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| The table top after treatment |
Our wooden floor looked wonderful until I mistakenly dropped the iron leaving a large dent. Our wooden table looked equally good until I over-watered a pot plant & the large watermark bore witness to my foolishness. Similarly the wooden surface of a box has been scratched...
The scratches were easily dealt with, I remembered, from long ago, being told that a sharpened brazil nut solves the problem. Use the sharp end like a pencil & 'colour' in the scratch. The oil from the nut is absorbed by the wood & will usually return the wood to the right shade.
The dent in the wooden floor was tackled in 2 stages. Put a damp cloth over the dent & iron gently with a low heat. The heat encourages the wood to absorb the water thereby re-swelling the dent. Once dry, the chipped wood was lightly sanded & wood glue smoothed over.
The watermark was the most satisfying and the easiest. I mixed a teaspoon of oil and a teaspoon of vinegar, then applied it (in small amounts) on a cloth to the watermarked surface. I massaged it in, left it to dry and then kept on reapplying it until the mark could no longer be seen.
Having finished, I admired the handiwork. 'Did you do a before & after photo?' enquired Mr TH...
'Erm...no'....
The last Making Winter Blog Hop starts here on Monday 20th February.
18 comments:
Oil and vinegar you say? Because I put a cup of tea where I shouldn't have and need to get rid of the evidence....
Such useful tips! I will pass these on to Mister Litlove, who surely has to combat the odd dent and scratch in his woodworking projects.
If only I had known how to treat my wood floor last year after the plumber dropped the radiator that he was replacing - pointy end down - of course. He rubbed pure beeswax into the gouges then left...
Fab tips, thanks! :)
Thank you so much, how very fascinating and most useful! xox
Great tips - thankyou ;-)
I might have said this before, but if so, let me say it again....
Your posts are so witty and very helpful. I must make a note of this one for future wooden issues.
Many thanks!
Really? That's amazing - I had no idea you could fix these things. There are certainly opportunities around our house to do some fix-its.
I love the oil and vinegar tip. Oil and lemon juice also make a great wood cleaner / polisher.
Have you ever seen the book "Better Basics for the Home"? It's got a lot of great ideas like these. There's also a website:
http://www.anniebbond.com/better-basics-for-the-home/
I've found some great ideas there.
P.S. This is the link I meant to attach:
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/make-your-own-non-toxic-cleaning-kit.html
Very very useful - so thank you!
There's a white make on our dining room table where a hot teapot was placed - it was at the end of a party and we'd taken the heat-resistant protective cover off so it looked nice :-/
Celia
Wood is so forgiving isn't it,
lovely stuff! These are all such simple and straight forward tips but so many of us have forgotten or didn't know them. Your blog is becoming a household almanac, it's brilliant! :) thank you.
CKx
Brilliant, I can think of at least two things here deserving of such attention.
We inadvertently tried hot waxing the side of a bookcase at Christmas - a little accident with a candle - once we prized the wax off and rubbed it down it had the most glorious sheen :D
That's such a useful tip and one that can be applied here on a lovely recently inherited, small table. I'll try it tomorrow.
Ha ha I do that all the time, I get so excited about the project that before I know it I am half way through and totally forgot to take the before photo. I am looking forward to using your tips, we have tons of wood work that needs attention. - Annie
So so clever. The little ones seem to like to make and draw on almost every surface. I'll be bookmarking this one (I'm blown over by the brazil nut tip - genius).
It's the perseverance that is needed with the watermarks, isn't it. So reassuring though, when you find that a piece of wood is responding to treatment!
I love the idea of colouring in with a brazil nut. Almost makes me want to go out and scratch some surfaces just so that I can have a go! Actually, now that I think about it, I'm surrounded by scratched, dented and water stained pieces of furniture.
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