Sometimes you come across a beat-up piece of dining room furniture and like it more for its imperfections. You wonder what story goes with that scratch, and how many years it took to get that cup ring so deeply imbedded. Ultimately, you look at the dining table and say, “It’s just well-loved.”

This mentality is more often the case with wood dining room furniture, not its glass counterparts. When you see a glass dining table full of scratches, your thought process goes more towards, “How can I fix that—fast!?”

Bye Bye Glass Scratches   

In our last blog post we talked about the attractiveness of glass-top dining room tables and how easy they are to clean. But what we didn’t mention was how you should fix the scratches you will inevitably get on your dining table. Follow these simple steps:

(1) Repair or replace? Run your fingernail across the scratch. If your fingernail catches in the scratch, it’s too deep to repair without consequences (such as making it worse!).

(2) Clean the glass dining table thoroughly using a commercial glass cleaner or homemade vinegar-based solution. Dry the glass surface using a lint-free cloth.

(3) Apply gentle abrasion. Rub whitening toothpaste (paste or cream works better than gel) over the scratch, then continue to work it into the area and buff it out using a soft cloth. This step requires a lot of elbow grease and a lot of patience! If you’re lucky enough to have a sheepskin buffer (the smoother the better), put it on a medium setting and let it do the work for you.

(4) If the toothpaste doesn’t do the trick, try a stronger abrasive such as metal polisher or jewelry cleaner. Alternately, apply a mixture of equal parts dry mustard and vinegar and buff it out it just as you did the toothpaste.

(5) If you can still see a scratch, leave the removal to a professional!

Keep It Scratch-Free

What’s the easiest way to fix a scratch? Don’t let it happen in the first place! Rough towels and vigorous scrubbing can scratch glass dining table surfaces, so make sure you are using soft cloths. It’s a shame to cover up a thing of beauty, but tablecloths, mats and coasters will go a long way toward protecting the glass top from scratching.