How To Repair Damaged Furniture

Scuffed, burnt, or with a hole, your furniture will take some hits over time. Whether it’s a recent acquisition that got damaged, or antique furniture you want to restore, we have you covered. Here are a few quick tips on how to repair damaged furniture, and fixing it back to proper health.

Cracks | Scuffs | Blisters | Holes | Burns

Repairing cracked furniture

If the crack is not very visible but can still be felt as you touch it:

• Apply some glue and use your finger to let it permeate.
• Let it dry. Use a damp cloth to remove any excess.

If the crack is long and lean:

• Rub it with a piece of sand paper.
• Cut a small piece of wood veneer of the same thickness of the crack.
• Apply some glue to the veneer.
• Apply some glue to the crack.
• Put the piece of veneer inside the crack and let it dry.

If the crack is very wide and very visible:

• Cut a piece of wood in a triangular shape. It should be of the same dimension to the crack.
• Clean it with a wood chisel.
• Apply some glue to the triangular piece of wood.
• Apply some glue to the crack.
• Gently push the piece of wood with a hammer until the wood “sounds clear”

Repairing scuffed furniture

If your furniture is polished:

• Rub with a rag and turpentine oil or white spirit.

If your furniture has a veneer coating:

• Do the same but with alcohol.

If your furniture is made from walnut tree:

• Gently rub a piece of walnut over the scratch.

If the furniture is made from mahogany:

• Apply a layer of iodine paint with a fine brush and let it dry, do not forget to polish your furniture afterwards.

If your furniture is made from maple tree:

• Spread a little iodine paint, which you would have previously diluted with alcohol.

Once everything is dry, polish the scratch in circular movements. Then polish the rest of the furniture so that it blends in with the colors.

Repairing blistered furniture/bubbled veneer

• Place a piece of paperboard where the wood is inflated.
• Briefly iron the material.
• Lay something heavy on the paperboard for about an hour.

The blister will usually be gone by now. If that’s not the case, there is another method:

• Pierce the blister with a razor blade.
• Put some white glue into the incision.
• Smooth the blister with your finger and remove the excess of glue.

Repairing a hole in a piece of furniture

• Choose a piece of wood veneer of the same shade as the original
• Place it in the hole and hold it down by taping the edges.
• Cut the piece on both layers.
• Cut a piece of the same shape as the area to be repaired.
• Dig the veneer with a chisel and add the other one within the cutout. Make sure you block this piece of veneer by placing some paper on top of it. The paper should be cut to the same size of the veneer.
• The paper will need to be coated with liquid glue. Let it dry.
• Add another piece of veneer over it.
• Tighten everything with a clamp for a few minutes so that the glue soaks in better.

And in the case of a piece of furniture that is not varnished but made of solid wood, simply plug the hole with shellac of the same color as the furniture.

Repair a burn mark on a piece of furniture

Sometimes, burn marks can appear after dishes taken straight out of the oven are put on the table. Here’s how to fix that.

• With sandpaper or a scraper, gently scrub off the burned area (i.e. the “black shadow”).
• Plug the hole with wood filler.
• Tint the texture the same color as the furniture.
• Plug with transparent epoxy glue.

All these repairs should be easily accessible and doable by all.
If the job is done correctly, your furniture will look flawless again, and no one will ever suspect a thing.