The beauty of hardwood stairs does not have to fade with the accumulation of scratches due to the natural wear and tear of foot traffic, so long as you know the proper way to fix and repair stairs with scratches.

How to Repair Sacramento Stairs with Scratches

Those unattractive scratches could start to absorb dirt and moisture which could cause further damage to the hardwood, so once you start to notice scratches on the surface of your home’s Sacramento stairs, there are just a few simple steps you must perform in order to remove them! All you need to do to get your Sacramento stairs back to a scratch-free clean is gather the right materials and apply some elbow-grease ¾ simply start by purchasing the following items at your hardware store:

Things You Need to Buy

• paint thinner or turpentine
• soft cloths
• superfine grade steel wool pads
• denatured alcohol or lacquer thinner
• wax or lacquer sticks
• a soldering iron or hot knife
• a razor blade
• paste wax
• shellac
• natural-bristle paintbrush
• varnish or lacquer

Steps in Repairing a Stair with Scratches

Next, begin the scratch-removal process by cleaning the scratched area of the hardwood Sacramento stairs using the paint thinner or turpentine and a soft cloth, thoroughly rubbing the solvent into the scratches to remove all of the seeped in dirt.

Once you have completed this cleaning step, you will need to dissolve the existing finish or shellac using the steel wool pads. Simply soak the steel wool in denatured alcohol to remove the shellac or the lacquer thinner to remove lacquer or varnish.

The key with this step is to rub the steel wool pad lightly with the grain, using the appropriate amount of solvent as necessary for the amount of scratches on your staircase.

In order to fix the deep scratches acquired on hardwood Sacramento stairs, you will need to fill those scratches with the matching shade and color of wax or lacquer sticks. Cautiously use the soldering iron or hot knife to melt the product into the depths of scratch. After waiting for the melted product to fill in the scratch, scrape away the excess wax or lacquer to make the surface even and smooth with the razor blade. The smaller scratches must be treated with a steel wool pad and paste wax, first by using the steel wool and generous amount of paste wax in a circular motion, and then with the grain. Manufactures instruct that in order to get the best results from this process, it is imperative to let the paste wax dry for at least six hours before applying finish to your Sacramento stairs.

After letting the drying process complete, you can spray the previously scratched area with a light coat of shellac in order to allow the hardwood to be able to take other finishes. Finally after the shellac has time to dry, you may compete the scratch fixing process for your staircase by coating the treated area using a paintbrush to apply the matching varnish or lacquer, so as to help protect the stairs against future scratches. One tip to remember when dealing with these chemicals is to wear and use proper protection, possibly including respiratory protection.

Now you know the basic steps and materials necessary to get the scratch fixing project underway for your Sacramento stairs!