Scratches in wood surfaces

Scratches on Wood Surfaces

Take the meat from a pecan (for darker wood) or a walnut (for lighter wood) and break in half. Rub the meat of the nut across the scratch. There is a natural stain in the nut meat that fills in the scratch. Go in the direction of the scratch and try to stay within the scratch as the nut meat may darken the surrounding wood.

Eyebrow Pencil – Eyebrow pencil comes in many colors, and will often conceal small scratches. Match the color carefully, and follow the direction of the scratch.

Crayons – Children’s crayons can also be used to fill a scratch, if you have the right color. You have a bit more leeway with these, as they are wax, and can be removed if needed.

Shoe Dye or Shoe Polish – Shoe polish comes in a myriad of colors these days. Either the liquid, or the paste forms can be used to fill a scratch. If using liquid, use a fine brush to apply. If using the paste variety, a cotton swab can be useful.

Iodine – If you have mahogany woodwork or furniture, iodine often works well to hide scratches. For brown or cherry mahogany, use iodine that has turned dark. For lighter woods, such as maple you can dilute the iodine with an equal amount of denatured alcohol to cover scratches. In each case, paint the iodine carefully in the scratch with a fine brush and allow to dry. If it is too light, apply another coat. Always err on the side of lightness, as it is easy to darken an area further, but more difficult to lighten it!

If these don't work for you there are commercial products you may want to try. Stain pens, pencils, etc. Check with your local fix-it shop or Home Depot store.

Once you have darkened the scratch to match the surrounding wood, all you need to do is wax or polish the wood, and the scratch will be gone.

I've used the meat from a nut trick several times and it tends to do a pretty good job. Just be sure to wax or polish the wood. The table I used this trick on was used a lot and I needed to repeat, but then I hadn't waxed the spot either. Oops.

Well, I am 24 hours smoke free. Yea? Grrr. I crave it so badly. I'm proud to have made it this far even. But I just want to sit and have a smoke so much. I'm not even gonna try to guess how much junk I ate yesterday in trying to avoid running to the store to buy a pack of smokes. Instead I went to the store and bought peppermints, twizlers, peanuts, those mini jaw breakers and a big bag of wintergreen Life Savers.

I predict if I manage to quit smoking for good that I will weigh in at a hefty 200-something or other. Bllllppphhhhttt! Sorry, but as you may be able to tell, I am not in a very pleasant mood this morning. I want a CIGARETTE! Okay, done with my tantrum, lol.

Have a nice day...even if mine sucks and my body is screaming at me. =)
Hugs!
Jill Marie