Easy Ways to Fix Scratches on Your Furniture

1 June 2022

Don’t you just love staring at that new expensive furniture you invested in to beautify your home—wait, is that a scratch?! “It’s over, my furniture is completely spoiled at this point”, must be your initial thought but don’t give up so easily. There are many ways to fix scratches on your furniture or, at the very least, reduce its appearance.

Here are some of the tried-and-true home fixes you can try to breathe new life into your scratched furniture:

1. Stain the exposed area with coffee.

Brew your morning coffee a little bit stronger than usual and don’t forget to not drink it all up. You can use the dark brown color of the coffee to stain the scratch on your furniture and allow it to blend in better. Take a cloth, dip it into your coffee, and gently dab it on the scratch.

Use shoe polish or furniture marker to cover up the scratch.

If you’re not a big coffee fan, use some brown shoe polish—or black if your furniture is darker in color—to blend the scratch more seamlessly into the furniture. You can also check out your local hardware for a furniture marker that is made specifically for filling in scratches.

2. Fill deep scratches with crayon wax.

So, the scratch is much deeper than you thought—no worries! Scour through your kids’ crayons and find a brown or black-colored one. Cut off a chunk of it and place it in a bowl submerged in hot water to melt it. Slowly drip the melted wax over the scratch to fill it and smoothen it with a flat knife.

3. Diminish a scratch using a walnut kernel.

Nuts aren’t just crunchy tasty snacks; they are also rich in oils that are perfect for repairing damaged wood. You can diminish the appearance of a scratch by directly rubbing a walnut kernel over it. You can also use a soft cloth to apply extracted walnut oil to the problem area.

4. Rub some peanut butter on the scratch.

Grab yourself a jar of peanut butter—no, not make a PB and J sandwich—but to fix that hideous scratch mark on your furniture. Scoop out the sides of your peanut butter jar using your finger and rub some on the scratch. Leave it for at least one hour before cleaning and buffing the area.

5. Smear petroleum jelly over the scratch.

Another great way of filling up a scratch is by letting the wood surrounding it plump up. Some petroleum jelly will do just the trick! Apply some petroleum jelly to the scratch and leave it overnight to plump up the wood which will then fill in the scratch.

6. Consider using some mayonnaise.

Peanut butter, coffee, walnuts, and now, mayonnaise?! Trust us when we say your pantry is the best place to find a quick fix for the scratch on your furniture. Apply a little mayonnaise on the scratch and leave it there for two to three days. This will allow the wood surrounding the scratch to swell up and patch it up.

Choosing high-quality durable furniture, like those from Factory Expo Furniture, over cheaply made ones can help you avoid having to deal with scratches in the long run since they are more resistant to scratches. But because no wood is completely “scratch-proof”, knowing some easy fixes you can do at home will save you from hassle and repair costs in the future.