How to Remove Scratches From Hardwood Floors

There is nothing more beautiful than a well kept hardwood floor. The natural warm beauty is welcoming in any home or business. Unfortunately, hardwood floors can be fairly difficult to maintain. They must be sanded, waxed, and cleaned fairly regularly. What's more, shoes, dog claws, furniture, and boxes can actually scratch the beautiful surface you so love to admire. Fortunately, there is a way to hide hardwood floor scratches without re-sanding and re-finishing the entire surface. This article will give you step by step instructions so you can get rid of your minor to medium scratches in your own hardwood floors.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• 2 cloths
• wood cleaner
• steel wool pad
• mineral spirits
• scouring pad
• wax wood repair stick

1. Clean the scratched wood area with a clean cloth and commercial wood cleaner. You want all the dirt and grime out of the picture. This way you get a perfect look at the scratch and you don't grind dirt into the wood grain.

2. Rub a steel wool pad over the scratched area.Rub hard enough to buff out the scratch, but not too hard as to make the scratch more noticeable. Be sure to rub with the grain of the hardwood floors.

3. Feather out your steel wool buffing to the surrounding areas slightly.You don't want to bother much of the hardwood surrounding the scratch, but you do want the sanding to look as natural as possible. Slight buffing around the edges will help.

4. Rub a color matched wax wood repair stick to the area if the scratch is still noticeable. Colored wax can be found in three main colors: blonde, clear, and brown. These colors will match almost any hardwood floor. Stay away from the clear wax for covering scratches.

5. Wait 10 minutes before touching or walking over the hardwood floor. You want to give the wax time to set up a bit. Then, in a large sweeping motion, wipe the area clean with another clean cloth.

Tips & Warnings

• If your hardwood floor is finished with a coat of polyurethane, take a scouring pad and dip it in some mineral spirits before you rub the scratched floor.

• Do not wax your floor if it is covered with a polyurethane layer. You will have no success if you try to re-coat it in the future.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• HomeTips.com