Dent in hardwood floors, help!

We just had our floors refinished and I dropped a coffee mug and put a dent in the floor and it feels like it went through the finish too (it's rough almost splintery). Is there any way to fix this myself?

Thanks!!!!!!

 A little bit of wood filler and the same varnish/finish you used to re-finish the floor? If both are properly applied you shouldn't notice the dent anymore.  It sounds like it won't be a very big job in terms of money and time.  

Lightly sand the splinters first.

First off;

What I have found that works all the time is this, Sand lightly, clean the spot and ever so lightly dampen a towel, place it on the dented area and with an iron @ a very low heat place on the towel. Leave the towel on the area a few minutes. Keep your eye on the flooring. You will notice it will begin to rise slightly. Repeat this process until your completely satisfied. Then only after the floor is dried apply the stain to the flooring.

How you fix it depends on what you are willing to live with.  The easiest repair is to smooth out the rough area with fine sandpaper and then use a small brush (I have had good luck with a child's artist brush) to flow polyurathane over the smoothed, now unfinished, area.  It should blend in well with a natural finish.  I have done this in a number of places.

If you want a smooth, dent free floor, it becomes a much harder job.  Basically, you have to cut out the damaged are and glue in a replacement patch.  It is not unlike veneering and requires a lot if time, patience, and very exact cutting.  Filling the dent with a patching compound is generally not recommended.  It will be almost impossible to blend in properly.

Sounds like a soft wood or very hea

kell:

We just had our floors refinished and I dropped a coffee mug and put a dent in the floor and it feels like it went through the finish too (it's rough almost splintery). Is there any way to fix this myself?

Thanks!!!!!!

vy hard mug!  I would recomend that you lightly sand the area to break up and or remove the old finish. Then apply enough water to cover the dent, allow to set for 10 min. or so to let the water soak in to the dent.  Apply heat ( I use a steam iron for this but a hair dryer might work better in this case) and allow the grain to raise. (repeat if necessary)  Let dry over night and sand the area smooth and refinish damaged spot. 

You could try water and a hot iron to swell the dent out of the wood. We did this to take dents out of wood windows and doors.  Just a thought.

Great idea!!!!! No_fingers.

I wouldn’t want to be on the business end of your mug if that mug could dent the wood of your floor! I would probably do as FreeAir said, some wood filler, some varnish and it should be fine. The toughest part to me would be choosing the right wood filler for your floor. I once had a storage shed that had holes all over the wooden floor. I suspect insects had been burrowing around. It took me a long time to exterminate and then fill up all the holes with wood filler but the result was quite satisfactory to me. I take my storage shed very seriously as you can see.