At-Home Remedies to Remove Scratches From Wood Furniture

Don't let a scratch ruin a beautiful piece of wood furniture. Superficial scuffs and shallow marks can be repaired with a few do-it-yourself methods. The at-home remedies work best if only the surface or wood finish is scratched. If the mark goes deep into the wood, talk to a professional about potential solutions. This guide will help you figure out what type of scratch you're dealing with and diagnose the best method of repair.

Often you can rehabilitate wooden furniture that's been scuffed or scratched by giving it a good polish. This method works best for small surface scratches that don't penetrate the wood finish. These are scratches you can feel with your finger but you don't see any discoloration.

Mix equal parts lemon juice and olive oil together in a small dish. Dip a soft lint-free cloth into the mixture. Rub the cloth over the scratch until it's no longer noticeable.

Sometimes you'll get scratches that create a discoloration in the wood, but they don't have a groove that you can feel with your fingertip. For those kinds of scratches you can color them in with one of the following coloring options. When the coloring agent dries, cover the spot with wax or varnish.

Rub a shelled walnut in circular motions over the scratch. Give the area a few minutes for the oil from the nut to darken the wood.

Brew a small amount of strong black tea. Dab the tea onto the scratches with a cotton swab, then quickly wipe away the excess with a paper towel to prevent the wood around the scratches from being stained.

Dip a cotton swab in moist coffee grounds, and then apply it to the scratches in the wood. Wait for about 15 to 20 minutes, and then wipe the surface with a dry cloth. This works best on darker wood furniture.

Gently color in the area with a matching marker or colored pencil.

For mahogany finishes, dip a cotton swab in iodine, and then apply it to the scratches in the wood. For light-colored woods like maple or cherry, use a mixture of 50 percent denatured alcohol and 50 percent iodine on a cotton swab and apply to the scratch until it is gone.

To fix a scratch that you can both see and feel, try a wax crayon. The wax will fill the scratch and hide the discoloration.

Pick a wax crayon that matches your furniture. Apply the crayon to the scratch, and then rub the spot with your finger to blend the the finish. Remove any excess crayon wax, and then apply a wax or polish to the surface to restore the finish.