Repair Holes and Scratches in Wood with Minwax Blend-Fil Pencils
I am a little overprotective of my new hardwood floors. I constantly scan them for dirt and scratches. And I’m not even done installing them (slow and steady). You can imagine my horror when I had to top-nail a few rows when work space became limited. But I’ve been using Minwax Blend-Fil Pencils to conceal the nail holes. These pencils work surprisingly well.
Blend-Fil Pencils
Minwax markets these pencils as “The fast, easy way to permanently repair scratches and nail holes in wood”. They can be used with furniture, cabinets, molding, hardwood floor and more. Blend-Fil pencils come in a variety of colors and you can even mix them to create intermediate colors. I selected three
different colors, as my floor has a lot of variation.
Repairing Nail Holes and Scratches
- Make sure you start with a dry, clean area.
- Select a pencil that matches your wood finish.
- Work the pencil into the nail hole, scratch or other imperfection. I found that smearing the pencil across the nail hole worked well. Take your time and be thorough. Sharpen the tip for hard-to-reach areas.
- Buff away excess with a clean rag or paper towel.
These pencils are designed to fill a dent, ding or hole with a colored wax like substance (might even be wax). They work best with small, tidy imperfections. I have a few spots that the nail didn’t go in cleanly and the pencils don’t conceal as well. Also, Blend-Fil pencils shouldn’t be used near open flame or a high heat source. Don’t confuse them with the stain markers. Stain markers are basically markers filled with a wood stain color. I’ve used them before with limited success.
What do you think? Have any wood products you need to touch-up?
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7 Responses to Repair Holes and Scratches in Wood with Minwax Blend-Fil Pencils
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September 2nd, 2008 8:37 am
The fill pencils work great to fill the holes. I like using the markers to fix scratches and color the pencil fill material when it doesn’t match well. Great combo!
September 2nd, 2008 1:06 pm
Looks like a good solution for small dings and holes! I’ve seen those in the store, and considered using them on the doors I’m refinishing.
September 3rd, 2008 3:36 pm
I got a couple small dings that need to be taken care of. I thank you for this post because it looks like a product I can safely test on my floor.
September 7th, 2008 3:47 pm
The pencils are a much more directed tool than the wax crayons that some many must wrestle with.
November 30th, 2008 9:57 pm
We’ve managed to scratch and ding our high gloss floor in several places. Would this be good to fill in fairly long shallow dents?
Does is dry hard? They’re not deep enough for it to stay if it stays as soft wax.
December 1st, 2008 10:12 am
@Jonathan,
The wax isn’t very soft to begin with. I’m not sure if it really gets much harder but it definitely isn’t soft. I think this would be a great way to fill small shallow dents but may not last for larger defects. Hope this helps.
January 10th, 2010 12:46 pm
Are these Blend-Fil pencils just sharpened in a regular pencil sharpener?