Kitchen tables – Erasing scratches from them is easy
Scratches happen. Scratches will occur on the kitchen tables. The kitchen table is probably the busiest place in your home, where everything lands, where you leave the keys, where you eat and the kids do their homework. Removing those scratches can be challenging, but not impossible. How you will remove scratches will depend on the type of table you have.
glass tables
First, make sure the scratches are really scratches. Smudges, scratches and other marks can often look like scratches and make you think they are. Clean the table well so you can tell which are scratches and which are not.
Once you’ve determined what the scratches really are and what aren’t, it’s time to get some blush or jeweler’s compound. This is the type of material jewelers use to fill in scratches on gemstones. You can purchase this type of material at a jewelry store or jeweler’s supply store.
Apply the compound according to the instructions. Be sure to remove any remaining compound from the surface. Once it has set or dried, you should wipe down the table one more time to ensure any remaining residue is removed.
Your table is ready to use.
Wood tables
Once you notice scratches on your wood kitchen table, the same first rule of thumb applies: wipe down the table. Again, you need to make sure that what you think are scratches really are scratches, and not just dirt or food residue that looks like damage to the table.
The easy way out is to use a wood repair kit, which can be purchased at your local hardware store. In this case, follow the instructions.
If you prefer a more homemade method, you will need a walnut. Walnuts and pecans are used for this. What you need to do is open the walnut and rub the meat on the scratches on the wooden table. This requires a bit of repetition and patience. As you rub back and forth, the meat of the walnut will heat up from the friction and the oils from the walnut will begin to liquefy and fill the crack. Make sure the entire area feels warm before you stop rubbing the walnut.
Take a quick look around the area and see how well it has performed. Sometimes it takes more than once to completely fill the scratch.
One problem you may notice is that there is a slight color difference in the scraped area (of the pulp of the walnut) from the rest of the table. This can be easily solved by going into the box of children’s art supplies. Find a crayon that is as close to the color of your table as possible and lightly color the scratch.
This isn’t an exact science the first time around, so you may need to be patient and try the method once or twice to get it to look completely the way you want it to.
Once upon a time, scratches on kitchen tables were just a source of frustration until it was time to replace the table. These days, a scratch is just a minor annoyance that can be easily removed.