Household Repairs Minor scratches. Rub with paste floor wax, the meat of a nut, or a mixture of equal parts boiled linseed oil, turpentine, and water. Hide with shoe polish if necessary.

Severe scratches. Rub with a wax stick of the proper color.

Burns. With a sharp knife carefully scratch out all charred wood. Work with the grain. Clean with benzine. Smooth with fine steel wool or sandpaper. Apply oil stain to match surrounding finish.

If scar is deep, instead of applying stain, fill it with stick shellac matching the finish. Heat a small spatula over an alcohol flame or on an electric burner, press it against shellac stick and let the melting shellac drip into hole. Smooth with heated spatula. Sand with fine sandpaper when dry and rub down with rottenstone and a rag dipped in sewing machine oil.

Dents. Cover with a damp cloth. Place a bottle cap upside down directly over dent and rest a warm flatiron on top. If dent doesn't rise after several applications of heat, remove finish with steel wool and try again.

Stains. See wood; also lacquered surface, shellacked surface, or varnished surface as case may be.



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May 22, 2012