9 Tips To Repair Or Restore Wood Damage By Yourself

Ravindra Ambegaonkar
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    You can use natural restoration techniques, add vinegar, and mayo, and repair minor and major damages easily to restore your wooden object or surfaces

    Wooden items are quite popular these days. Many people use wooden floors and furniture to give the house a more classic and vintage look. But as time goes on, these wooden objects may seem dull.

    Wooden objects or surfaces can get damaged in a wide variety of ways. However, a damaged wooden piece of furniture does not mean that you have to throw it away. You can repair the damage and return it to its former self if you take all the right steps.

    How Does Wood Get Damaged?

    There can be a lot of reasons why wood gets damaged. If there are dust and large ragged particles in a wooden object, they can put scratch marks on it. Sharper objects can even cause small holes in wood.

    Humidity can also cause problems. If the wood gets too much moisture, it gets damaged, and mold starts to grow, which slowly but severely damages the wood structure.

    As for discoloration, the leading cause behind it is sunlight. Too much exposure to sunlight can deteriorate the shiny, glossy color of the wood.

     Weather can also be a factor in damaging wood. Wood shrinks in cold, dry weather and expands in hot and humid climates. This is fundamental physics. This cyclical shrinking and expansion can damage your wood's structure, even causing it to break apart.

    Repairing Methods For Damaged Wood

    Even when wood gets damaged, unless it is completely broken, it can be repaired and reused. Here are some easy and cheap tricks that you can follow to repair any wooden damage-

    1. Natural Restoration Technique

    There are a lot of chemical products that can bring back the shiny glossy color of faded wood. But why use chemicals when there is an entirely natural remedy for that?

    The best natural remedy for discoloration is coconut oil. Coconut oil brings out the natural color and also moisturizes your dried-out wood.

    2. Repairing Major Damages

    Significant damages may seem like a huge hassle, but repairing them can be relatively easy. If you have a wood piece such as a deck with a significantly damaged area like a big hole, you need to get the best exterior wood filler to cover up the damaged part.

    Most professionals and homeowners have wood fillers in their woodworking toolkit as a must-have item and use them to make their wooden surfaces or wooden projects look brand new.

    There are many fillers in the store, but one of the best is the Bondo all-purpose filler. Mix the Bondo filler on a small plate and apply the mixture over the damaged part of the hole.

    3. Repairing Minor Scratch Marks

    For minor scratch marks and damages, there is an easy fix to it. Mix ¾ cup of canola oil with ¼ cup of vinegar. Mix it thoroughly and apply the mixture to the scratch marks or any minor damaged areas.

    The marks will slowly disappear, and the wood will look as good as new.

    4. Applying Vinegar

    If you want the wood to appear a bit darker and maintain its natural wooden color, then vinegar is your best choice. Balsamic vinegar or Apple Cider vinegar can both serve the role of darkening your wood color.

    Applying vinegar with a wire brush will ensure vinegar reaches every grain of the wood surface. This will make sure that the color does not fade quickly.

    5. Refinishing For A Removing Discolor

    Applying a refinish might seem easy, but in reality, this process is very complicated. After you buy the stain, you need to do a few things before applying the stain and refinishing the wood.

    First, you need to sand the wood with a sander along the wood grain. Smoothen the surface as much as possible as a smooth surface will absorb the stain better and bring out the wood’s color more.

    6. Repairing Holes In The Wood

    You want to use an old wooden object, but it has holes in it caused by nails. There are two ways to fix this, either apply glue in the hole or add wood stains.

    Glue is a much more favored choice by many as it clamps the hole more firmly. But a wood stain, on the other hand, can provide the wooden texture and color. So which one you pick depends entirely on you, as they both can be useful.

    7. Use The Under Layered Wood

    Some wooden objects have a few layers of wood in them. This makes the wood sturdier. However, suppose you see that the wooden object's upper layer is getting damaged or losing its color. In that case, you can peel off the upper layer and use the under-layered wood instead.

    This is a very cheap and time-efficient method. Still, to save time and money, you have to sacrifice the durability of your object.

    8. Remove Watermarks With Mayo Or Petroleum Oil

    Yes, you read that right - mayo! This technique is a natural fix to a common problem. Water can spill on your wooden object or floor, and this puts a stain on it. The stain can make the wooden object appear dirty and unattractive. To remove the stain, you can apply food mayo or petroleum oil.

    Put mayo or petroleum oil on top of your water stain and let it rest for a few hours. After that, wipe the mayo or oil away, and you will no longer have any water stains.

    9. Preventing Sunlight Damage

    Sunlight can be a huge threat to wooden objects. Sunlight, especially the UV rays of sunlight, can cause adhesion and discoloration, while also making the wood appear dull. To prevent that, you can use an opaque finish.

    Opaque finishes are incredibly efficient in blocking UV rays and helping the wood keep its original color.

    Final Thoughts

    Wooden objects can bring out a natural look in your concrete house. To ensure that they last a long time and maintain their natural wooden look, you need to take proper care of all the wooden objects. The tips and tricks in this article will help you repair all sorts of damages. They are cheap and easy to use, so you do not have to rely on professionals.

    Author bio :

    Tom Bradly

    Based on more than 15 years of personal, first-hand experience as a professional handyman and woodworker, Tom has authored over 1,000 articles about how to succeed in the handyman business. Tom teaches all the tricks of the trade that he’s learned, ranging from which tools he prefers to which woodworking plans he has had the most success with.

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