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January 29, 2016 by Bre

How to Fix Scratched Hardwood Floors in No Time!

If you have hardwood floors in your home, you know how frustrating it is to see scratches all over, marring their beauty.  After lots of trial and error, I have figured out the easiest way to fix scratched hardwood floors in no time at all!

If you have scratched hardwood floors, you need to read this post! Learn how to fix scratched hardwood floors yourself, with just two products! It's an easy DIY hardwood floor fix that anybody can do.

I can’t tell you how excited I am about this recent discovery.  It may seem basic and silly, but I lived with unsightly white scratches on my hardwood floors for years before finding this solution.  It takes about 20 minutes and costs hardly anything to fix.  

Supplies Needed to Fix Scratched Hardwood Floors

This post contains affiliate links.  To read my full disclosure policy, please click here.

  • DAP Wood Blend Sticks (get the color that matches your hardwood floors most closely.  There are packs for dark wood, light wood, and red wood.)
  • Clean, dry, lint-free cloth
  • S.C. Johnson Paste Wax (if your floor is not finished with glossy poly or in an ultra-matte finish)

How to Fix Scratched Hardwood Floors

After replacing some furniture in my living room, scratches left on the floor from the old furniture were really starting to bother me.  There were large sections of white marks that stuck out like a sore thumb all over the place.  

You don't have to live with scratched hardwood floors! There is a super easy way to fix shallow scratches and it doesn't cost a lot!

Then one day while digging through my utility drawer (aka the “who knows what’s in there drawer”), I found a pack of DAP Wood Blend Sticks in the red wood tone.  I have no idea where these things came from.  I have no memory of buying them and neither does my husband.  But I digress.  Anyway, I decided to see if they would fix my scratched wood floors problem.

Hardwood Floor Fix Step One: Use the Wood Blend Sticks

I cleaned up the section of the floor where I needed to work, and then I started rubbing the wood blend sticks over the scratches – kind of like I was coloring on the floor.  (My three-year-old was watching me the whole time, and I just know that I’m going to find Crayola crayon drawings on the floor sometime soon.)  

You don't have to live with scratched hardwood floors! There is a super easy way to fix shallow scratches and it doesn't cost a lot!

I used several of the colors that came in the pack, since my floors vary in tone from place to place.  

Fixing Scratched Floors Step Two: Buff off the Excess

After I applied a lot of blend stick to the scratches, I let it sit for a couple of minutes.  Then I grabbed a lint-free cloth and got to work buffing the colored areas.

I had to use a lot of elbow grease to get all of my handiwork off of the floor.  It was easy to tell when I’d removed all of the excess blend stick from the floor because the cloth moved over those spots easily and it no longer felt sticky to the touch.

The scratches looked much less pronounced after I’d done that, but it wasn’t totally perfect yet.  

You don't have to live with scratched hardwood floors! There is a super easy way to fix shallow scratches and it doesn't cost a lot!

Hardwood Floor Fix Step Three: Use Paste Wax

I then grabbed the S.C. Johnson Paste Wax that I love to use on my furniture refinishing projects, and I applied a thin layer over the scratched areas.  

You don't have to live with scratched hardwood floors! There is a super easy way to fix shallow scratches and it doesn't cost a lot!

Once it had been on there for about twenty minutes, I buffed the excess off and was SO EXCITED to see that the scratches on my hardwood floors were virtually invisible now!  Everything blended together so nicely and the floor looked beautiful once again!  

You don't have to live with scratched hardwood floors! There is a super easy way to fix shallow scratches and it doesn't cost a lot!

Of course if you put your face right up to the scratches you can see them because there are still the scratch indentations there (I didn’t sand anything down after all), but to a person who isn’t checking the floor out with a microscope, they look beautiful once again.  

You don't have to live with scratched hardwood floors! There is a super easy way to fix shallow scratches and it doesn't cost a lot!

This little trick for fixing scratched hardwood floors has made a big difference in the look of my floors.  And it is so inexpensive (compared to refinishing!), and easy!  

If you have any hardwood floors that are in need of touching up, I recommend giving the DAP Blend Sticks and Paste Wax a try.  Remember to only use the Paste Wax if your floors have a finish of a subtle sheen (as opposed to gloss or matte).  

You don't have to live with scratched hardwood floors! There is a super easy way to fix shallow scratches and it doesn't cost a lot!

