across ice.
Closing in on the new destination, your mind begins wandering ahead to what a great the statement the red bookcase will make anchoring its new spot. Suddenly, the smooth glide is interrupted. An absent-minded nudge gets it going again but not without the playback of a mind focusing, scraping sound. Too late. Gash in floor.
Yes, indeed, it’s noticeable. Throwing a rug over the fresh wound is strategically out of the question. You toy with making the visible mark a conversation piece for you and guests when the time arrives. But the scar is not pretty. Left alone, it will only provoke the rude question “why didn’t you fix it?” So another thing to do.
So let’s make the fix.
Repairing a gash or gouge in a genuine wood floor really can be easy. First thing to do is notice how deep the gash is and which way it’s going – across the grain or with it. With the grain or parallel is the easiest fix. Against the grain means taking a little more time and paying closer attention but still an easy fix.
>>For shallow scratches and nicks
Scratch remover markers are great. They can be found in the widest variety of shades and hues at a woodworker or craft supplier or lumber yard. Home improvement centers are also a good source but typically have fewer shade choices. The tool resembles a magic marker. Purchase two or three shades from lighter to darker close to the floor color.
Before applying to the scratch, strip the area of its wax coating. Next, dab the tip of the repair marker on a rag or paper towel to control the flow. Start with the lighter shade. Apply to the scratch, then the darker shade. The idea is to gradually build up the color so it matches the surrounding floor. Let the repair set for a couple hours then top with a coating of floor wax. There are instant-drying lacquer aerosols but given their harm to the environment I would not recommend them
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>>Deep scratches and dents (will work on floors and furniture)
With a couple of soft wet and dry rags handy, fill the damaged spot with a colored latex wood filler darker than the flooring. Using the wet rag first, then the dry rag wipe up any excess right away since it will leave a smear on the surrounding floor. A couple of applications may be necessary. Let the job dry then lightly hand sand with a fine grit sandpaper and buff the area with a soft rag. Be prepared to refinish the whole floor for a uniform look.
Another way to make this repair is to focus a damp rag over the dent and apply the heat of a steam iron. This will make the wood swell. Be sure to focus the rag and iron application on the damaged area only. Fill with latex wood filler, sand, buff and prepare to refinish the floor.
>>Burns
For superficial burns, strip the wax coating from the damaged area, sand the burn, fill with a couple shades of colored latex wood filler and follow finishing instructions above. For deeper burns, you will have to cut out the burn by cutting off the portion of the floor board it is on and replace with the same type of floor. Take the cut piece to the store to get a match if you are not certain of the type floor you have.
Do you really have to move the furniture? Are you sure folks are coming over? Maybe corralling the dust buffaloes and creating the scent of freshly baked cookies is enough. I’m just sayin’.
