Hi,

I've got walnut wood floors at home but my girlfriends have caused significant damage with their stilettos! Parts of the floor are marked with scrapes - is there any product I can buy to remove them? Some kind of wax or polish? I rubbed olive oil over them once and that worked, but made the floor a bit slippery!

Thanks for your help Debbie!

Chic

Our Shopping Expert replies:

Hi there Chic,

Well I guess there has to be some kind of downside to being so popular! The first thing to establish is whether your floor has an oil or wax finish or has been lacquered. If it has a lacquer finish, and the marks are not too deep, you could try a product made by Bonakemi called 'Freshen Up'. This costs £7 per litre + VAT and is designed to take care of stains and scuff marks. But if the scratches are deep, then I'm afraid there is really no alternative but to sand the floor back and re-seal it. If the scratches are in a small area you could try hand sanding it yourself being careful to blend the sanded area back into the rest of the floor. But if the scratches are widespread consider having the whole floor machine sanded. This is quite a complex procedure, and unless you have some experience of machine sanding, you'd be advised to employ a specialist firm to do it for you.

If your floor has been waxed or oiled, you have more options. Start off by rubbing the scratched area down using dry coarse wire wool. If this fails to shift the marks move onto a light sand paper moving through the grades up to 'heavy grit' until the marks have gone. Wipe the area free of dust (if you use a damp cloth, wait until the floor is completely dry again), and then re-wax using a product like Osmo 'Hard Wax Oil'. If the floor has been completely rubbed free of the original wax finish, you'll need to apply two coats. 2.5 litres of Osmo hard wax oil costs £55.50 inc. VAT and will cover 30 square metres with two coats. The oil is also available in a 750ml size (£17.10 inc. VAT) which will do two coats in an area measuring 9 square metres. You can maintain your oiled/waxed floor using another Osmo product called 'Wash and Care' floor cleaner. Made using natural vegetable oils it costs £10.27 inc. VAT per litre.

You can buy all these products from E.C. Forest Products and Sales Ltd. The company is based in East Sussex and they specialise in importing and manufacturing flooring and skirting boards. They also offer a nationwide service maintaining existing wooden floors including sanding and re-sealing. View products online at E.C. Forest Products and Sales Ltd or call for more advice on (01825) 872 025.

Best wishes,

Debbie