Buffing & Scratch Marks on the Floor

Buffing an Unfinished Floor

• Before finishing a wooden floor, buff it with sandpaper to create a uniform surface for the finish. Sandpaper actually covers the floor with tiny scratches, but its scratching action helps remove larger, more visible scratches in the wood. To remove large scratches or imperfections in the wood, start out with a coarse sandpaper. The coarse paper will buff out large scratches, while leaving tiny scratches from the grains of sand. Finish buffing the floor with a very fine sandpaper, which will remove scratches from the coarse sandpaper and not leave any visible scratches of its own behind.

Buffing to Remove Scratches in a Penetrating Finish

• One benefit of penetrating finishes on wood floors is that it is easier to remove scratches from a penetrating finish than from a surface finish. To repair small dents and scratches on a floor with a penetrating finish, Utah State University Cooperative Extension recommends adding a little bit of finish to the scratched area and buffing out the scratch with steel wool. Use a finish that is the same color or slightly lighter than the existing finish on the floor so that it does not leave a dark spot.

Waxing and Buffing a Floor

• Wax helps protect a floor and add shine to it. Wax works well on many types of wooden floors, but check the manufacturer's instructions before using wax on a floor. Wax does not work well with some types of wood floor finishes and vinyl floors. After applying a layer of wax to a floor, an electric floor buffer will help make the wax shiny and prevent it from having uneven patches. Later on, dull patches on the waxed floor can be buffed to make them shiny again. Electric buffers are much less labor-intensive than hand buffing, but it is also possible to buff waxed floors by hand with a soft cloth.

Scratch Removal

• Buffing wood with very fine steel wool dipped in paraffin or boiled linseed oil and an abrasive, such as pumice, can help smooth out scratches in floor wax or the floor finish itself. To fix a deep floor scratch, Utah State University Cooperative Extension recommends filling in the scratch with a hot shellac stick, shaving off any excess shellac with a razor, and then buffing the area with 400-grit sandpaper dipped in paraffin oil.