Fixing dents and scratches in hardwood flooring just isn’t as easy and easy a course of as it could appear. There are quite a few elements concerned in appropriately addressing the harm and restoring the flooring to their authentic look, and some issues can flip a easy touch-up job into a giant mission.
When you or your shoppers have hardwood flooring which have sustained scratching and denting ensuing from excessive heel use, furnishings marks, or common put on and tear, right here’s a how-to information for repairing the issues to the very best of your capability.
Your first step: Decide the extent and explanation for the harm
First, work out how deep have the scratches or dents have penetrated. Small scratches on the uppermost layer of end are simpler to restore than scratches which have penetrated by means of the end and impacted the wooden itself.
In mapping out your restore plan, you must also take into account the placement and noticeability of the scratches. If the scratch crosses 5 ground boards and it’s in a heavy-traffic space of the room, equivalent to on the threshold of a doorway, you’ll should do extra intensive repairs which will require a drum sander moderately than merely making an attempt to fill it in with a touch-up marker.
After you have decided the extent and noticeability of the harm, you’re in your strategy to determining which technique of the next three will probably be finest to make use of in your scenario.
Technique #1: Mechanical abrading for easy however much less concealable repairs
To restore a scratch that doesn’t totally penetrate by means of the end, you could possibly mechanically abrade or buff out the scratch. Polish it out of the end, after which calmly recoat or contact up the world. It is a very related method to buffing out a light-weight scratch in your automotive after which waxing it.
For an oil-modified end, use a effective metal wool pad to softly buff out the scratch, taking care to maneuver the pad alongside the grain of the wooden.
You can’t use a effective metal wool pad if you’re planning to use water-based end. The metal wool will go away mud behind that may flip into rust when it interacts with the water within the end. On this case, use a floor preparation pad (SPP) as a substitute.
After buffing the scratch out of the floor of the end, recoat the spot.
You may additionally be capable to get away with utilizing touch-up sticks that match the colour of the end if the scratch may be very mild and shallow.
For fast buff and sand jobs, store our line of sanding screens.
Technique #2: Wooden filler or wooden putty for deeper scratches
If the scratch is a bit deeper than surface-level, fill the scratch with wooden filler that matches the colour of the wooden, after which recoat.
Just like the earlier technique, the sort of repair is simply beneficial if you’re coping with a small scratch in a small concentrated space. Wooden filler just isn’t a very good product to make use of for those who’re trying to conceal big, deep scratches as a result of it may possibly’t mimic the grain of the wooden.
Technique #3: Exchange the boards or recoat the flooring
In instances the place naked wooden is uncovered, intensive harm is probably going, and it’s possible you’ll want to interchange the broken boards. If the harm is focused on one or two boards, you need to take away and substitute the broken boards.
When you do determine to recoat an remoted space, will probably be troublesome to match the sheen stage within the new end and thus to cover the restore. Fairly often, the repaired space of the ground will stand out from the remainder of the ground, even for those who attempt to obtain an actual match between the sheen ranges.
If the harm is unfold out throughout the complete room, like dents ensuing from excessive heel use, it’s possible you’ll need to take into account a very good clear and recoat.
That is additionally good technique to make use of for repairing intensive scratches that aren’t deep sufficient to wreck the wooden itself—you’ll be able to display screen simply deep sufficient to buff out the scratches whereas leaving the wooden untouched.
If it’s important to recoat, ensure that to wash up first.
Cleansing and clearing the flooring of all mud earlier than making use of the end coat is important to get a stupendous end.
After vacuuming up as a lot particles as you’ll be able to, go over the ground with a rag soaked in pure mineral spirits if you will recoat with an oil-modified urethane end. When you’re going to make use of a water-based end, soak the rag in water as a substitute of mineral spirits to wash up.
Make sure to wring out your rags tightly. They only should be damp to get these final mud particles off the floor.
Let the ground dry utterly earlier than you proceed onto recoating the ground. End can solely be correctly utilized to floor that’s utterly clear and dry.
Must recoat? Browse our collection of hardwood ground finishes.
Remember to enable for sufficient dry time in between coats as nicely.
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Now that we’ve described the doable strategies you need to use to take away scratches out of your ground, listed here are just a few pitfalls you could come throughout which will pressure you to change your restore plan.
Downside #1: Above common harm for easy put on and tear? Carry out an adhesion take a look at.
When you discover that your flooring are sustaining scratches from easy wear-and-tear utilization, equivalent to kitchen chairs scraping throughout the ground, end failure could be the reason for your scratching drawback. Which means the end just isn’t correctly adhering to the wooden.
You possibly can take a look at for floor-to-finish adhesion by conducting what’s referred to as a “tic-tac-toe” adhesion take a look at.
In an not easily seen space of the ground, use a knife to chop a cross-hatch sample into the end over a number of completely different boards. Put scotch tape over the sample after which rip it up.
