Fine furniture is built to last several lifetimes, but that’s not always true for its finish. Dings, nicks, scratches, burns, and other defects are bound to materialize as a furniture piece gets used in the real world. Fixing a finish often first requires that you clean the area thoroughly with a solvent, such as naphtha, and then lightly sand the area with a high-grit abrasive and steel wool to produce an even surface. Depending on the size of the blemish, the next steps you take may vary.

The Basics:
• Simple touchups: Touch up a scraped or worn edge with a marker or small paintbrush.
• Filling dents: Fill a dent with wax or a burn-in stick.
• Beyond repair: Some damages can’t, or shouldn’t, be repaired.

Simple touchups
Small blemishes on colored surfaces might require a simple touchup with a marker or a bit of paint. Felt-tipped markers work well at mimicking a black finish, and dry pigments mixed with shellac offer a good material for finishes of other colors. Small blemishes on a clear-finished surface might just require a few more coats of the original product.

Filling dents
There are two common ways to repair larger gouges or dents — with burn-in sticks or colored wax. Burn-in sticks fill a void with melted shellac resin and are topped off with an appropriate finish. This method is effective for oil, varnish, shellac, and lacquer finishes. It is also good for repair and restoration work where the piece won’t be finished over again. A less permanent fix is to use a colored wax in the same fashion. However, you can’t apply a top coat over wax.

Beyond repair
Sometimes a blemish is beyond repair. This is the case if damage has affected not just the finish but the wood underneath it. If it’s essential that these types of blemishes be repaired, you may have to strip the entire surface of the finish and start over from scratch. It should also be noted that defects can build character in a piece (especially antiques) and don’t always have to be repaired.

Fine Woodworking Recommended Products

Liberon Steel Wool

Perfect for rubbing out a finish for a low-luster sheen.

Buy at Amazon

Bahco 6-Inch Card Scraper

The size and thickness are what matter here. A consistent performer, this Bahco scraper is found in many shops we visit.

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Zissner Seal Coat

Great as a sanding sealer, and as a final finish.

Buy at Amazon