No matter how careful a family is, wood furniture gets scratched. The culprit could be anything from keys or toys to Mr. Fluffy Boots deciding that his scratching post isn’t nearly as interesting as your dresser. Don’t let it get to you — scratches can be easily, and inexpensively, covered using a variety of things you already have around the house.
- Very light scratches can be disguised by rubbing nut meat (walnut, pecan, etc.) along the scratch. The oil from the nut will darken the scratched wood, making it unnoticeable. Other good disguisers: coffee grounds for dark wood; iodine for mahogany; ashes for black wood; and shoe polish or markers for anything in between.
- Slightly deeper scratches: If the scratch is more than simply visible — you can feel it 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 along the scratch. Remove any excess Crayon was with the edge of a credit card.
- Deep, dent-like scratches: I was once told to place a damp towel over a furniture ding and iron it with a warm iron. Supposedly, the ding would “pop right up”. In reality, not only did the ding remain, but I wound up with an iron-shaped haze on my coffee table. Now I know to head down to Home Depot or some other hardware store and find a wax filler pen or pencil (Minwax is one brand) and follow the instructions on the box.
If none of the above work, you could always put a scarf, tablecloth or tray over the scratch so no one sees it. Or just tell them it’s an antique. Yeah, an antique, that’s what it is.
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