Touch-up Tips For Wood Furniture

You can repair annoying nicks, dents, scratches and spills that mysteriously appear on your wood furniture, otherwise far from ready for refinishing.

Take, for example, the white rings caused by wet glasses. Begin by removing the surface wax with mineral spirits and a soft cloth. Then use a new cloth to absorb moisture by wiping rubbing alcohol on the spot. To speed up this step, warm the wood with a hair dryer. If the finish feels sticky, rub lightly and rapidly. And if this isn’t enough, sand lightly with 600-grit wet or dry sandpaper and mineral or baby oil. Finally, restore the shine with new wax.

Where the bare wood shows on worn furniture edges, rub out the problem with a furniture touch-up pen that matches your finish. You can get these special pens from furniture dealers and hardware stores. Start by cleaning the surface with mineral spirits and a cloth. Then, scuff the edge with 400-grit sandpaper. Draw along the edge with the marker. Rub gently with your finger to feather out the color. Repeat several times to build the new finish.

To repair ugly nicks and gouges on chairs and tables, clean the area with mineral spirits. Then, fill in the gouges with a soft filler stick. Again, you can find filler sticks at good furniture stores. Smooth with a small piece of wood and buff lightly with four-aught steel wool.

Keep this tip in mind when someone spills nail polish on your wood furniture. You can remove it from the wood without ruining the finish if you resist the urge to wipe it up. Wait for it to dry completely. Then gently scrape off the polish with a plastic credit card. To bring back the shine, use paste wax and four-aught steel wool.