Use An Iron To Fix Dents In Wooden Furniture
Sam Lutz • March 3, 2015
Some types of wood more than others can dent or scratch pretty easily. While many people will simply live with these imperfections, there's a little known trick that allows people to "iron out" these dents and scratches, smoothing the surface of the wood. With a little patience and some basic materials found in many households, you can make your old wooden furniture look nearly new. Here's how.
Materials:
- Water
- Cotton Swab
- Cotton Cloth Towel
- Iron
- Sandpaper
- Wood Finish
- Paintbrush
Process:
- Wet the area that you're planning to fix. Use a cotton swab or a damp rag to dribble a little bit of water into the dent in the wood.
- Dampen the cloth towel.
- Plug in the iron and turn it on high.
- Give the iron time to heat up.
- Place the damp cloth towel on the dent or scratch.
- Place the iron on the cloth towel and heat up the towel
- Move the iron in a circular motion on the cloth towel, never allowing the iron to stay in one position for any amount of time. Do this for approximately 3 to 5 minutes.
Remove the iron and check the area of the wood that you were treating. Check to see if the dent is less prominent (it should be).
At this point, you may have noticed that the finish around the dent became stained or grungy while it covered the dent in the wood. Although the dent may now be repaired, the finish is likely still damaged. Now is the time to make any necessary repairs to the finish. This is only recommended if the area of the wood that you're trying to repair is small and in an inconspicuous location.
To do this, sand down the damaged part of the old finish using a piece of sandpaper. Sand the finish until the damaged part is no longer visible. Next, use a paintbrush to reapply finish to the area that you sanded down. Finally, wait the manufacturer's recommended period of time for the finish to dry.
Tips:
Different species of wood, and different wood finishes, will react to this process in different ways. Some wood finishes will turn white or bluish when steamed. In other words, don't try this method in a noticeable location until you're sure that this method works for the type of wood you're trying to fix.
Resources
Seeking more helpful tutorials on this subject? Take a look at these how-to's.
That's the entire process. DIYers in the Pittsburgh area who are hoping to buy the materials they need in order to complete this project are welcome to stop in at Ace Paint and Unfinished Furniture. We'd love to help you out, and we may even have advice to give to help the project go more smoothly.
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