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Help with woodcare Repair and upkeep
Damage on wood is repaired according to the finish that carries it, not according to the damage itself. Hard-wax-oiled wood is sanded locally and takes a dab of Hard Wax Oil, with no visible join. A waxed piece is cleaned with Wax and Polish Remover and re-waxed with a coloured wax, Wax Dark Oak or Wax Antique Brown, which hides the scratch. French polish is repaired with fresh coats that melt into the old; its white bloom lifts with Furniture Cleaner and Reviver. On a varnish, Burnishing Cream removes a fine scratch; a deep one needs a de-nib with 220 and a fresh coat.
Page updated September 2026 · by the Mylands France woodcare specialists
Before you rub
The same scratch is not repaired the same way on a hard-wax-oiled floor, a waxed chest of drawers and a French-polished table. So the first question is not "how do I get this mark out?" but "what is on this wood?". A finish that penetrates — oil, hard wax oil — is repaired in touches, with no join; a finish that forms a film — varnish, lacquer, shellac — is repaired by treating the film.
The test takes two moves. A drop of water that beads on a matt surface: oil or hard wax oil. A fingernail that leaves a greasy trace: wax. A hard, smooth surface: varnish, lacquer or shellac — a cotton pad dampened with alcohol softens shellac, not varnish. The preparation guide sets out this reading in detail. In every case, test first on a hidden area.
Six kinds of damage
01
An oak table in hard wax oil, scratched by a chair. Sand the area lightly with 180 grit along the grain, dust off, dab on a touch of Hard Wax Oil with a cloth and wipe the excess at once. Touch-dry in 6 to 8 hours, the repair cannot be seen: the finish penetrates, so there is no film edge.
02
An antique waxed oak chest, scratched across the top. Clean the spot with Wax and Polish Remover, let it dry, then re-wax with 0000 steel wool in small circles using a coloured wax: Wax Dark Oak on dark oak, Wax Antique Brown on a warm-toned wood. The pigmented wax fills the scratch; buff along the grain.
03
A French-polished walnut table, clouded white by damp. Furniture Cleaner and Reviver, worked in with a soft cloth after a trial on a hidden area, removes most white heat and water marks. If the bloom persists, a fresh coat of Button Polish with a rubber melts into the old one and closes it.
04
A varnished kitchen shelf marked by fine scratches from crockery. Burnishing Cream, a very mild abrasive, smooths the film and brings back its lustre: with a cloth, in small circles. A scratch that catches a fingernail has gone through the film: de-nib with 220, dust off and lay a fresh coat of Quick Dry Varnish, touch-dry in 3 to 4 hours.
05
An oiled oak worktop, marked with a black ring where a cast-iron pan was left wet: the tannin in the oak has reacted with iron and water, and the mark is in the fibre. Sand back to clean wood with 120 then 180, no finer, dust off and reseal: three coats of oil 12 to 18 hours apart, or a dab of Hard Wax Oil.
06
A scalding cup set down without a coaster on a French-polished mahogany table: a white ring, slightly matt. Shellac dislikes heat, but it repairs like no other finish. Furniture Cleaner and Reviver first; then a rubber charged with French Polish, in light passes along the grain, melts the ring back into the film, with no join.
The table
The same damage, three finishes, three different moves. Always test on a hidden area, and work along the grain.
| The damage | On a finish | The repair |
|---|---|---|
| Surface scratch | Oil or hard wax oil | Light sand with 180 along the grain, a dab of Hard Wax Oil or oil, excess wiped at once |
| Surface scratch | Wax | Wax and Polish Remover on the spot, then coloured wax (Wax Dark Oak) with 0000 steel wool, buffed along the grain |
| Fine or deep scratch | Varnish, lacquer | Fine: Burnishing Cream with a cloth. Deep: de-nib with 220, fresh coat, light use after 24 hours |
| Scratch, heat ring | Shellac | Fresh coats with a rubber, which melt into the old: see French polishing |
| White ring, bloom | Varnish, lacquer, shellac | Furniture Cleaner and Reviver, after a trial on a hidden area |
| Black mark (tannin) | Any, on oak | Sand back to clean wood, 120 then 180, then the original finish on the area |
A film that is merely dull gets a clean: Reviving a tired finish.
The method
Whatever the finish, a local repair follows the same order. What changes is the product at step four.
A drop of water, a fingernail, a cotton pad dampened with alcohol: oil, wax, shellac or varnish. Then the full trial — product included — under the top or behind a leg.
Wax and Polish Remover on a wax, Furniture Cleaner and Reviver on a varnish or shellac, a well-wrung damp cloth on an oil. A repair laid over grime does not hold.
180 grit along the grain on an oil or hard wax oil, never finer. 0000 steel wool on a wax. A de-nib with 220 on a varnish or lacquer. Nothing on shellac, which the rubber alone reopens.
A dab of Hard Wax Oil or oil, excess wiped at once; a little coloured wax in small circles; a pass of the rubber; a thin coat of varnish. Always less than you think.
Hard Wax Oil: touch-dry in 6 to 8 hours, cured in 7 to 10 days. Wax: a matt haze, buff along the grain, next coat after 10 minutes. Varnish: 3 to 4 hours, light use after 24 hours, full hardness in 7 days.
To avoid
Frequently asked
A drop of water that beads on a matt surface: oil or hard wax oil. A fingernail that leaves a greasy trace: wax. A hard, smooth surface: varnish, lacquer or shellac; a cotton pad dampened with alcohol softens shellac, not varnish. See the preparation guide.
No, as long as the sanded area stays small and the grit stays at 120–150 on a floor, 180 on furniture. Hard Wax Oil penetrates: no film edge, and the fresh dab blends into the old. Touch-dry in 6 to 8 hours, it can be walked on with care after 24 hours.
On shellac, varnish or lacquer, Furniture Cleaner and Reviver removes most white heat and water marks — test first on a hidden area. If the white remains, the moisture is under the film: a fresh coat with the rubber on shellac, a de-nib with 220 and a fresh coat on a varnish.
From the tannin in oak, which blackens on contact with iron and water: a cast-iron pan, a wet pad of steel wool. The mark is in the fibre; it has to be sanded back to clean wood with 120 then 180 and resealed. See Finishing oak.
See also
“Each finish is repaired with itself: a dab of oil on oil, a little wax on wax, a pass of the rubber on shellac.”
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