How to Fix Scratches on Laminate Floor like a Professional

Worried about how to fix scratches on laminate floor or unable to find a perfect guide online? Then you have landed at the right place!

Scratches are the bane of wooden flooring and no matter how cautious you are, you may end up with scratches on the laminate floor from pets, furniture, and even dirty footwear.

Wondering about ways to fix all those scratches?

Shallow grooves are easy to repair, you simply rub a colored marker over them, but deep ones require more effort.

In this article, we have broken down the process into some simple steps.

Scratches on Laminate Floor – Fix Method

Here are 8 easy steps on how to fix scratches on laminate floor. Follow these steps one by one to get it done without any issue.

1. Assess the Damages

Depending on its age or the roughness with which your veneer flooring is used it may incur minor scrapes and scratches as well as major dents.

Purchase material as per your requirements, so if you do not have any major dents you do not require a saw or extra tiles.

You also need to assess the shade of your tiles because you will have to buy matching markers or wax sticks to fill in the grooves, so they blend in.

2. Get a Repair Kit

Veneer flooring is made of multiple layers of synthetic products that are held together through lamination.

The topmost layer is usually made from tough plastic and is meant to be durable, but it does scratch and scrape rather easily.

Getting a repair kit together would be a smart investment if the area is huge.

Here is what your typical repair kit consists of:

• Jet lighter
• Putty Knife
• Straightedge
• Utility knife
• Wood Chisel
• Cleaning Solvent
• Laminate patching material
• Wax filler sticks/Filler Markers

Once you have your repair kit together, you are ready to start.

3. Move All Your Furniture and Rugs

Clear the room you want to work on first of all its carpets, rugs, and heavy fixtures. Try to be careful while doing this.

Moving these might help you discover new areas that need fixing.

To minimize scratches from dragging your heavy desk or couch around you may want to consider padding it.

Using rubber or cut-outs from your old carpet would work perfectly for this.

4. Clean Thoroughly

After you have identified all the areas with scrapes and dents, make sure to give the area a good wipe down before you start.

The debris and dust on it can get in the way when you are trying to fill in the groove. Use a vacuum cleaner for the best results.

Scratches are often caused by debris like small rocks or sand when the occupants of the house step over them regularly.

Keeping your floor clean is a great way to keep it in good shape.

5. Choose Your Method

How to fix scratches on Laminate Floor depends on the degree of damage it has taken.

That being said, there are still several ways to go about this, the last of which would be replacing the entire plank. Consider this option only if the damage is irreparable.

There are three answers to the question – how to remove scratch marks from laminate wood floors.

For the rest of this post, we’re going to talk about them and which method best suits the degree of damage your ground has taken.

Now that you have cleared your room, cleaned it, and put together your kit we can move on to fixing those abrasions.

6. Dealing with Small Scratches

Small scrapes are quick and easy to deal with. All it takes is a touch-up or pencil marker that matches the shade of the existing coat.

Rub the tip of your marker or pencil across the length of the scratch and try not to color outside.

Remember that uneven coloring makes it unpleasant to look at.

Also, the more you apply, the darker it ends up looking, so try using these markers as sparingly as possible.

Do it in controlled strokes, so the wax from the pencil fills up the scratch. Once you are done, use a microfiber cloth to rub along the edges.

This gets rid of any excess filler and blends it in with the flooring.

Both repair pencils and markers are wax-based, so it doesn’t matter which one you get.

You can order these laminate scratch removers online or find them at your local home improvement stores.

7. Dealing with Slightly Deeper Scratches and Scrapes

For scratches on laminate floor bigger than just a hair, pencils or markers probably will not fill them up as well.

Be observant about the depth of the scrape, because if they are gaping, then filling them with a marker would ruin the gloss which is what we’re trying to preserve.

For this step, you will require a compound filler that matches the shade of your flooring, a binder knife, and a rag.

If you can’t find fillers that match the shade of the ground you can purchase white or non-colored grout and mix in some dye to match the hue.

The process is easy.

Step 1 – Remove the debris

Clean the area in and around the groove to get all the dust and debris out

Step 2 – Take the binder and add a small amount over the scrape

This method is suitable for wide abrasions too provided they aren’t big enough to put your finger in them.

Step 3 – Use the putty knife to fill the groove

Now use the putty knife (preferably a plastic one to avoid further damage) and rub it over the binder, try to push it in a little to fill the groove.

Rub it over the scratch a couple of times and only add more if required.

Step 4 – Remove the excess grout

Once you have filled in the groove, use a rag or dry paper towel to remove the excess grout immediately.

It starts to dry in under 30 mins so you need to do this before it solidifies. If it has already hardened a bit you can use soap and warm water to scrub it off.

8. Deep Scratches and Dents

If there are bigger chips or dents on the floor, fixing them gets trickier but it’s still do-able.

You can get a handyman to replace the planks if there is a lot of them, but if it’s just a few and you don’t want to bother the handyman here are a few ways you can fix it yourself.

Step 1 – Start with the wax filler sticks from your kit

These are similar to the filler markers except they come in solid blocks that have to be warmed up before they can be used.

Again, you will require to buy these in a shade that matches your flooring.

Use a brush to clear away dust and debris around the scrape/ dent. 

Step 2 – Unwrap the wax stick and use a jet lighter to warm it up

Warming it up won’t melt the stick but will loosen its integrity making it waxier and easily applicable.

Once the stick starts to feel loose and softer use a putty knife to slice off the wax and press it into the dent all the way to the top until you’ve evened out the floor. Try to flatten the area as best as you can.

Step 3 – Use a rag to wipe off any overflow wax

Do this by wiping around the area instead of directly over it. Once you’re done, inspect your work from different angles to check and see that the floor has been leveled to your liking.

If you can’t manage to find wax sticks that match the shade of your floor you can always just complete this process and then fill in the tint from the top with a floor marker.

This is still much easier and time-saving than replacing the entire tile.

Avoiding Scratching in the Future

We hope this article on how to fix scratches on laminate floor was helpful to you. Fixing the floor is a hassle, no doubt.

Here are some small measures you can take to minimize scratching as much as possible:

1. Always Keep Your Floor Clean

The best thing to do would be to identify the type of wood your floor uses and find a cleaning solvent that’s custom-made for it.

As we mentioned earlier, debris and sand are responsible for most of the small abrasions, so regular maintenance is necessary.

2. Carpet/ Rugs

Carpets or rugs are the best way to protect the floor from large dents. They also make a house feel more like home and have great aesthetic appeal.

If you have kids and/or pets running around the house a lot it might be time to consider carpeting the floor.

3. Padding Furniture

Furniture and accidents with them are responsible for the bigger abrasions and dents in the wood. This happens when you drag four-legged heavy movables across the floor.

Glue on some rubber, felt or carpet patches to their feet to prevent scratches resulting from friction.

Conclusion

Laminate is made to be quite robust but after a period of time, the damage tends to set in from years of usage and some of the tiles might require a touch-up.

This article on how to remove scuff marks from laminate flooring is all you need to bring it back to its former glory.

Read Next: Learn how to clean wooden floors(unfinished)  in easy steps!