Wood Door Repair: Fixing Scratches

Wood door repair is a skill that you need to learn, especially if you have a pet cat or dog. These animals love to scratch surfaces, and your wood door will not be spared from their sharp nails and claws. But before you do anything about the problem, you first need to determine whether the claw marks are light or deep.

Light Scratches

For scratches that are not deep, you simply need to gently scrape the affected area using steel wool. Just make sure that the wool you will be using is made from a fine material and that you only scrape along the grain of your wood door. If you do not follow this, you might have more scratch problems than what you are facing at the moment.

Deep Scratches

Using a light sandpaper, rub the scratches along the grain of the wood. Next, put some mineral spirits over the smoothened area. Mineral spirits are solvents made from a combination of paint thinner and petroleum. Fill up the scratches with commercially available wood filler. Once the filler has dried up, lightly sand the area and wipe away all the dust. Finish by applying varnish on the affected areas of the door. You may have to leave the door half-open until the varnish finishes drying to avoid staining the door jamb. In that case, be sure everyone knows not to use the door for several hours.

Fixing scratches and repairing your wood door yourself wasn't too hard, was it? Now, if only it was that easy to prevent the scratching.