apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Wait... what? Really??? That looks amazing! Does this work on darker furniture as well, or only lighter stains? And I'm assuming it has to be real wood, correct? Regardless, that's still a cool trick.

At the risk of sounding like an alarmist, I probably would not recommend this due to friends or kids with nut allergies.

We always used shoe polish. As long as it wasn't a large ding, it worked for the most part.

i wonder if my dog licking the rubbed spot would negate the effect....

thats nuts. :)

running home to try this on everything!

Pecans work well too. The oils are what do the trick

WHA? Awesome!

Im going to go NUTS trying this!

Does it work on dark wood? I must know!

Leehou is right-it's not the nut, but the oil in it that's at work here. This is cool on the fly, but you'd run out of nuts pretty quick trying to do an entire piece of furniture. Danish oil and fine steel wool works better, is cheaper, and probably a little easier to use.
http://modernhaus.blogspot.com/2010/02/elegy-for-twelve-year-old-boy.html

Now I know what to do with that bag of walnuts that has taken up residence in my cupboard! Can't wait to go home and try it out! It better work!! ;)

tam-tbag-
I have a vivid picture in mind of my one-year old son gnawing on the legs of an armchair...or a dinner guest who has had one too many, perhaps. You made my day.

Dang, good to know!

Just tried it! My wood was stained dark, but lighter where it was scratches. The walnut helped, but didn't darken all the way. I'm wondering if it will oxidize over time and get darker.

I did it. It worked.

I always loved using my Crayola multicultural markers for this. I would try the colors on a piece of paper and then compare it to the furniture. Now my furniture was usually only the particle board kind but i almost always found something that worked. I think using the furniture oil is the best bet. The markers would soak in a bit more permanently and could be too bright.

This is such a fantastic, not to mention natural tip! I've a few chairs that need some cosmetic repair. It looks like I'll be making a trip to the grocery store today!

What a fantastic tip!!

gee, tam-tbag, if we already have nuts at home, obviously we're not worried about guests licking the furniture to get at their yummy allergens. we'll just poison them directly by putting out a lovely pottery bowl full.

Mayo works to fill in the surface of a table that has slight heat damage.

Use a tibet almond stick. It's 1.99, lasts forever, and won't go rancid (too much walnut oil will make your furniture stinky).

Any tricks for filling in cracks where wood plants have split?

Jentastic- More details on the mayo trick, please!

http://thesweetest3.com/

I've often used my large collection of Chartpak / Design markers to cover dings. Not exactly environmental, I know.

no doubt in my mind that the dogs would gnaw at it, but more worrisome- the chinchilla (that occasionally gets to run loose) would DEVOUR it!

I've always had amazing success with the touch-up markers.

this does totally work, i've done it many times. HOWEVER - be very careful if you're home is prone to ant infestation... i learned that one the hard way!

Wow, this is cool. I'll have to give this a try! Thanks so much.

the allergic to nuts comment cracked me up! But, YES, awesome tip- a must try.

I am in no way affiliated with this company but the BEST thing I've found is by a company called Howard's Naturals. A local woodworker gave me a bottle and I went home and instantly cleaned up all of my furniture. Water-rings (that I'd given up on) in my coffee table, scratches on my nightstand, the legs on my dining room chairs, all looked brand-new.

I don't understand how it works the way it does as it is only a wood "cleaner" but it makes everything beautiful!

http://tinyurl.com/yahq7ea

Again, I am no way affiliated with this company and this is one of the only products I would rant about like this.

While I do sometimes gnaw on the legs of furniture when I'm invited to parties (after 2 drinks!), I was just thinking about how I wouldn't put nuts on any chair backs or handrest areas, due to the allergy concerns. It's nothing I used to think about, but one day I nearly poisoned somebody with a cookie, and I've been more vigilant since.

From Medicinenet: "Allergy to peanuts affects 1.3% of the general population."

While I'm in no way dismissing the severity of allergic reactions, I'll take my chances here and spring for the bag of walnuts.

Not to start a full on allergy debate, but...

... as a mom to a child with an anaphylactic nut allergy, I find rubbing nut oil on furniture a risky idea if you have young children around. Preschools and kindergartens are often nut-free due to the fact that allergic children can have a reaction just from skin contact. You never know when your child will have a playdate with a nut allergic child, so be aware.

A Sharpie is great if you have very dark or black furniture.

this is a great idea!!!!!!

and sure, if you are otherwise keeping a nut-free home, then yeah, don't go buy nuts and rub them on the furniture....................

i use colored pencils.

@RWS: "You never know when your child will have a playdate with a nut allergic child, so be aware."

Presumably you would know, because the parent would tell you so beforehand. Then you just have to remember that you did this.

Sounds like a great idea for the non-nut allergenic. I'm fascinated by the other tricks coming out of the woodwork (ha) too - mayo? Really? What a neat trick! (But not for the egg allergenic, obviously :-)

I have had a bottle of scratch cover for decades. One bottle lasts forever. It comes in three shades, and even works on floors that aren't sealed.

I would be concerned about the walnut oil becoming rancid and smelling, not to mention bugs and allergies.

Nice!

Oftheaprilbirds--
I use Howard Feed N Wax for the same purpose and it is the best. It also smells fantastic. A little goes a long way. We use it on all of our furniture and have had the same bottle for about a year now.

tam-tbag--
I agree that we should be wary of exposing those who may have nut allergies to danger. I didn't mean to make light ... the gnawing image immediately came to mind and I really did chuckle out loud. I'll be more careful in the future and keep in mind that debates are easily launched.

We use the pro choice of hiring a carpenter... my customers would freak out if I pull a walnut out and try to fix their furniture...

but using george w bush's brain for furniture repair...?

is that ethical?

I bought a "wood pen" at a local furniture store. They come in different colours to match your stain and really do make chips and dents nearly invisible. We have a dark-stained pine dining table and it was looking very ratty, but now looks great.

My grandmother always kept a few walnuts in a Luden's tin in her bedside table just for this purpose. I remember her telling me that her mother had done the same. I know my mom has that same tin, with those same walnuts, in her bedside table - and still uses them for small repairs.

I doubt that there's ever been a problem with rancid oils, but I believe this was used only for small scratches. I doubt anyone would recommend fixing all types of wood dings/scratches/gouges/etc with a walnut. :)

HA! What a great tip!!!

Enjoyed reading all the clever responses too :)

Thanks

I like the natural aspect of this. It only makes sense that the nut of the tree it came from would do the trick. Chemicals aren't good for anyone.

Great tip, however, as previous posters have commented, it would be dangerous it you have guests with a nut allergy.

My husband is deathly allergic to walnuts and pecans (we call them the "widow maker"). A coworker of his once handed out brownies and placed one on the palm of his hand. He immediately felt a burning sensation on the skin and thought "uh oh". Yep, there were chunks of walnuts in it.

I use food grade mineral oil, the type that you can use to condition bamboo cutting boards, to polish away any scratches. It is a miracle - I have found that walnuts don't always work on darker woods and the wood pens can stain if they don't match colors exactly. I use it all over the house to polish cabinets, bannisters, floors (makes it SLICK) but I have yet to find a scratch that it hasn't worked on and it makes the wood come alive.

what helpful tips here, thanks!

tam-tbag...with a family full of nut allergies, smell or touch can cause at least one running for her iEpiPen. So I understand your concern. I do however think it's a cool idea!

I've never heard of using nuts before for this. But used coffee grinds work as well. simply take the moist grinds and wipe them on, let them sit a while and then wipe them back off.