Here’s a cheap trick you’ll love: Fix scratched wood with a stain marker.
You can find wood finish stain markers in a variety of colors at your local home improvement store. Pick one that matches the finish of your scratched wood furniture. Shake up the stain marker, color in the scratch and rub it in with a dry paper towel or old rag. The scratch will disappear!
Be sure to test a small area first to make sure it looks the way you want. I’ve found that this trick works best on superficial scratches. Deep scratches (down to bare wood) require a bit more work to repair.
Using a stain marker is great, frugal way to fix scratched wood furniture and cabinets. For less than $6 you can easily make those little dings in a door or scratches on a tabletop fade away!
If water spots are a problem, be sure to check out our video tutorial on how to fix water spots on wood furniture. It’s much easier than you think!
Got a cheap trick of your own? Send us an e-mail with your tip and we may use it in a future Cheap Trick post!
Yeah aren’t those great? Be careful to buff immediately, or it can leave residual marks. If this happens you can go over it with the marker again and wipe quicker. It will reactivate and buff out. I also recommend you always try a shade or two lighter than you think. I found that aged wood often blends better with the lightest possible shade.
Deeper scratches do taking a bit of futzing but it can be done. Again much lighter shades are the way to go. I find the chisel tip makes it easier. Use the point to press into the scratch and gradually it will fill in just be careful not to overdarken or it will stand out even more than the original scratch. Less is better.
Now what I haven’t tried yet is even cheaper, a walnut! Have you tried that Christina? I have no idea if it does anything but it’s a Pinterest thing. I never have any here so I can’t try it…we don’t eat them. But I’m curious if it works.
Hope you or someone finds that helpful.
I had forgotten that trick – haven’t tried it myself, though. I never have any walnuts, either! When I was in college, I did use a crayon to touch up the marks on a particle board bookcase, though. The “finish” wasn’t quite right, but it worked for my budget at the time!
I’ll have to try this out, thanks a lot for the tip.
I bookmarked so when I try fix the scratched wood i’ll get back to you, thanks :-)
The scratches and dents on my dark stained wood furniture have been annoying me for months, but I never thought to pick up one of those stain markers. Finally I did. It really made a difference. Thanks for the tip.
Glad I could help, Amy!