How do I fill-in scratches on my exterior wooden doorway?

Question

Our front door has several deep scratches from decades of use. They are deep enough to see the wood beneath. We need to fill them in & have them match the original wood color without refinishing the entire doorway.

Answer 1

You can get a wood putty that will roughly match the color. You can also get a scratch pen that will also match. Feather the color away from the scratch so it will blend in. Then put a light coat of polyurethane on the door to preserve it. Before sealing the door, make sure the the repair is not obvious. If you are unhappy you can touch it up or start over again until you are happy

Answer 2

There are wood putty sticks that you should be able to find at most hardware stores. They come in 3 or 4 different colors, so you can match the door color better. They are waxy, so you rub them across the scratch until you fill it in, and then wipe off the excess.

If the colors that are available don't match your door, I have tried something else that works just as well. You're really just trying to fill the scratch, and the sticks are basically just colored wax, so if you want a real variety of colors to choose from, get a 64 pack of Crayons--they're colored wax too, and they work just fine.

Answer 3

Your home imp. store should carry putty sticks to match if your door is stained, if it is painted a good quality wood filler and then repaint