How do I hide scratches in interior timber?

[Hugh Walker]

I've a few small scratches to the interior timber on my Beneteau, the timber is not damaged but the varnish(?) is scratched leaving a lighter mark. I know some people recommend apply some tea to darken the timber and effectively hide the mark.

Is this the right thing to do? Is there a more exact method?

[Sailbad]

Try rubbing a piece of walnut over the scratches.

[atoll]

you could use a tinted wood filler available in many different shades,match carefully.

then sand with 400 then 800 then 1200 wet paper, then spray with laquer varnish available in aerosol tins,then buff in with a polisher.

for a pro job.

[rognvald]

Always be certain to read the instructions label on the wood fillers since some are meant to fill surface imperfections but are not compatible with varnish. Good luck and good sailing.

[Vasco]

hard to find but there are wood filler crayons that work well.
Retouch Crayons

[Roy M]

Mix a small amount of varnish with oil-based or alcohol stains, rub directly into the crack or scratch, and rub until it gets sticky, then rub a little more to "cook" it. Continue this the next day, perhaps with a slightly darker or lighter stain. Other things that work include a drop of iodine for red, a quick swipe with a fine tip black marks-a-lot, or even shoe polish. Keep recoating at intervals to fill the scratch gradually. This is basically what French polishing is all about. Dirty little secrets from the trade.

[motion30]

I call those scratches personality and enjoy them

[Bash]

Originally Posted by motion30

I call those scratches personally And enjoy them

I think he means "personality." If so, +1.

It helps to make up a great story about how the scratches came to be.

Unfortunately, my story involves one of the forum mods, and she'll probably delete me if I type it here.

[Caribsurf]

We use burn sticks at work for small dings and scratches. Good enough for multimillion dollar stink pots.

Behlen Burn in Procedures - YouTube

BURN-IN FURNITURE REPAIR - YouTube

[Rocketman]

Beneteau sells a kit to touch up scratchs and such, go to there web site, register your boat if it hasn't been done already or call them, they are very good about service there. At least I have been pleased.