My son put a 5 foot long scratch on my Brazilian cherry!!!

15 years ago

I'm sorry if this has been asked before, but my search in the threads did not turn up a similar topic.

We remodeled our entire house and installed beautiful Brazilian cherry hardwood floors using 4" planks. The floor is the first thing people notice and compliment us on upon coming into our home.

Today, I returned from running errands to find that my son had dragged something heavy from the carpeted hallway across the floor, causing a curving, five-foot long deep scratch! I am heartsick. The scratch looks whitish against the cherry wood and every time I look at it, I get really upset. It is very noticeable. (And when I found out that my son was being lazy and had dragged a loaded down laundry basket across the floor instead of carrying it out to the living room, where I fold the laundry, somehow, that laziness makes the scratch hurt even more.)

How can I fill in/disguise the scratch? I once heard somewhere that rubbing the scratch with a clean towel soaked in tea will stain the scratch so it's not as noticeable. Do those wood crayons work? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Featured Answer

harmon_2008

15 years ago

One of the first things you want to do is determine if the scratch involves the hardwood floors or is simply a scratch in the protective coating you have on the flooring. In fact, the scratch may simply be a mark in the shellac or the sealant you used to protect the finish. If that is the case, simply buffing the area and reapplying a coat of shellac or sealant will remove the scratch and make your hardwood floors look like new.
ciciliotandson

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Comments (6)

boxers
15 years ago
sorry to disagree with Harmon, but you have given us no idea of what the product is you installed? Was it site finished? What kind of finish? Was it factory finished? You can do what you wish but if you don't know whats on the flooring how can you trust any home remedy given on a forum?
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moremoremore
15 years ago
I use a varnish pen from home depot....I follow the line closely and then wipe. It does a good job of hiding a lot.
kmura
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks to everyone who has responded. Boxers, I didn't go into detail about what kind of wood I have because I just wanted to hear about the various methods people have used to repair or disguise a scratch. Naturally, I will consult the floor store guys near my house for some expert advice on how best to treat the scratch.

My hardwood was factory finished and has a matte finish.
boxers
15 years ago
I'm glad your open to ideas but by not letting people know what you have there is no way to advise a poster. If you added shellac or wax to a factory finish you can potentially do a lot of damage. Some of the home advise given is quite bad so the more info you give the more accurate the info.
Gayle Murphy
2 months ago
- I too have several noticeable scratches from a terra cotta planter that broke on Brazilian Cherry (Jotoba) factory prefinished withn 7 coats of Bona matt finish top coat. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I am not looking to refinish the whole floor. I have several left over pieces of wood that I could use as a test sample.