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Refinishing Wood Furniture to Remove Scratches with only Two Household Items

Refinishing wood furniture is easy with only two household items (vinegar and olive oil) to remove scratches and bring it back to life.

Removing scratches from wood can be a tiresome and daunting task, I get it! I see so many great pieces of solid wood furniture at thrift stores and yard sales because someone just didn’t want to take the time to refinish it. I’m going to show you two household ingredients to easily refinish wood furniture and remove scratches from the wood.

Do you own a solid piece of wood furniture that used to look great but now it’s a little dinged up and worn? Maybe this old piece of furniture has been handed down through a few generations and might not be in the best condition anymore.  Do me a favor, don’t EVER get rid of it because it can be brought back to life.

Guess what? I found a super easy and cheap (probably free if you have the items on hand)  hack to restore and rejuvenate wood.

Side note; this scratch removal hack won’t work for heavily dinged up wood furniture. This works great if you are looking to give a slightly scratched piece of wood a quick facelift.

For more in depth tutorial on how to strip wood furniture, how to stain wood or how to paint wood, check out my entire library of refinishing furniture tutorials.

remove scratches from wood

A friend of mine was moving and getting rid of a really nice solid wood desk, so I jumped on the opportunity to grab it. I loved the style of this antique piece of furniture.

The wood was in great condition, well, all but the top piece of the desk. It had obviously been used to write on. It was all scratched up and the top piece of wood was a different color than the rest of the desk.

This is when I decided to refinish the desk with a trick I learned using just a few household ingredients.

the desk before I applied the solution to remove scratches

You can see above the scratch marks and discoloration from years of wear and tear. Although this desk was not in terrible condition, I still wanted to refinish the wood.

Since I already knew this was a solid piece of antique wood furniture, I wanted to find an easy way to “polish” or remove the scratches without having to sand and re stain the wood.

Doesn’t wood polish remove scratches from furniture?

My first thought was, “Duh, I just needed to buy polish.”  The problem with polish is that it looks great for the first hour after you’ve cleaned it. Once the polish is dry, the cracks come back and it looks just like it did before it was polished. Anyone else feel this way?

I needed a product that would really absorb deep into the wood and remove the scratches and make it look new and refinished.

The older I get the more I’ve learned to look around the house and use natural household items for cleaning rather than harsh abrasive (and expensive) products.

Speaking of household items used to refinish furniture, check out my list of household items I used to stain wood.

Let me tell you, some of the best cleaning tricks are from simple products like Vinegar.

Speaking of Vinegar, this is one of the two items I found that works wonders for removing and refinishing wood furniture.

When my mom told me about this little furniture refinishing “hack,” I thought it would be just like using regular furniture polish. What I mean is, I thought it might work for an hour or so and then the scratches and dings would re appear.

Guess what, I was delightfully wrong.

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Household solution to refinish wood furniture

Note: I only needed less than 1/4 of this mixture for the top of this desk. If you are not doing a full furniture piece I would suggest to mix up 1 part vinegar to 1 part olive oil with enough product you think you will need. 

White distilled vinegar and olive oil used to remove wood scratches

Mix these two ingredients and use a soft cloth to dip and rub all over the wood furniture. You should be able to see the scratches magically disappear!

How does olive oil and vinegar work to remove scratches from wood?

Vinegar is acidic and works to cut through the dirt and grime and clean the wood very well while the olive oil really seeps into the wood and covers the scratches and small abrasions. The oil also puts moisture back into the wood to help restore the color.

After I rubbed the vinegar/oil solution over the piece of furniture with a lint free rag, I let it sit about 10 minutes. After about 10 minutes I took a dry cloth and wiped the excess moisture away. I honestly expected to see the scratches reappear, but magically about 90% of them are gone!

Below is a picture of the AFTER!

refinishing wood furniture
refinishing furniture to make it look new again

Refinishing Wood and Removing Scratches video

The desk after I applied the vinegar and olive oil to remove scratches
How to refinish Wood Furniture and Remove Scratches

Best part about this wipe-on finish furniture hack- it restored the top of the desk to the same color as the rest of this piece.

It’s funny how a few household items can work as well, or better, than a cleaning or refinishing furniture product you could buy at the store.

Get out the vinegar and olive oil and start bringing those old antique beauties back to life!

If you enjoyed this post I would love for you to pin it HERE or pin the image below.

How to refinish Wood Furniture and Remove Scratches
refinishing wood with household items

How to refinish Wood Furniture and Remove Scratches

refinishing wood to make it look new again

Refinishing wood furniture can be easy with only two household items (vinegar and olive oil) to remove scratches and bring it back to life.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Active Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Difficulty Easy
Estimated Cost 10 dollars

Materials

  • Vinegar
  • Olive Oil
  • Lint Free cloth

Instructions

  1. Mix 1 part vinegar to 1 part olive oil
  2. Use your lint free cloth to apply the mixture to the wood in direction of the wood grain
  3. Let the solution sit on the wood about 10 minutes
  4. After 10 minutes take a dry cloth and wipe the excess moisture away

Notes

Vinegar is acidic and works to cut through the dirt and grime and clean the wood very well while the olive oil really seeps into the wood and covers the scratches and small abrasions. The oil also puts moisture back into the wood to help restore the color.

I love finding easy household hacks to bring old things back to life!

Lindsey**

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  1. AJ says:

    Great hack! I am going to use this treatment for a table I’ve been dreading refinishing. Top is scratched but otherwise in great condition. Always enjoy your ideas.

