How to Apply Lacquer to Repair a Wood Scratch

If you have a piece of wood furniture with a large scratch on it, you might think the piece is beyond repair. You might even be tempted to throw it away because you don’t want to use a damaged piece in your home and you can’t afford to pay for professional repairs. You can easily repair scratches yourself in wood furniture, using lacquer to hide the scratches. One you follow these steps the piece will look as good as new.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Sandpaper
• Fill stick
• Lacquer
• Cloth
• Varnish or sealant

1. Examine the scratch to see how deep it is. If you can easily fit your fingernail into the scratch then you’ll need a rougher grade of sandpaper. Smaller surface scratches can be fixed with a piece of smoother sandpaper.

2. Sand the area around the scratch lightly with a piece of sandpaper until the scratch disappears into the wood grain. You should be able to touch the wood and not feel the damage.

3. Use a fill stick in a matching wood shade to cover up any signs of the scratch. These fill sticks are available at home improvement stores around the world.

4. Pour a small amount of lacquer onto a clean dry cloth and rub it onto the piece of furniture. Generally speaking you should go against the grain to get the lacquer in as close as possible.

5. Allow the lacquer to dry and check to see if a second coat is needed. Depending on the severity of the damage you may need to apply several coats to properly hide the scratches.

6. Apply a coat of clear varnish or sealant to the piece of wood furniture and let it air dry. This will protect the lacquer you just applied and keep your furniture looking great for years to come.

Tips & Warnings

• A wood marker works just as well to fix scratches if you can’t find a fill stick. Make sure you use a color that matches the color of your furniture.