How do you fix wood floor after dog nails scratch it up?

Question

Have a real wood floor here and our lab has managed to put some nice scratches all over it, never had to deal with wood before so kinda clueless how to repair it... It is a light color...Oak maybe.

Answer 1

Try clear floor wax...build up a few coats. Then buff with a floor buffer.

Answer 2

You have to refinish the floor. Waxing and polishing will only make the scratches shinier. AFTER you sand the scratches out (big job) apply several coats of urethane (or equivalent). If you apply enough layers of urethane, future scratches won't be as likely to dig deep enough to damage the wood itself. (Scratches which don't penetrate the urethane down to the wood itself will be virtually invisible).

PS: If the hardwood was installed by a flooring professional  who knew you had a dog and didn't warn you that you'd have scratches within 24 hours, you should sue him or at least make sure he never gets another job.

Answer 3

if the scrathches are a 1/16 or deeper sanding is out of the question. unless you are willing to sand the whole room. you can replace the individual boards that are affected but if you have never done anything like that, you should call in a professional. the latter will be less expensive than having the land lord do it.They do make a putty that you can fill in very shallow scratches. you can find them at a good paint store. maybe home depot/lowes. p.s take your dog for a hike every night. i'll bet he will stop.

Answer 4

My husband and I have the same exact problem.  We were afraid that the only thing to do would be to have them refinished, and from these answers that seems to be the case.  

As far as the suggestion that you take your dog for a hike and it probably won't do that anymore...that is highly unlikely.  Our dog is also a lab.  We are both very active and take our dog on plenty of walks, hikes, and most importantly, to the river to swim and play fetch.  Labrador retrievers are full of energy and it is a challenge to drain enough of it out of them to get them to settle down.  Also, they are a large breed, and their weight combined with the blunt force of their nails (if you have ever been stepped on or scratched you know what I mean) means that if they so much as slip when switching from carpet to hardwood your floor will suffer.  

Answer 5

It takes a while. as far as I know, you have to refinish the wood floor. we went to a hardware storeand bought a floor sander, and sanded it all off. then we put on some hardwood floor finishing stuff. just make sure you have somewhere else to go before puting on the finish, is smells bad and takes a day or two to dry.

Answer 6

I like Trewax paste wax, get the "Indian Sand" color.

Apply by hand, let dry, then buff with a floor buffer brush, then use the high polishing pad.

I do this to the high traffic areas on our parquet floors, and they always have a high polish.