How to Remove Burn Marks on a Hardwood Floor

Rub 'em out with these step-by-step instructions.

More from Help Around the House
Filed under: Hardwood, Flooring, Repair

Eliminating burned spots in a wood floor just takes some careful cutting with a pocketknife and a razor blade. Here’s how to do it:

Materials and Tools:

knee pads
razor blade
pocketknife
wire brush
steel wool
paintbrush
work cloth
tung oil
safety glasses

Steps:

1. Wearing safety glasses, scrape the burn mark with a pocketknife to assess the damage and see how deep the burn goes. With the tip of the knife, carefully grind away burned wood. Always work with the grain of the wood.

2. Lightly brush the area with a brass bristle brush. Again, brush with the grain of the wood, and avoid making any deep scratches that will require sanding.

3. Brush away debris with a dry paintbrush and use the corner tip of a razor blade to remove the smaller specks of damage.

4. Clean the area again with the paintbrush.

5. Dab a bit of tung oil on the spot with a clean towel to restore color. If desired, smooth the area further with a steel wool pad. Apply a bit more tung oil and check the results.