Surface Scratches on Black Hardwood Flooring

Contributing Factors

• Scratches appear on black hardwood flooring as a result of normal use, but you can prolong a scratch-free surface. Keeping pet nails properly trimmed help to prevent them from scratching the wood. Paying close attention to the type of footwear you allow on the hardwood also is beneficial. Always remove shoes with heels before walking on the surface. Sharp heels can scratch and severely dent the floor. Boots shouldn't be worn to walk on hardwood because pebbles or grit may be embedded in their soles. Dragging furniture and other heavy objects across hardwood creates scratches as well as dents. Carrying the items or covering the bottom of their legs with padded felt before moving them can protect the black wood.

Stain Markers and Vegetable Oil

• Stain markers add pigment to scratches in order to make them disappear. They are most effective in treating small scratches that are noticeable from a standing position but less than 1/8 inch wide. After cleaning and drying a scratch, carefully apply the black stain using the product's felt tip. Gently rub off excess markings. Alternatively, you may apply vegetable oil to the scratch. While the color will not match the black flooring, it will darken the scratch, making it less noticeable.

Wood Filler

• Generally, a deep scratch is removed either by sanding the wood along the grain until the surface is smooth or by filling the scratch with a waxy material called wood filler. Due to the dark color of black hardwood, sanding an area to the level of its scratch is not recommended. Using a wood filler in the color black is the better option. Overfill a scratch if necessary, and carefully sand down the filler after it dries completely.

Floor Screening

• If you wish to remove many surface scratches at one time, consider screening the black hardwood floor. The comprehensive process virtually erases all surface scratches. Screening is similar to refinishing but involves the removal of only the very top polyurethane finish, which is where the majority of scratches occur. It does not penetrate the hardwood. Screening dramatically improves the appearance of extensively scratched hardwood floors as well as dull hardwood floors.