  2. Rita says:

    Good day, thank you for your advice I am going to try it on an inherrit dining room table of 75 years. I am very exited to start with the project. Than you again. Rita

  3. Bridget says:

    Will this work to take oils off the top of a wood dresser?

  4. Paul says:

    Interesting and informative thank you, the table looks wonderful. I’ve two Oak framed Edwardian William Morris type reclining chairs made for/by ‘Heals’ ((UK) arriving this week from a ship that’s being decommissioned stripped and deep cleaned ready to be sunk as an artificial reef. Both chairs are in good condition with no rot infestation or major damage but are in need of care and attention without destroying the patina of age and usage so I’ll give your recipe of White Vinegar and Olive Oil a try and see how it works out. The chairs are complete with the original horse hair filled thick cushions which will need removing and washing before being reupholstered in a Morris patterned material.

    Question.
    Do you use any form of wax polish after the vinegar and oil clean and scratch cover or do you only ever use vinegar and oil after the first treatment?

    Thank You
    Paul

    • Hi Paul,

      Since I’ve only used this vinegar and oil recipe on previously finished pieces (which originally had some form of wax or poly finish) I did not use anything like a wax to cover it. And yes you will have to retreat the wood from time to time again unfortunately.

  5. Denise says:

    Thank you so much for this handy tip! We have just bought a beautiful second hand wooden bed but when it arrived it had a few scratches and some of the wood had lost its beautiful colour. After a good coat of your recommended mixture and a buff it genuinely looks as good as new! 😊
    Many thanks again

  6. Jan says:

    Does it leave an odor from the vinegar?

  7. Sara says:

    Thank you so much for this tip, Lindsey. I tried it out on the nightstands in my bedroom and I was very impressed with the results! I recently had the banister in my home refinished by a local wood refinishing company, and they did a great job, but I’m going to keep this hack handy to use on the banister in the future!

  8. jai jangir says:

    How often do you have to do this to keep the wood looking good? Thanks for a great idea

  9. Raquel Costa says:

    Hi thanks for sharing,but I have just a question what type vinager white or red…thanks

  10. Sarah Kite says:

    Wonderful work!!

  11. Happy Sappy says:

    Thank You for a detailed guide. Will keep this handy for better future use.

  12. […] know I just published a post showing you how I used two household items to refinish scratched wood,  but even after I removed the scratches I still wasn’t happy with the antique desk.  I […]

  13. Great little trick. I’m going to try it on my oak kitchen table. Thanks for sharing at Snickerdoodle.

  14. Judy says:

    I have an old sewing machine in a cabinet sitting in my garage. The top of the cabinet is in pretty bad shape, I am on my way to give this a try!!! Thanks for the info.

  15. richellaparham says:

    Okay, I’m going to give this a try! Thank you so much for posting this–I’d never have thought of using vinegar and olive oil together!

    And thanks for joining the Grace at Home party at Imparting Grace. I’m featuring you this week!

  16. Lindsey, this is amazing! (And I don’t use that word lightly.) I can’t wait to try it myself.

  17. K.Rupp says:

    Great that’s a fantastic hack! I just pinned that one. Salad dressing who knew!:)

  18. Sandra Garth says:

    Absolutely amazing! Thank you for sharing with us this week at Celebrate Your Story and we hope you will join us again next week.

  19. Nancy Sharp says:

    What a marvelous piece of furniture. I’m so glad you were able to restore it. I’m going to use that tip too. As a little girl, I lived in a small town in Kentucky where a shop handmade cherry furniture in the colonial style. That piece looks like the dining room furniture and bedroom furniture that my mom had. Those pieces are now in the hands of granddaughters.

  20. mizroady says:

    How often do you have to repeat this?

    • Every piece of furniture is different. Wish I had a concrete answer for that, but I don’t. I would give it a try and see how long it lasts. I’ve heard from other people who have done this and they said their scratches were gone for months!

  21. mizroady says:

    How often do you have to do this to keep the wood looking good? Thanks for a great idea!

  22. […] know I just published a post showing you how I used two household items to refinish scratched wood,  and even after I removed the scratches I still wasn’t happy with the piece.  The desk I […]

  23. Bonnie says:

    Did you mean
    2 1/2 cups of olive oil? 2 1/2 Tablespoons of olive oil? Please clarify the amount of olive oil.

    • Bonnie,
      I’m sorry for the confusion. I edited my post to read 1 part vinegar to 1 part olive oil. I mixed up 1/2 cup vinegar to 1/2 cup olive oil, and I only ended up using about 1/4 of it. Let me know if you have any more questions.

  24. Mary-The Boondocks Blog says:

    Great job Lindsey. I’ve been using it for years. It is all natural and good for your wood.

  25. Lindy says:

    This is truly amazing. Brilliant ide!

    • Anonymous says:

      I understand the oil and vinegar action. I would be concerned about the olive oil turning rancid over time. Maybe mineral oil would be more neutral? This sounds much better than the chemicals sold to strip a finish
      Thanks, Debbie

      • Kelly says:

        I I have used vegetable oil on my leather furniture w/o any rancid problem. It’s probably because I didn’t soak it in oil. AM trying this on my antique table today! Stay tuned! 🤞

      • Honestly I’ve never thought about the olive oil turning rancid. Mineral oil would probably work just as well or not better then!

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