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Hiding Flaws
Furniture looking a little shabby with all those little scratches and dings? You know, the vacuum cleaner bumps here and there, and the Hot Wheels hit-and-runs? Not to worry. We’ll show you simple touch-up techniques that will make these minor eyesores disappear quickly and painlessly.
We’re not talking about refinishing or even repairing here, which are different games altogether. This is about hiding flaws so only you will know they’re there.
The procedures and materials shown in this article won’t damage the original finish on your furniture if it was made in the last 50 years.
However, if the piece of furniture you’re touching up is very old, or an antique, it may have a shellac finish. With shellac, you shouldn’t attempt the scratch-removal process shown under "Wipe Away Scratches and Recoat the Surface." If the piece is an antique, think twice about doing any touch-up, which could actually devalue it.
You can test for a shellac finish with a few drops of alcohol in an out-of-sight spot. Alcohol will dissolve shellac.
Think safety: Even though all the fluids and sprays we show here are everyday hardware-store products, most are both flammable and toxic. Read and follow the directions on the label. Don’t use them in a room where there’s a pilot light, or near open flames or in an unventilated space. If you’ll be doing anything more than a few quick passes with the sprays shown here, work outdoors and wear a respirator mask with organic cartridges. And if you’re pregnant, stay away from these materials altogether.
Touch Up Scratches
1. Hide
scratches with permanent-ink felt-tip markers. You can either use the furniture
touch-up markers available at hardware stores and home centers, or, to get an
exact match, buy markers at an art supply store that carries an array of colors
(check the Yellow Pages). For thorough coverage, you may need to dab the ink
onto the scratch, let it dry, then even out the color by stroking lightly
across it with the tip. Keep in mind that colors tend to darken when they soak
into wood fibers.
2. Touch up
thin scratches with a fine-tip permanent marker. When filling in scratches,
steady your hand against the furniture for accuracy; as much as possible, flow
the ink only onto the scratch.
Clean Dirty, Greasy, Gummy Surfaces
The results of a simple surface cleaning
with mineral spirits may amaze you. Polish buildup and the dirt embedded in it
muddy the finish but will wipe away. Don’t use stronger solvents; they
might dissolve the finish itself.
Click image to enlarge.
1. Soak a
coarse, absorbent, clean cloth with mineral spirits and wipe the finish. Keep
applying and wiping until the cloth no longer picks up dirt. Then do a final
wipe with a fresh, clean rag.
2. Clean
crevices, grooves and carved areas with cotton swabs dipped in mineral spirits.
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