DIY Oil and Vinegar Furniture Scratch Removal Trick

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DIY Furniture Scratch Removal Trick

DIY Oil and Vinegar Furniture Scratch Removal Trick

I’ve been doing lots and lots of shopping at garage sales lately.  One thing that I almost always see is a beautiful old piece of furniture that is scratched up.  Most people don’t want to go through the trouble of repainting or refinishing it.  If they only knew this very simple DIY oil and vinegar furniture scratch removal trick before they decided to part with old furniture.

This trick is an old trick my grandma used to use back in the day.  She made her own furniture polish.  I’ve only tried this on real wood furniture.  I’ve have not attempted to try it on the cheap Ikea type furniture.

This post was inspired by a conversation I had this morning with a lady I met at a garage sale.  She was asking how to refinish and old chest she just purchased.  I thought everyone knew this trick already but she didn’t.  I kept in touch with my new friend and she immediately went home to try this homemade scratch remover.  She said IT WORKED!  IT WORKED!  I was extremely happy to share this super easy trick with her.  She may have gone a little crazy though because she started polishing everything in her house with it.

TIP:  For deep scratches you may also want to use a permanent marker in a matching color before you apply this solution.  I seem to always be using the brown Sharpie markers on my furniture.

Making that used furniture shine is not the only thing I do with it.  Sometimes I get really crafty and use my homemade chalk paint recipe to repaint it.  I love this recipe because there’s no sanding or prep work required before painting your treasures.  I love that part.  I might be a little lazy in that way.  lol

Here’s how to make your very own DIY Oil and Vinegar Furniture Scratch removal solution:

1 part Distilled White Vinegar – I ran out once and used Apple Cider Vinegar and it worked exactly the same

2 parts Canola Oil – I usually use Canola oil but I’ve also used olive oil too.  Both work perfectly!  I try to use the cheapest oil possible, just like this canola oil here.

 

Directions to polish your furniture or just remove scratches as needed:

Take 1 part distilled vinegar and mix in 2 parts oil to create your solution.  Mix the solution and dip a polishing rag into the mixture.  Wipe it over your real wood furniture until the scratches are gone.  Wipe off the excess oil with a clean towel.

 

PRO TIP:  You can even put this solution in a spray bottle to use it.  Just be sure to shake it up before you use it.  The oil alone will never spray out of the bottle but because it’s mixed with vinegar it will.

Here are a super quick video to show you exactly how quickly this solution works:

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18 Comments

  1. This is genius! Just polished up a lovely bookcase I bought on Gumtree and it’s come up a treat just with two ingredients I already had in my pantry. Thank you 🙂

  2. Instead of using canola, olive, or any other vegetable-based oil, I would use mineral oil. The vegetable based oils will go rancid over time and become sticky or tacky to the touch. Then the sticky oil will begin collecting dirt. It is then that you will have to go through the grueling task of removing the greasy and dirty residue, just to apply more and later repeat. Using mineral oil (baby oil, scented or unscented) will keep that from happening.

    By the way, using any product containing mineral oil, such as baby oil, actually dries out your skin. (Though it works great on furniture!) Avoid using mineral oil (baby oil) on your baby’s skin or your skin. Read the labels on your favorite hand lotion. They use mineral oil because it is inexpensive and it dries out your skin keeping you as a repeat customer to purchase more hand lotion! Look for lotions containing ingredients that do not require lugging out the Latin dictionary to read and that do not contain mineral oil.

    1. O.M.G. this totally works. I just did it, (somewhat skeptically, I must admit!) and it is awesome. Thank you

    1. I would probably buy lots of chew toys. You might also use a pool noodle to protect the legs of your furniture (taped around the legs) until your pup is out of that horrible chewing stage. Good Luck.

    2. A Shih Tzu we had chewed the leg of a coffee table. Bought a spray at pet store called bitter apple. One spray and he let the table alone.

      I am grateful for this recipe to get scratches and mars off furniture. Thanks so much.

  3. Jennifer,
    Genius! I tried it on an dark antique wood table I have and found that I needed to really saturate the darker wood to hide the scratches but it definitely worked. If I might add a tip since I did not read your direction carefully enough (too excited to try it)…Dip the cloth in the solution like directed because if you pour the solution on the cloth, like this nitwit did, you might be wearing a 1/3 of a cup in your lap and get it on the carpet. LOL Once I sopped the over pour off my lap (thank God I was sitting on my knees and most of it went on my cleaning clothes) I had plenty on my cloth to do three other pieces which were little woods and now we all look shiny and new!
    I added drops of sweet orange essential oils too the solution because…I like the smell.
    Thanks for this great tip! I am going to post your link on my Facebook page right now.

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