Scratch repair in oak flooring

[IanB]

I've managed to make a large scratch in our oak flooring, which goes through the surface to expose the natural oak beneath. Any advice on the best way to repair it invisibly would be welcome! For scale, it's 47cm long and 5mm wide. It's not particularly deep, 0.5mm at most. It was originally supplied as oiled and subsequently treated occasionally with Osmo.

 

[Graham N]

I have to admit I paid someone to fix something like this for me, but it was worth it just to watch him in action. A French polisher, he used an epoxy filler to raise the level, sanded down with fine paper, then used tinted shellac to hide the fill with a simple grain effect. It didn't take long, and if you have an eye for colour you could do it yourself. The key was to stipple the light oak base colour on with some touches of darker shades to avoid blocks of smooth colour, then to add a few darker grain lines crossing the damage to lead the eye off it. I was really happy with it. Will try to remember to post an image when I get home.

 

[Dee J]

Depends on how adventurous or risk averse you are. Doesn't look like a lot of wood has been lost, maybe more bruised. I'd be tempted to use tiny drops of hot water to help the structure recover, then re-oil/osmo.

 

[Tuna808]

Osmo lends itself well to recoating,I would do a test run on one of the ends,lightly sand then simply apply a thin coat of osmo with a cotton cloth,see the results.
Dampening the scratch will raise the wood fibers as they appear to be compressed.Shouldn’t be a major issue to repair I think.

 

[thetyreman]

first thing I'd try is a damp tea towel with a steam iron, it should take a good 2 or 3 goes at it, doesn't look too deep, then some spot sanding around it and a re-finish with the osmo.