How to fix deep scratches in wood table

You don’t have to live with scratches, dings, or dents on your wood furniture. Here are some easy ways to get it looking new again.

Today I’m going to share with you the easy no-sanding, no refinishing steps I learned to repair scratches in wood furniture. Is it what a professional furniture restorer would do? No, but you also won’t have to pay for one. It’s what a frugal homemaker does, and it works well enough that I haven’t had to take my furniture to a restorer yet. But, as always, if it’s a valuable or sentimentally irreplaceable item, you should take it to a professional.

How to Fix Minor Scratches in Wood Furniture

Very light scratches are those you can see with your eye, but you don’t feel them when you run a finger across it. These just need a little cosmetic fixing, which is very easy to do. The method you’ll need to use depends on the tone of the wood.

Start by Removing the Wax

Many times, scratches are just in the wax buildup on furniture. That was the case with an old dresser I bought. Pointing out a scratch got me a 25% discount because the antique store didn’t want the hassle of refinishing it. When I got home, I removed layers of wax and discovered perfectly smooth wood. So, if you’re dealing with buildup in addition to scratches, be sure you remove the wax buildup from your furniture before trying to fix scratches in wood. That may be all you need to do!

Covering Scratches in Light Wood

Using a nut: Match the color of the nut with the color of the furniture, then forcefully rub the nut on the scratch. Pecan, walnut, and peanut all work well. You can even use peanut butter or almond butter if that’s all you have on hand. The nut oil darkens the exposed wood and makes the scratch disappear. Once you’re happy with how it looks, press your fingertip over it for a minute. The heat of your skin helps the nut oil sink into the wood.

Using olive oil and vinegar: Combine 1 part white distilled vinegar and 2 parts olive oil. Whisk until completely mixed, then dab the mixture onto the scratch. The vinegar’s acetic acid helps fill the scratch, while the olive oil corrects the scratch’s color and moisturizes the wood. Repeat until you can’t see the scratch.

Covering Scratches in Dark Wood

Dark wood comes in a variety of tones and colors. To cover scratches in dark furniture, choose a coloring agent that matches the wood.

• Mahogany or cherry wood: use iodine or shoe polish.
• Darker woods like acacia: use damp coffee grounds.
• Medium-colored wood: use black tea. The darker the wood, the stronger the tea you should use.
• Ebony wood: use fireplace or wood ash mixed with a little water to form a paste.

Use a cotton swab or paintbrush to apply a heavy layer of whatever coloring agent you chose, taking care not to get it on the surrounding wood. Let it sit in place for an hour or so, then wipe away the excess. Finish by using homemade furniture polish to set the color.

If you can feel the scratch when you run your finger over it, you’ll need something that both colors and fills. Chances are you’ve already got the right tool in your child’s Crayon box: just find a color that matches your furniture and rub it well into the scratch. Remove any excess with the edge of a credit card, then polish your furniture to help it blend. Rather not use Crayon? I’ve used these blendable scratch repair sticks* with pretty good results.

How to Fix Dents or Gouges in Wood Furniture

If the gouge is light, try the iron method, then follow the steps for covering scratches in wood. To fix gouges and dents in painted wood furniture, you’ll need to follow the steps for sanding and refinishing.

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Using an Iron

To remove dents from wood furniture using your iron, very lightly dampen a thick white towel. (White will not transfer dyes to the furniture you’re fixing.) Place the damp towel over the dent and run a hot iron continuously over the spot for 30 seconds. Rotate the cloth, so you’re again working with a damp area, and repeat. Once you’ve lifted the dent, wait 24 hours to let the wood fully dry, then rub the area with olive oil to remove any haze.

Using Sand Paper

Sometimes, there’s just no getting around the use of sandpaper to remove scratches or dents on wood furniture. If the item is painted, for example, any dents or scratches probably removed paint, too. But you may not have to refinish or repaint the entire piece, provided you’ve got more matching finish or paint. You just need to smooth the area first.

