Do you know how to fix scratches on wood floor? Whether for home maintenance or to get the best selling price for your home, we’re showing you the easiest way to fix those scratches and gouges!
By the way, this fix works just as well to touch up furniture upcycles too!
Backstory
There are many reasons floors get scratched. Our fur baby is a definite contributor. But, in our case, while my mom was battling Alzheimers and could no longer climb the stairs, a makeshift bedroom was set up in the living room (see renovating for an aging population). Once we completed our walk in shower remodel, she was able to permanently live on the main level of her house. With all the shuffling of furniture, we ended up with many scratches and gouges on the wood floor.
Felt pads on the bottom of furniture go a long way to prevent this from happening. But with day-to-day priorities, it’s easy to forget this preventive measure.
Sadly mom passed away last year and now that the house is going on the market, it’s time for a quick fix! Of course, you don’t have to wait until you sell a house to do this. Make it part of your yearly home maintenance and it will cut down on the time you spend when it comes time to sell your biggest investment!
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Supplies
* [If you’re looking for some of the things we used, we’ve got you covered (disclosure): Clicking on the affiliate links below means we may receive a commission. But don’t worry, you don’t pay a cent more and we add all Birdz of a Feather earnings into our Alzheimers’ fund drive at the end of the year! Thanks for helping to support our cause!]
- Floor Repair Markers (you can also buy a complete kit)
- Wood filler (if necessary for deep gouges). Note that you can also buy colours to match your floor. So if you have a lot to fill so a marker might not be necessary.
Touch up Markers
The Fix
Ready for the one-minute quick fix? Touching up a hardwood floor finish couldn’t be easier. These touch up stain markers come in colours that will match just about any floor and are easy to apply.
First remove the furniture, vacuum the floor and clean the area. So you can see the progress of this fix, I’m working on one square of the parquet by the right leg of this table.
Tip: try the marker on a paint stick first to make sure it’s a good colour match.
Give the marker a shake and then apply along the scratch. If it’s the first time you’re using it, you might have to prime it first by pressing the tip to make sure the colour is flowing.
Anything that ends up on the undamaged area of the flooring can be wiped right away with a cloth or paper towel. As you see below, the repair magically blends right in to hide the scratch!
You’d have to squint and know it was even there in the first place to notice it now!
It’s a good idea to scan the floor and place some painters tape alongside all the areas you want to fix so you don’t miss any.
Then you can fix them all in one session, often with just one swipe of the floor repair marker.
Deeper Gouges
Here you can see the difference between a deep gouge and a light surface scratch.
Deep gouge – before
To repair deeper gouges like this, you’ll first have to fill it with wood filler and let it dry. That will even out the surface with the surrounding wood. Then touch up as above with the marker.
Wood filler can be a little more difficult to blend in with the marker. However, if you have a lot of deep gouges to repair, a tinted wood filler might be the best course of action. You’ll have to experiment to find what works best for you. Below I left the surface scratch untouched so you can see the difference between the before and after.
Deep gouge – after
If you need something more comprehensive to fix the scratches on your wood floors, check out this article by the Family Handyman. And if your flooring happens to be tile, we have a fix for that too! See repair chipped tile.
How to Fix Scratches on Wood Floor Reveal
After painting the wall a neutral colour to contrast with the floor and brighten the room, this is how it looks now! Quite honestly, in person the flooring looks as good as new again after all the touchups.
Getting a house ready for market is all about the attention to detail. We’ll have more tips and tricks in future posts as time allows :).
One More Wood Fix Option
If you have extensive damage on your wood floors that has to be repaired with wood filler, check out our post on how to make wood filler look like wood grain. We did this on an upcycled wood top, but it would definitely work for floors too. Especially if you don’t want to go to the extent of re-sanding and refinishing the entire floor!
Pin How to Fix Scratches on Wood Floor
Pinning is always welcome!
FAQs on how to Fix Scratches on Wood Floor
Can deep scratches in a wood floor be repaired? How do you fix gouges?
Yes, even deep gouges can be repaired. All you need is a sturdy wood filler to bring the gouge level with the rest of the floor. Use a two part epoxy if the scratch is particularly big. We typically use Famowood for our floor repairs because it doesn’t shrink. Then we touch up the colour with a floor repair marker. Chose one, or several, to match the stain on the floor.
How do you restore worn spots on finished hardwood floors?
For areas of flooring where the finish has worn through, you can try spot staining. First stand with 120 grit sandpaper to ensure you are down to bare wood before staining with a matching colour. Let dry, then apply a polyurethane clear coat with a matching sheen.
A second option would be to try a gel stain. Gel stain sits on top of the surface and doesn’t penetrate the wood. You still need to apply a clear coat to protect and seal.
Always try in an inconspicuous spot first to see if the fix is acceptable before proceeding to other areas.
My floors are full of scratches. Thanks for the tip Sarah!!
Hope it helps Mary!
That’s such a great idea, that would save so much money than having your floors refinished. Also, I read your blog post on repairing tile and I found that very informative too! Thank you for sharing!
So glad to hear you found them both helpful! My husband once offered to replace all our tile floors, but I really believe in working with what you have and, most importantly, not unnecessarily contributing to landfill!
Do you have a diy for water damage on parquet?
No, unfortunately I don’t Nancci. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and replace if the damage is extensive. For instant, we did experience significant water damage on our hardwood floors in the basement. So we ended up replacing them as they were too forgone. You can read more about that here if you’re interested: https://birdzofafeather.ca/diy/loose-lay-vinyl-plank-flooring-installation/
Thx for the reply. Hate to pull it all up for a few damaged spots. Maybe someone has created a way to reinsert squares and make a new pattern?
Actually, if it’s just a few spots and you have replacement tiles, I would try to carefully chisel out the damaged sections.
You could try drilling out the middle first (just the depth of the tile) so you can get the chisel in there. I would also tape the edge of any adjacent tile so you don’t accidentally damage it. The parquet that I have used is usually held together by thin strips of metal so you might be able to pull apart just what you need (i.e. a section) to replace instead of an entire tile. However, it may be easier to replace the whole tile. Hard to say until you’re actually doing it.
To replace what you remove, make sure you scrape old glue off the floor. You may have to remove a tongue on the new tile to get it to fit into the gap. Dry fit before adding new glue to be sure it sits level with the surrounding tile. Then add glue and spread evenly on the floor and pop in the replacement tile. Be sure to weigh down with heavy objects as it dries.
If you try it, start in the least conspicuous spot until you get the hang of it.
Great wood floor repair ideas! I have tons of scratches to fix (very excitable dog).
Yes, our fur baby is very excitable too, so I know all to well how that goes with wood floors lol.
I have always wondered if those marker pens actually work! Thank you for sharing this post because now I am excited to actually TRY them. Your photos are very helpful. Thank you also for sharing this post in the Home Imagined Link Party!
You can also try wax floor pencils; I find they come in many more colours. I’ve never used those for floors, but have found them great on furniture – saves a step on the wood filler too!
Hi Sara! We loved this post so much that we are going to feature it during our Nov 15th Home Imagined Link Party! Thank you for submitting it!
That’s awesome new Anna; thank you SO much!
Thanks for the tips, Sara. Most of our home is tiled except the TV lounge and the wooden floor is showing it’s age badly. I’ll definitely give those pens a go.