I can’t stress this enough – I believe a home should be lived in. Despite having pretty drapery and nice furniture in our home, everything in my house was chosen with the idea that you can and should put your feet up and relax. Which means, things will happen. Your furniture will get milk spilled on it and your wood furniture pieces will get scratched. The key is learning how to “mess up, clean up” as my friend would say! I have a collection of wood touch up markers that I keep and use every so often to freshen up my furniture.
Wood repair markers are great because they take minimal effort to use, and cover up small scratches (and even some big ones!) so that your eye glosses over them. Yes, the physical scratch may be there, but the overall effect is clean. Think of wood finish stain markers as being the equivalent of a giant closet that’s spilling over with junk to make your room look clean!
my favorite wood touch up markers
I use Minwax wood repair markers. I have them in nearly every color them come in so that I can match and mix to get the perfect blend for my furniture pieces. All of these markers that I have were purchased at least five years ago and still work. I’ve only had an issue with one markers ink running out. However, these wood touch up markers have not dried out at all! I highly recommend them!
how to use a wood finish stain marker
The entire process for one scratch should take about a minute. Maybe more if you need to layer in the color depending on the depth of the scratch.
Use one of the wood touch up markers and pump the ink out thickly along the scratch. I often mix a few different colors because it helps the color blend a bit better.
Let the stain sit for a few seconds and then blot with a paper towel. I don’t rub. Blotting removes the excess but leaves the color to soak. Repeat this until you feel like the color is starting to absorb.
Take your paper towel and very lightly buff it in circles to be sure the wood finish stain marker ink isn’t all over the place. You want it to blend, not look worse!
before and after using wood finish stain marker
Here are some before and after of my staircase. On those rainy days when I’m tired, sometimes I’ll sit and touch up my staircase. I especially do this after Christmas when garland has left it all scratched!
Also, my husbands office has wood built in’s and it’s very scratched. I was able to bring those back to life in under 30 minutes and it looks so clean!
Minwax makes other products, but I have yet to try them. These wood touch up markers are just so easy and worked just fine that I haven’t felt the need to add more complexity!
Good luck, and remember if a scratch happens, your home is serving it’s purpose in being lived and loved in!
The final picture shows that it needs a final last touch of buffing with a paper towel to blend it better, but you see the difference right? Much better!
Click to buy the best paint markers for wood!
I also use wood touch up markers for scratches. They not only repairs nicks and scratches in the wood and laminated products but is excellent for hiding the light-exposed edge of veneers. This can dramatically improve the look of inexpensive laminated/veneered shelving, etc
True! They work so well, I agree with you!