Gouges and scratches on newly refinished floor

Q: I just had my floors (yellow pine) sanded down to bare wood and refinished with three coats of polyurethane. Within 48 hours my wife dropped a pack-n-play causing several quarter sized gouges in the poly surface, and 84 hours after finishing the floor a cable service man came in and scratched up the surface with his tools. What is the best way of repairing all these gouges and scratches?

A: This is unfortunate, but if it helps this scenario isn’t the first and won’t be the last. For gouges you can use a colour match wood filler such as Color Rite. It comes in tubes. You might be able to dab some polyurethane on the spots only with a ‘Q’ tip after the filler dries. If it shows badly you will have to resort to lightly abrading the affected boards with fine sandpaper, 120 grit or finer, clean off the dust and apply painters tape around each affected board edge and apply a thin coat of the same floor finish. Remove the tape immediately after applying the finish. Likewise for the scratched areas. The next step, more severe, would be to abrade and coat the entire floor. I would attempt the less severe methods first. Remember, thin coats are always better than thick coats.

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