If you’ve got some nicks and scratches on your cabinets—that’s completely normal! Everyday life will leave to wear and tear and over the years your wood cabinets may look slightly more used. But you can fill in those scratches and gaps with many things you likely have lying around your house!
Minor Scratches
Minor scratches are typically simpler to fix. If these scratches have not penetrated in wood or cut across the grain, it shouldn’t be too tricky to fix up. Depending on the wood, you may be able to rub out a minor scratch with your fingers or a rag. Some woods will benefit from a few drops of penetrating oil to rub away a scratch. Furniture polish can also help to hide those minor scratches. Try some walnut oil and reapply as needed.
Deeper Scratches
If your wood is tarnished with deep scratches, there are many DIY and at-home treatments you can do to have your cabinets looking like new again in no time. Most of these hacks are as simple as rubbing the scratch or filling it in with something.
- Wood filler sticks—similar to crayons
- Black Tea—place a tea bag in a few tablespoons of hot water to steep for a few minutes. Dab the tea onto the scratch with a cotton swab. Wipe it away with a paper towel. For darker wood, you may need to repeat the process.
- Walnut—using an actual walnut to rub on wood is like using oil. The oil from the walnut can fill in and rub away a scratch. After rubbing the walnut over the scratch, polish over the scratch with a rag.
- Iodine—use a cotton swab to apply iodine around the scratch. Iodine can effectively get deep scratches out of wood, including dark woods.
- Instant Coffee—if you have a darker wood that is scratched, make a paste out of water and coffee grounds. Fill in the scratch and rub it over until smooth.
- Rubbing—it many cases you can just rub out surface scratches. If needed, use mineral oil and pumice to buff the scratch and wipe it over.
- Shoe polish—use shoe polish that matches the color of your cabinets to fill in and scratches or cracks. Use a cotton swab to fill in if needed.
- Markers—find a marker that is the same color as the cabinet and color in any nicks or scratches. Those this won’t fill in any dents or cracks, it will blend in any imperfections. This also makes for an easy touch-up
If your cabinets need replacing, contact the professional at Mountain States Kitchen and Bath for some high-quality cabinetry.
