The ugly and unwelcome sight of gouges on your hardwood floor might lead you to cover it up with rugs, carpets, and floor mats. But did you know there are alternative and quicker and easier solutions to it, too? Read on to find out all about them.
Hardwood flooring gets damaged when something heavy falls on it creating dents or gouges. Changing the floor planks is not the only way out, you can easily mend these gouges and make your damaged hardwood floor look like it is totally new, again. Here are a few methods you could try out.
Wax
You can either use soft wax or hard wax for this purpose. Wax is available in various colors, so choose the one that suits the color of your flooring and gels appropriately with it.
If you select hard wax, melt it and fill it in the dent. Give it some time to solidify. Smoothen it with a razor blade. Paint it if it does not match your floor and seal it with wood finish.
Alternatively, you can use soft wax filler, too. Once the wax is filled in the hole, scrape off the excess wax with a blunt knife. Let it dry, color it if needed and seal it off.
Epoxy sticks
Cut a piece of the epoxy stick, rub it between your fingers, and fill it in the gouges. Color it if it does not match your floor color and remember to seal.
Veneer
Veneer are thin slices of wood. If the gouges are huge, cut out the veneer in the shape of the gouge and place it in the gouge till it is completely filled up. Glue these strips together and paint it in the same color as the floor.
Lacquer
Transparent lacquer can be filled in the gouge with the help of a brush till it is full. Scrape off the excess lacquer with a razor and smoothen up. This filling also helps mend the scratches on hardwood floors. If the hole is small, transparent nail polish can also be used in place of lacquer.
Wood putty
Use a generous amount of wood putty, fill it up to the rim and allow it to dry completely. In case the putty shrinks after drying, apply more putty to fill up the gouge completely. Allow this to dry and scrape off the excess with a blunt knife.
Buff it by rubbing sandpaper over it. You may need to color the putty to match it with your floor before sealing it with wood finish.
Latex wood filler
Latex is available in various colors. Choose the one that matches with the color of your flooring. Fill up the hole entirely with the latex wood filler and let it dry overnight. Remove the excess filler with the help of a wet rag.
If the level of the filler is higher than that of the floor, use sandpaper to sand it down to floor level.
Apply a coat of stain, if needed, which helps the filler to blend with the color of the floor. You may need to apply many coats of stain till you get the exact color of your flooring. Lastly, don't forget to seal it with a varnish.
Remember, wood flooring always requires a lot of care. The materials mentioned here will be available in hardwood stores. Use any of the given methods to repair gouges in hardwood floor and make it as good as new.