Revitalizing wooden furniture doesn’t always require a complete restoration. In fact, there are many products available that can refresh wood furniture without sanding.
Here are some of my favorite refinishing products that can help you breathe new life into your wooden furniture without the need for a complete restoration.
You must have already read my post on factors to consider before painting furniture, but if you want to confirm you’ve made the right decision to keep your piece natural, check it out!
Best Products to Refresh Wooden Furniture
Revitalizing wooden furniture doesn’t always require a complete restoration. In fact, there are many products available that can give new life to a piece without the need for a full overhaul.
Here are some of my favorite refinishing products that can help you get rid of scratches and gouges on wooden furniture.
1. RESTOR-A-FINISH
Furniture oil is a great way to protect and revitalize the wood without having to strip and refinish the piece. It’s perfect for those looking to enhance the natural beauty of the wood and mask scuffs and scratches in the wood.
It’s great for scratches or superficial gouges. It comes in a variety of colors that allow you to color match to your particular piece. But don’t overthink it, there is a lot of wiggle room when it comes to selecting a color. As long as you get in the general range, many colors will fit your project.
2. FURNITURE SALVE
Salve is an essential tool for any furniture refinisher. It’s perfect for essentially erasing imperfections in the wood including dings, scratches, water marks and scuffs. It will also rehydrate dry looking wood to enhance its original beauty.
3. COLOR CORRECTION MARKERS
Next are these color correction markers which are pretty amazing IMO (in my opinion abbreviated like the kids are doing it these days).
4. MOHAWK FIL-STIKS
Mohawk FIL-STIKs are colored wax sticks used for filling in small cracks, dents, and scratches in furniture, flooring, and other wooden surfaces. They come in a variety of shades to match the color of the wood being repaired. The wax sticks are soft and can be easily melted and smoothed into the damaged area, making it possible to restore the surface to its original appearance.
Here on the edge of the table, you can see a small gouge. Using Mohawk Fil-Stiks in 2 different shades I literally just colored the area. Pushing firmly and using friction to heat up the tip of the crayon will cause it to slowly fill with the wax. Typically using 2 different similar colors to the wood you are filling will give you a natural look and level out the gouge completely.
5. GEL STAIN
Lastly, we come to gel stain. I know I said no sanding… but I promise this won’t require more than a light scuff. (You ALMOST got away with me not mentioning a sanding step in a blog post.)
Gel stain is a great way to refresh the color of your wooden furniture without having to strip the existing finish. It’s also a great option for matching the color of a new piece to an existing set without having to go all the way down to raw wood like traditional stains.
I didn’t have to go as far as to use gel stain on this round table. However, If they gouges or scratches were a little more extreme it would have been a great option!
I hope you’ll try some of these easy to use products next time you have an old wooden piece of furniture in need of a little revamp. Little scratches here and there don’t call for the orbital sander or a full paint cover up! I think you’ll be surprised what these products are capable of.
With the right products and a little bit of elbow grease, you can give new life to your wooden furniture a quick refresh without a full overhaul, and the best part? (Little to) NO SANDING!
Girl Behind the Blog
I’m Jess, the creator of Oak & Grain. A mid-west girl at heart who now resides in Raleigh, NC. I love finding old things and giving them new purpose by way of refinishing or incorporating unexpected, overlooked thrift store finds in the modern home. I work full-time in medicine and I love dipping into my creative side and in the process, keeping my sanity. Follow me on Instagram and YouTube to see more behind the scenes action.