If a excessive share the end transfers to the tape, which means that the end just isn’t adhering to the wooden, and it’s important to sand the entire ground down to reveal wooden and refinish. If it’s only one or two boards which can be scratched up and fail the adhesion take a look at, you’ll be able to substitute them.
One other factor to think about is that some prefinished flooring comprise components equivalent to ScotchGard and or StainMaster to guard the ground from stains, and their presence will stop new end from adhering correctly to the earlier layers of end.
To examine for the presence of components within the earlier layers of end earlier than trying a recoat, use an not easily seen spot on the ground to check out your new end. If an additive is current, the brand new end will bead up.
If the earlier end incorporates an additive, you can not merely recoat the ground—you should sand down to reveal wooden and apply new coats of end in an effort to restore adhesion and remove the scratching drawback.
Downside #2: Wax- and/or shellac-coated flooring? You can’t use a easy floor re-coat.
Earlier than you’ll be able to transfer on to repairing the harm, you need to do a spot take a look at to find out whether or not there may be wax, or shellac on the floor of the ground. A few of these could pressure you to recoat the ground with the identical materials moderately than utilizing a polyurethane.
You are able to do a easy spot take a look at to find out whether or not any of those are current earlier than recoating the ground.
To examine for shellac, scratch an not easily seen space of the ground with a pointy object, equivalent to the sting of a coin. Flaking can sign the presence of shellac, and which means that ground have to be refinished in a selected method.
You can too use denatured alcohol to check the world. If the denatured alcohol causes the end to dissolve, it’s shellac.
If shellac is the highest coat you need to use a one hundred pc dewaxed shellac as your first coat after which put poly urethane over it or recoat with 2 coats of 3lb shellac.
To examine for wax, apply mineral spirits to a clear, white rag. A barely brown or yellow colour on the rag signifies that the ground is coated in wax.
If the flooring are coated in wax, you should use wax when recoating. When you’re coping with a small scratch on a wax-coated hardwood ground in an remoted space, tape across the affected board to isolate it. Rub off the wax, restore the scratch, after which rewax the world.
If the ground isn’t coated in wax or shellac, you’ll be able to go forward and recoat with an everyday floor end.
Downside #3: Dents and gouges often require ground alternative.
Stilettos aren’t pleasant with hardwood flooring. When you discover that your ground is riddled with dents from excessive heels, you’re not going to have a simple time fixing them as a result of they often harm the wooden fibers.
Gouges ensuing from incorrectly shifting heavy furnishings throughout the ground will go away you with an identical drawback.
If the harm is concentrated in a small space, equivalent to on a single board or a cluster of boards, take into account changing the broken boards and the encompassing boards to make sure a uniform look and a much less noticeable restore job.
You can too take into account sanding all the way down to the naked wooden and filling the gouges or dents with wooden filler, after which refinishing the world that you just’ve repaired. However this isn’t more likely to consequence within the good, uniform look that you just’re after. Except you’re exceptionally good at mixing wooden fillers to match the remainder of the ground, the restore will seemingly stick out like a sore thumb.
If dents are unfold out over the complete ground and have impacted the wooden itself, changing the ground would be the solely answer to eliminate them.
The strategy of making use of a clothes iron to the wooden to “buff out” the dent hardly ever works, and you’ll really additional harm the ground for those who’re not cautious.
Forestall harm by taking precautions.
Prevention is all the time the very best drugs.
Although it’s finest to recoat your flooring each a number of years to maintain them trying contemporary and new, you’ll be able to take a lot of steps to protect your ground’s longevity.
To stop dents, take excessive heels off by the door. When you, your housemates, or your visitors insist on carrying excessive heels round the home, guarantee that the protecting caps on the heels stay intact.
Trim pet nails usually to forestall them from scratching up the flooring, banish pets from areas of the home with hardwood flooring, or reside with the minor scratches (like we do).
Vacuum usually to keep away from a buildup of filth and grit that will probably be tracked over the ground and find yourself scratching it. Put mats close to doorways to reduce the quantity of grit tracked into the home. Click on right here to browse our collection of hardwood ground cleansing merchandise that gained’t harm your end.
Most significantly, affix furnishings pads to the bottoms of chairs, couches, and different heavy furnishings, and keep away from dragging them throughout the ground when shifting them.
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Be at liberty to contact us for those who need assistance repairing harm to your ground, figuring out what sort of repairs will probably be vital, or finding a hardwood flooring skilled in your space who can do the job. You possibly can attain us at (800) 737-1786 or data@cityfloorsupply.com.
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(Picture credit: freedigitalphotos.internet; pixabay.com; “Shellac board” by Nuberger13 at en.wikipedia – Personal work. Licensed below Public area through Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shellac_board.JPG#mediaviewer/File:Shellac_board.JPG)