One way to spot-treat scratches or dents on furniture is by sanding the blemish along the wood grain with 180 grit paper. Then, clean off the dust and repeat with a 240 grit until you can’t feel the scratch anymore. Now it’s time to color the scratch. For painted wood, use a fine artist’s paintbrush and matching paint. For finished wood, use one of the coloring agents, then follow with paste wax (for satin finishes) or auto polishing compound (for glossy finishes) and a soft cloth.

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Inside: Tired of scratches making your furniture look old and tired? Check out how to fix deep scratches in wood. It's easy and only costs a few dollars. It works well on scratches in wood table or nicks in wood.

I absolutely love my dining room table. I bought it a couple of years ago on clearance from Costco and it is just the perfect size for our family of three.

Because it is right off the kitchen and living room it gets so much use. We usually eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner on it. I use it every day as a computer desk.

I always try to keep it free from clutter and I love using this trick to keep the wood free from dust and shiny.

With all the use it gets quite a lot of dings and scratches on the table top. It's also a dark wood so every little scratch and scrape really stands out.

For the first year or two, I just lived with the scratches. Then there were a couple of bad scratches that I was desperate to fix.

I had tried a stain marker before without a lot of luck. Although stain markers seem like they would be easy to use and fix the wood scratches, the stain would quickly wear away and it never did anything to fill the deep scratches and nicks in wood.

I was so excited when I found a long term fix for the deep scratches in the wood. You can see how I do it in the video below.

Tired of scratches making your furniture look old and tired? Check out how to fix deep scratches in wood. It's easy and only cost a few dollars. Find out how to fill in scratches on wood quickly and easily.

How To Fix Deep Scratches In Wood

It's easy to fix scratches in wood, even if they are really deep.

It will take about 20-30 minutes total to fix the scratches.

Prepping the Wood

To get started I recommend cleaning the wood first. Take a damp microfiber cloth and clean off the table or whatever wood furniture you are working with.

This really helps to get any dirt or grime out of the way before you fill the scratch. Make sure the scratches are clean of anything.

You can use a q-tip if you need to remove anything from the scratches. Because the scratches are in a table they sometimes get salt and little bits of food in them.

Let the table and the scratches completely dry after wiping it down.

Materials You Will Need

To fill the scratches you will need these wood filler crayons.

They not only do a great job of filling the scratches, but they are in different colors so you don't have to restain where you filled the scratch.

The variety of colors should match most wood furniture you may have.

These wood filler for scratches work so much better than the markers. I highly recommend you buy only this brand.

Filling Deep Scratches

Below is a picture of one of the deep scratches in my table. You can see that the top layer and stain is completely gone.

To fill the scratch you will want to choose the color wax crayon that best matches your stain. They have 5 colors of wood filler so you should be able to find a match for most furniture.

My table is really dark so I am using one of the darker shades.

Gently run the wax crayon over the scratch.

You will want to completely fill the scratch so this may take a few minutes. Once you have filled the scratched area then take a rag or paper towel and gently wipe away any excess wax from around the scratches.

You will want to be really gentle when you do this so you don't remove all of the wax.

Make sure you clean the area outside of the scratches to remove any wax residue there too.

Let the wax dry for about 20-30 minutes and buff the area where the scratches were.

Repeat If Necessary

If your scratches are really deep then you may want to go over the area a second time.

As you can see in the picture below the scratched area is hardly noticeable. It not only filled in the deep scratch but it also blended pretty well with the color of the stain.

The best part is that it has held up for the last 6 months. I haven't had any problems with the wax coming off, wearing away, or transferring onto papers or material. This is how it looks months later.

For just around $5 and a few minutes of your time, your scratched furniture can look so much better. This tip easily fixes deep scratches in wood.

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Plus it will last instead of needing to be fixed over and over again. No need to worry about how to fix deep scratches in wood furniture.

You have an easy tip that will work time after time. Want to keep your wood furniture looking shiny and clean? Check out this easy-to-use DIY dusting spray.