Repairing Scratches in Wooden Floors

Got nice new wooden flooring like this one? A scratch can be highly annoying - but it can be fixed!

In a decade or so we have moved from being a nation of carpet lovers to adopting hard flooring for our homes in increasing numbers. Wooden and laminate flooring has many benefits over carpet – it is hard wearing, goes well with any style of decoration, is easy to keep clean and far better for allergy sufferers.

Wooden flooring comes with its own challenges though, and one of the major issues faced by many homeowners is what to do if a wooden floor gets scratched or damaged. Scratches on the floor don’t mean that the whole thing needs to be ripped up and re-laid though, as there are fairly simple ways of getting your floor looking as good as new.

Wood or laminate?

Many people refer to all sorts of hard floors as “wooden floors” but if you are going to start repairing scratches, it is important to know the difference between wood and laminate.

Solid wood flooring is, as the name suggests, either a solid piece of wood, or layers or solid wood sandwiched together to form a flooring board. Laminate is different in that it is made from cheaper materials such as MDF which is sandwiched together and then a picture of wood grain is laminated onto the top. Laminate is often more durable than solid wood and less prone to scratching, but if it does get damaged it can be harder to repair as removing the scratches means removing the whole laminated layer.

If you have laminate flooring, it is often best to keep a few planks in the garage in case you need to remove and replace some.

Minor Scratches

If you have just a few scratches on your wooden floor, or one larger area of damage, the best way to repair this is with special wax crayons used by cabinet makers and French polishers. These sorts of crayons match exactly with the colour of the wood, and are relatively easy to use.

First clean the area of the floor to be treated by vacuuming up any dust and then with a little turpentine or white spirit on a cloth. Warm the wax repair stick using a candle flame or a lighter, and then use a scraper to press it into the scratch. Allow the wax to harden, then use ordinary furniture polish to clean any excess wax off your floor and then polish up the area which has been repaired. In most cases, assuming you have matched the colour of the repair stick well, this should make the repaired area invisible.

If you notice that your floor is becoming repeatedly scratched in one place, it might be better to use some clear varnish to protect that area in the future.

Larger Scratching

Scratches like this will be a LOT harder to remove, but it's not completely a lost cause.

If your floor has too many scratches and scuffed areas to be treated with a wax repair stick, then the best option may be to sand it down and re-varnish it. This is a more involved DIY job, but can still be undertaken by most homeowners. Sanding machines are easy to use and can be hired from tool hire places for around £100 for the weekend.

Use your sander to go over the floor in a methodical way, remembering to clear out as much as possible before you start and open all the windows as sanding can create a lot of dust. It’s also advised that you use goggles and wear a dust mask while sanding. You may need to go over the floor two or more times to get a good, smooth finish.

Finishing

After you have finished the sanding, give the floor a thorough going over with the vacuum cleaner, and then wipe it over with white spirit and leave it to dry. The floor will then have to be varnished to seal it. Special floor varnish products come with pads to help apply it evenly and quickly – just remember to start in the corner furthest from the door and work your way out. You will probably need to apply two or three coats of varnish, leaving a few hours drying time between each coat.

Even the oldest, most scratched wooden floors can be given a new lease of life with a bit of effort over a weekend.