If you are like most people, you use your dining room furniture a lot. You can tell that it is well-used and well-loved by the number of scratches, water rings, and the like that have happened over the years despite how careful you have tried to treat it. It's just a fact of life: wood furniture is going to get damaged. The good news is that you have options that you can do to bring your beautiful furniture back to life again instead of living with all of those awful scratches. Continue reading to learn about a few methods that you can try today to reduce the appearance of scratches on your wood furniture.
Coffee Grounds or Tea Bags
If the scratch is lighter than the wood, you can use coffee grounds to darken the scratch up so it will blend in with the wood. Place some coffee grounds onto the scratch and use a cotton swab to dab them into the scratch. Do a light application and give the coffee a few hours to set afterwards before you apply another coat, or you may make the scratch too dark.
Black tea is also another good option to bring a lighter scratch back to the color of the furniture. You simply steep a bag of tea in a little water and use a cotton ball to apply the tea to the scratch. Wipe the surface after each cotton ball application of tea so that the tea is only in the scratch. After a few applications, the scratch will match the surface again.
Lemon Juice and Vegetable Oil
If you have a surface scratch that is only in the finish of the furniture and not into the wood, you can use lemon juice and vegetable oil to treat it. Mix equal parts together and apply it generously to the scratch with a lint-free cloth. Rub the mixture into the wood in the same direction that the scratch goes until the scratch disappears. The lemon juice shines the wood and the oil fills in the scratch.
Nuts
You can take a nut and rub it into the scratch to fill it in and hide it. An almond, Brazil nut, pecan, and walnut all work well for this, and you will choose which one to use based on the finish color of your wood. You just firmly rub the nut into the scratch the same direction it is going.
Crayons, Eyebrow Pencils, and Markers
Crayons, eyebrow pencils, and permanent felt tip markers can all color the scratch in to make it less noticeable. A crayon is a great option because the wax will not only color the scratch, but also fill it in. An eyebrow pencil is better for smaller scratches since it is more delicate. If the idea of turning your furniture into an art project worries you, you can purchase touch up crayons and markers at the hardware store that are made for this purpose.
As you can see, your beloved, but scratched up furniture still has hope yet. These methods will at least reduce the appearance of the scratches so you can enjoy the piece again. If all else fails, you can have it professionally refinished with dining room furniture companies like North Carolina Furniture & Mattress to restore it back to life.
Share8 December 2014
