If you’re actively using it, your furniture isn’t going to stay perfect forever. If you have a family and wood furniture, then your bound to end up with some nicks and scratches at some point. After a while, these dings add up and your furniture ends up looking old and tired.
There are, however, a few tricks you can use to cover up those unsightly marks and reduce the appearance of wear and tear. It may help hang onto your furniture a few years longer.
Here are the best DIY hacks to keep your wood furniture looking like new:
Crayons
Crayons work well for deep set scratches. Find a crayon that closely matches the color of your furniture or mix colors together by grating part of your crayons in a small bowl. Place the bowl in a boiling pan of water to melt the wax then drip the wax into the scratch. Smooth it over with a butter knife.
Vinegar and Olive Oil
Mix a 1/2 cup of vinegar and an equal amount of olive oil and rub it over your scratched surface.
Iodine
If your dark wood furniture has a scratch, you can paint on some iodine with a cotton ball and wipe the excess with a paper towel.
Coffee
You can also use strongly brewed coffee in the same manner to reduce the appearance of damaged wood in dark colored wood. Or try rubbing the coffee grounds into your scratch with a cotton swab.
Walnut
Walnuts work great for repairing a scratch. Just rub a walnut kernel over your scratch, the walnut meat will fill in the scratch and smooth it over. You can also try rubbing some walnut oil on it with a soft cloth.
Paint
Applying watercolor or oil-based paint with a paint brush is another good way to hide scratches in your furniture.
Use a color that is a little bit darker than the furniture’s finish and dab some with a brush into the scratch. This method, however, doesn’t work on polyurethane finishes.
Eyebrow Pencil
You can also try to color in small scratches with an oil-based eyebrow pencil.
Peanut Butter
For larger gouges, rub peanut butter into your scratch and leave it there for at least an hour. You can wipe off the excess peanut butter and buff it out to repair the damaged wood.
Petroleum Jelly
Try wiping some petroleum jelly over your scratch and leave it there overnight. This method works to plump up the surrounding wood and fill in the scratch. You can wipe it away and polish your furniture in the morning.
Car Polish
Lightly polishing French-polished tabletops with car polish can help diminish the looks of scratches. Be careful not to rub away the rest of the furniture’s finish.
Mayonaise
Cover your scratches with some mayonnaise and leave it there for two or three days before wiping away the excess mayo. The oils in the mayo will plump up the wood and fill up the crack.
Tea
Plop a bag of black tea in a mug and a few tablespoons of hot water. Let your tea bag steep for 2 or 3 minutes. If you leave it in longer your tea will be darker so let your tea steep based on the color of your furniture.
Use a cotton swab to dab some of the tea into your crack. Wipe away the excess with a paper towel. You may need more than one application.
Mineral Oil and Pumice
Make a paste from mineral oil and pumice and use extra-fine-grade steel wood to rub your mixture onto the scratched area. Use a cloth to wipe off the area and buff it with a dry cloth.
Lemon Juice
Mix equal parts of lemon juice and vegetable or olive oil. Use a lint cloth to rub the scratch in the same direction as the scratch until it disappears. This works well on small scratches.
Marker
You can also use a marker that matches your furniture’s surface to hide nicks and scratches.
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