An Easy How-To Guide for Repairing a Marred Finish on Your Wood Floor

A scratched, dented, or otherwise marred finish on a floor can leave a whole room looking off. Repairing the damaged finish is easier than you might think and it is fairly inexpensive. These instructions will guide you through the process of spot refinishing your floor to give your floor back its original beauty. First of all, you want to gather your tools. You will need the following:

Safety gloves

Paint brush

Solvent-based wood floor cleaner

Brush with stiff bristles

Dry cloth

Tack cloth

Orbital sander

Fine grain sandpaper

Floor finish (matching the existing color)

Floor wax

The first step is to strip the spot on the floor of its existing wax. Put on your safety gloves and use your solvent-based wood cleaner, per manufacturer’s instructions to remove the old wax, but only in the spot you are repairing. You want to use your brush with stiff bristles to aid you in the process, rubbing it gently against the grain of the wood on the floor. Use a clean, dry cloth to wipe across the floor where you have used the solvent.

Take your orbital sander and run it across the area you are removing old finish from, taking great care not to damage the floor itself. When you have finished sanding the floor, use your tack cloth to pick up any debris that is left. Make sure your protective gloves are on and take your floor finish and apply it, again per the manufacturer’s instructions. You will want to use a paintbrush to apply it in a smooth and even layer. Do not make it overly thick. Allow to dry thoroughly and then sand with a fine grain sandpaper and repeat with a layer of finish in the same spot. Feather your edges each time and repeat the same step over and over again until your floor looks uniformly even and the eye can no longer detect a mar on the finish of the floor. If you use the edges of your paintbrush to push your feathering about each time you create a layer like this, you can make repair work that is not detectable when finished. When you have achieved the look you want, allow the patch work to dry thoroughly and then apply a coat of wax.

You have now successfully repaired a marred finish spot on the floor that you may have thought impossible to do, and have done so with relative ease and little expense. Congratulate yourself on a job well done.