Deep scratches in your wood cabinets can be an eyesore, but the good news is that they are often repairable with patience and a little elbow grease. Below is a step-by-step method to repair those scrapes including the techniques and substances employed.
Cleaning the Damaged Area
You should clean the scratched area extremely well before trying to repair it. Carefully clean any dirt and grease from the area to ensure good adhesion of the repair material to the wood surface with a mild cleaner and a clean, lint-free cloth.
Assessing the Scratch Depth
It is important to find out if the scratch is on the surface or down deep. Light scratches are only likely to damage the finish, while deep scratches will reveal the wood underneath and call for a repair process that is more in-depth.
Fixing Deep Scratches
Using Natural Oils
One trick is to rub the meat of a walnut or pecan into it. These nuts release a layer of natural oils hat darken the wood, so it helps to hide scratches by matching the look of the rest of the material in that area. This technique is great for minor scratches that do not go all the way through to the bottom.
Coloring with crayons, or touch-up pens
If there are deeper scratches, use a wax crayon or a wood touch-up marker in the same color as your cabinet. Just color the scratch in with a crayon or fine point marker and use a credit card to scrape any remaining overage. ColorTone Powdered Grain Filler — this not only fills the scratch but colors it to match surrounding wood.
Applying Stain and Finish
If the scratch is bigger, like in this case you can lightly sand down the area and then stain to match. Then wipe it clean of any remaining residue and let dry thoroughly. Then, seal the repaired portions with a coat of crushing finish like polyurethane.
Professional Repair Options
And when the DIY methods dont come to use a little professional help makes it repairable as like nothing happened. Special tools and materials are available for professionals that can match your cabinets original finish almost perfectly. They examine the scratches, use the correct fillers to make deep ones look filled in and sanded then refinish over them looking like your cabinets.
Conclusion
There are different ways to repair deep scratches in wood cabinets from the do-it-yourself solutions with natural oils and a simple crayon, to requiring more skill on the methods needing staining and hiring a professional. The object is to address the correct measure of destruction and select a cabinet repair that will take care of capacity just as style while not putting your cabinets in danger.
