The Easiest Way to Get Rid of Wood Dents
If you’ve dropped something heavy on your dining table or accidentally hit the surface of the board with a tool, you might think that the only way out is to fill in the dent and sand it down. But there’s another remedy worth trying if the dent isn’t too deep: many small dents can be repaired with steam, and it’s a lot easier than you might think. The steam method works because the heated water penetrates the grain of the wood, causing it to swell, much like a wooden door swells in a warm, humid environment.
To try this yourself, you will need a cloth, such as a washcloth or washcloth, and an iron. If you have a deeper dent, you may also need an orbital sander (or some elbow grease and sandpaper). You may also need a finish such as varnish or polyurethane if you need to polish the area. If you don’t have an iron, you can also use a flat-bottomed heating pan.
How to use steam on wood dents
To prep the wood, remove any bits of what caused the dent and make sure there isn’t too much wax left on the surface. If the dent is on a floorboard, you can quickly clean the area because you don’t want the area you plan to steam to be free of sand or dirt.
After you’ve set the iron and heated it up, dip the cloth in clean water and wring it out until it’s damp but not wet. Then place it on the affected area and iron firmly until it dries. For small dents, you can also place a few drops of water on the dent and place a cloth over it for a more targeted effect. Make small circular motions with the iron so as not to burn the wood, as if you were doing this with clothes. If the wood isn’t absorbing steam due to the finish, you may need to sand off some of the finish with sandpaper, which means you’ll also need to patch up the finish after you’re done. You may need to repeat this several times until the damaged wood fibers return to their original shape.
Once the area is almost flat again and completely dry, you may need to sand down the part you steamed to finish it off. Depending on the severity of the dent, this can range from light sanding of a small dent to full sanding of a larger dent (or multiple dents). You can use an orbital sander for more serious sanding work to make the process easier. Start with the finest grit sandpaper that suits your particular part so you don’t do more work for yourself than you need to. Sandpaper grit ranges from lower numbers, which are the roughest, to higher numbers, which are the finest, so use the highest grit number (grain to surface area) that will smooth the surface of your wood, probably in the range of 300 to 600. .