Treating Minor Scratches In Polyurethane Hardwood Floor Finish

Scratches conceal surface scratches with a simple stain filled marker minwax wood finish stain marker 8 49.

Treating minor scratches in polyurethane hardwood floor finish.

Floors like these will need to be sanded repaired and refinished. Rub the area where you applied the stain to remove any residual following the grain of the wood. Don t use a foam roller or brush to apply the polyurethane you ll end up with air bubbles in the finish go with a lambswool applicator or natural bristle brush instead. This application method works best rather than directly drawing the stain marker over the scratch because it allows for a gradual addition of stain.

Hardwood floor finishes have varying levels of ease durability even glossiness. This is a wise decision if your whole floor is covered in scratches and gouges. Lightly press a clean rag soaked in a bit of mineral spirits onto the wood focusing on the scratched area. Put a few drops of lacquer thinner on an inconspicuous part of the floor then feel the finish if it s sticky it s lacquer or shellac.

Refinish the board with varnish polyurethane or a similar product to match the rest of your floor. Evaporative finishes such as lacquer and shellac aren t as common as reactive finishes such as alkyd varnish or polyurethane but you handle them differently. It s a big job and one best left to hardwood floor pros who will charge about 1 50 to 4 per square foot to refinish the floor. You commonly see these on floors or tabletops with heavy use.

Seal the sanded area. Refinish the whole floor. Rub the stain into the scratch. Finish restorers are designed to help treat faded finishes or light scratches distributed across a wide area of your hardwood floors.

Floors that have been finished with polyurethane are resistant to moisture and stains but as with any surface finish they can be scratched. A complete sanding removes scratches but keep in mind that this will only work on real wood floors. These restorers can be effective treating minor scuffs especially if the wood itself has not been damaged. I would never suggest a homeowner rent a sander and do this.

This can be done in one of two ways. Brush up on the basics of 8 popular options before choosing yours. Additionally once the protective finish has been broken by a scratch the wood underneath can be irreparably damaged by moisture or deepening of the scratch in the wood. How to repair scratched wood.

The blend of water or petroleum bases with synthetic resins plasticizers and other film forming ingredients harden over the wood to protect the wood but when the polyurethane is scratched it breaks the protective barrier.