Bre 

 

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Comments

  1. Amy | Canary Street Crafts says

    January 29, 2016 at 6:24 am

    This is a great tip! There’s a really long scratch in my foyer where one of my kids pushed something across the floor and it drives me nuts. Now if you can find a way to fix the big scratch one of them just put on the stainless steel dishwasher that would be awesome :).

    Reply
    • Bre says

      February 2, 2016 at 8:04 pm

      OH NO! My house is a banged up, scratched up mess – if it makes you feel any better! I’ve got nothing on the stainless steel but I hope you find a solution!

  2. Seana Turner says

    January 29, 2016 at 7:40 am

    That’s a pretty great result, Bre! My floors are starting to show some wear and tear, especially in the kitchen. Might have to give this a try.

    Reply
    • Bre says

      February 2, 2016 at 8:05 pm

      Thanks, Seana! I am so happy with this fix – it really helped cover an eyesore. And the price cannot be beat!

  3. Rebecca says

    January 29, 2016 at 9:13 pm

    I love blend sticks. With kids and hardwood floors, we get scratches a lot. They have fixed my floors many times.

    Reply
    • Bre says

      February 2, 2016 at 8:10 pm

      I am so glad you’ve had a good experience with them, too! They (plus the Paste Wax) have made SUCH a difference for my floors! 🙂

  4. Samantha says

    January 29, 2016 at 10:19 pm

    Never even heard of these before! Must try! Our wood floors are in horrible shape and there are several spots I need to do this on. Thanks for the tip!

    Reply
    • Bre says

      February 2, 2016 at 8:15 pm

      I hope it works for you, Samantha! It’s definitely worth a try, I’d say. They can’t do any damage at the very least!

  5. Vineta @ The Handyman's Daughter says

    February 4, 2016 at 6:57 pm

    Wow, that looks great! Our house has the original hardwoods from 1946, so there’s a lot of wear in the high traffic areas. I’ll have to give this a try!

    Reply
    • Bre says

      February 15, 2016 at 7:03 pm

      Hi, Vineta – thank you for your note! So sorry for the delay in my response. Anyway, I hope this works for you! My floors are original from 1923 so I feel you on the wear and tear. This definitely has lessened the appearance of fine scratches on my floors. Now I need to find something to bring back the shine!

  6. Craig Leidel says

    June 5, 2016 at 8:43 am

    One downside to this method of repairing scratches on your wood floor is now you can’t recoat the floor without completely sanding the floor down and starting over. The paste wax will not allow a new coat of polyurethane to attach to the old. Many times you can recoat your exisiting finish by buffing it down and applying a new coat over the old. The pro’s will call it a buff and recoat. Much less expensive and invasive. Using a wax, furniture polish or other kinds of products will cause an adhesion issue for new polyurethane (it will bubble and peel off like a sunburn). This is why most reputable wood floor finishing pro’s will ask you what type of cleaners you use on your floor before recoating. If you tell them you have repaired scratches with this method, they will not touch your floor without completely resanding to bare wood.

    Reply
    • Bre says

      June 6, 2016 at 9:04 pm

      Hi, Craig – thank you for your insight!

  7. DJ says

    February 3, 2017 at 7:45 am

    Hi Bre. Just wondering how this has held up after a year? Also, do you know if this will work on old wooden furniture? Thanks.

    Reply
    • Bre says

      February 3, 2017 at 3:51 pm

      Hi, DJ! Thanks for stopping by. I have to say that the spots I fixed up with this method still look great! I am so pleased with this technique! As for old furniture fixes, this would probably work, but you might be better off with a furniture marker. Anyway, good luck with your project if you try this!

  8. Monique says

    March 2, 2018 at 12:49 pm

    Rubbing a walnut (yes a walnut) on any scratched wooden surface works wonders. One walnut goes a long way & incredibly inexpensive + oh sooo easy! My mom, who would be over 100 yrs old, used this trick many times!!! Hope some of you will try this!!

    Reply
    • Bre says

      March 5, 2018 at 1:45 pm

      Hi, Monique! WOW!! I have never heard this tip!! I am definitely going to give it a try. Thank you!

    • Sandy B says

      May 15, 2018 at 10:03 am

      Hi Just curious..what part of the walnut do you use ?

  9. Sarah Kite says

    March 18, 2019 at 5:28 pm

    Amazing results! Thank you for the suggestions!

    Reply
    • Bre says

      March 19, 2019 at 11:27 am

      You’re so welcome! Thanks for stopping by to let me know it worked well for you!

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