Q: I need a quick repair on a scratch across my light oak wood floor. I do not want a kit, just a homemade quick fix. I need to refinish them one day soon, but I need to do this touch up quickly, with an at home item.
A: Try a color matched magic marker.
Big scratch in newly refinished wood floor
Related Q: I attached a picture of my newly refinished floor. There is a big mark/scratch in it already. It was caused when cleaning dirt and paint off. Do you recommend anything to get it out?
A: Nice looking floor. These issues are annoying to deal with. If it was mine I would probably dab a cloth in some of the same finish and rub it into the scratch. Try not to spread this far out from the scratch itself. Make sure you rub it dry. We don’t want to see a wide band with a distinct sheen difference. Or you could use a Q tip and apply a tiny bit of finish to the scratch and then again with a clean soft cloth rub it dry. You are really just trying to color the scratch so it doesn’t stand out like a light line.
Follow-up Q: By the finish, do you mean the coating on top or do you mean the stain? I have some stain, but I do not know what they used on top.
I was really hoping you would tell me that I could buff it out with something. Wishful thinking. I can’t believe I ruined the floor while cleaning it for first use.
A: No, I meant the finish, not the stain. It appears only the finish is scratched. If you wiped stain on it I think you would end up with a dark line. I did work, a new floor, stained and finished for a doctor years ago. She used to refinish old furniture items as a hobby. The day I applied the last coat, I had left the house and within about 1/2 hour to an hour she rushed home and had to get something out of a bedroom. She stretched across a doorway but her bare foot stepped on the floor and left a faint print in the finish. She was able to gently rub the spot with something akin to 5000 grit sandpaper to fix it. But that is a different situation to what you have. Did you get a stone under the vacuum wheel?
You want to avoid these incidents but just remember that it is a floor, meant to be walked on. You will get more marks and dings. When it gets really beaten up or the finish starts to degrade, have it all buffed and coated again.