The surfaces on wooden furniture are naturally vulnerable to a wide variety of damages. From scratches to nicks and gouges, wood will often show signs of wear and tear when it is being used regularly. Fortunately, many scratches can be handled at home while deeper scratches or scratches on valuable or antique furniture should be handled professionally by a Toronto furniture repair company. Here are some tips you can use to get your wooden furniture looking great again.
Fix Your Scratched Wooden Furniture Quickly
Whether you have a clumsy adult in the home, pets or kids that have created scratches on your wooden furniture, the issue should be addressed as quickly as possible. Most wooden furniture has a finish that protects the surface of the wood and when that becomes compromised, it can quickly lead to trouble down the road. Don’t put off getting scratches handled. It can save you a lot of work later.
It’s hard to avoid the normal wear and tear that comes with owning beautiful wooden furniture. It doesn’t take long either before it all adds up and you find that the word has become damaged with minor nicks or with a larger gouge. Instead of replacing the furniture you love so much, simply get it fixed. Fortunately, any type of scratch can be repaired to make the piece look shiny and new again.
How to Repair Light Scratches on Wood Furniture
If you have a furniture piece that is covered in a lot of scratches that are very light and can be attributed to everyday use, they are very easy to repair. There are furniture polishes on the market that come in different colours that you can use to conceal the scratches. Simply apply a small amount to the surface and polish the piece as you normally would. This will hide the majority of light scratches to make the wood look new again.
Dealing with Worn Edges
If your cat has decided that one of your wooden furniture pieces makes a great scratching post and the edges have worn down, reach for a touch up marker with a felt tip. You can purchase these types of markers online or in many hardware and home renovation stores. You’ll need to colour match the marker and the colour of wood by eye.
Do your best to find a good match but don’t worry too much if it isn’t perfect. While it may not look exact when you’re up close, once you take a few steps back you probably won’t notice the difference. Once you have applied the marker, use some paste wax over the area and apply it on the rest of the furniture piece as well to bring out the beauty of the wood.
How to Fix White Rings
When a hot cup of coffee is placed directly onto a piece of wooden furniture, the dreaded white ring will often appear. Denatured alcohol is the solution for this problem and can handle the issue quite quickly. If you wait too long, however, and you notice that the rings have turned black, this means that the word has sustained moisture damage. In this case, you’ll need to take off the top finish and then rub in the denatured alcohol.
If you find that your efforts with the alcohol have taken some shine away, grab some furniture polish and steel wool and rub the area down gently to bring back the shine. You’ll be amazed at the difference you’ll see by using this simple wood furniture repair tip!
Larger Scratches and Gouges
If you have a larger scratch, dent or gauge in your furniture, there is more work involved. This type of damage will often result in a sharp edge traveling along the deep scratch and you’ll need to work this out with sandpaper. You’ll then have to sand around the area to make sure that the surface is level.
After you have completed this step, it’s time to fill in the damaged area with a wax stick. Just like the markers, they are available online and in nearby stores. You’ll want to make sure that there is a bit of extra wax in the damaged area so that it can be smoothed away with a credit card. Finally, use wax paste to polish the entire furniture piece to give it back its glowing sheen.
How to Clean Wood Furniture
While you’re more than welcome to use furniture polish that you can purchase in a store, you can also use dishwashing soap that has been diluted. Use this as a cleaner and polisher for your wooden furniture. It works just as good as commercial furniture polish and as an added benefit it doesn’t leave behind any film that attracts dust.
Wood Finishing Toronto
You can try these methods on any wooden furniture you have that doesn’t hold a lot of value to you. If you have something older, antique or extra special that is sentimental, you should turn to a Toronto furniture repair company to get it fixed.
At Lanciano Furniture we can repair and restore your wooden furniture to make it look great again. Feel free to reach out to us by calling 416-746-7310 or visit our website at lancianofurniture.ca to fill in the contact form. We’ll let you know what we can do for you!