Category Ingenious DIY Repairs

•  Fix scratched surfaces

If your acrylic bath is scratched, you can fix it with metal polish. Apply the polish with a soft cloth using a circular motion. The light abrasive in the polish lifts out most fine scratches. To smooth out deeper nicks and scrapes, dampen them with a bit of water and then gently rub with a piece of very fine wet-and-dry abrasive paper before polishing.

Scratches on enamel baths and surfaces can be covered with a few thin coats of enamel touch-up paint (available from most hardware shops) or white correction fluid. Clean the damaged area with some methylated spirits on a cotton wool ball and then sand lightly with wet-and-dry abrasive paper. Let the methylated spirits fully evaporate before applying the paint.

•  Fill tubs before sealing

Before you seal around a bath, fill the bath with water. The extra weight will widen the gap in the joint between the bath and the wall, which makes for a thicker seal that’s less likely to crack or tear later on.

•  A smarter, simpler way to save water

Some people put bricks inside their toilet cisterns to reduce the amount of water per flush. It’s a good way to conserve water, but it can be bad for the toilet because bricks submerged in water often break up and the bits can get into the flushing mechanism. A better option is to use old plastic bottles filled with sand or water. Remove any labels and check that the bottle is tightly sealed before placing it in the cistern.

•  No plunger, no problem

Use a hollow rubber ball or tennis ball instead. Secure the ball in a vice and cut it in half with a hacksaw or a utility knife. To clear a blocked waste pipe, fit the concave side over the waste outlet and press down with your palms or the base of your thumbs to create pressure.

•  Clamp down on loose plungers

A plunger with a loose handle makes every job more difficult and can even be dangerous if the handle slips out or breaks off. If your plunger handle is easily separated from the suction cup, tighten it by placing a hose clamp around the base of the cup so that it is firmly clamped to the handle.

•  Saucer as sink shield

Before taking apart a tap in a sink without a plug, take a small plate or saucer and simply place it upside down over the drain to prevent any small pieces from getting lost.

•  Loosen a stuck tap

If you’ve tried everything, but a tap handle won’t budge, try pouring fizzy drink such as cola or lemonade over the tap. Give the carbonation 5-10 minutes to loosen any rust or corrosion around the tap — followed by a few gentle strikes with a rubber mallet, and it’ll loosen with ease.

•  Stop a sink or tub

If your drain plug has disappeared, but you need to stop the water in the sink or bathtub, here’s a stopgap solution. Place a plastic lid over the drain. The vacuum created keeps the water from slip-sliding away.

•  Easy turn-off

It is frustrating when you want to turn the water off at the mains, only to find that the stop tap is jammed tight. It can usually be loosened by the judicious application of WD-40 and/or heat — but, to avoid it happening again, try to remember to operate it every month or so and always close it a quarter turn from fully open when you leave it. This way it will work freely when you need it.

•  Hose off pipe leaks

When you need a quick patch for a leaking water pipe, cut off a section of old garden hose or rubber tubing that’s longer than the affected area of pipe. Slice it lengthways, and then fit the hose over the leak. Wrap it well with waterproof tape and secure it with three hose clamps: one on each end and one in the middle.

•  Blow-dry a frozen pipe

If a water pipe freezes during winter, close the main valve on the water meter and open the nearest tap. Then, starting at the tap, use a hair dryer on a medium setting to thaw out the pipe. Be sure to keep the drier moving all the time so that the pipe doesn’t get too hot in one spot; a sudden shift in temperature can cause pipes to crack. After it thaws, cover the pipe in thick foam insulating material to keep it from freezing in the future.

•  Rub out scorch marks

If you spot a scorch mark on a laminated benchtop, don’t use abrasive powder; chances are you’ll only remove the finish. If the burn isn’t too deep, buff it out with car polish or a mixture of toothpaste and bicarbonate of soda.

•  A fast fix for dents

If the colour hasn’t been altered, you can disguise dents and scratches on practically any kitchen surface — including wood, glass and even some kinds of tiles — with clear nail polish. Brush on the polish in thin coats, letting it dry between applications. When you’re finished, smooth the polish with a piece of very fine grit sandpaper, then buff the area with a soft cloth.

•  Check the fridge door gasket

If your fridge or freezer is more than five years old, inspect its door gasket for leaks at least once a year. The easiest method is to place a piece of paper — or a bank note — halfway inside, shut the door, and then tug on the paper. Repeat the process in several spots around the seal. The paper should hold firmly; if it’s easy to pull out, the gasket needs to be repaired or replaced.

•  Add ballast to your freezer

Freezers work at maximum efficiency only when they are at least two-thirds full. If you don’t have enough food to freeze, add some bulk by filling a few plastic drinks bottles with water and placing them in the freezer. You can easily remove the ice ballast when there’s food to replace it.

•  No-stick kitchen drawers

Most kitchen drawers work on a guide-and-track system. That is, rounded guides on the drawer keep it moving back and forth on tracks mounted inside the cabinet. Accumulations of dust and other impediments can slow down drawers or cause them to stick. Keep them moving freely by spraying the tracks and guides with a little WD-40 once or twice a year.

•  Stop cupboard doors from banging

If your wooden cupboard doors always close with a bit of a bang, soften the blow by sticking bumpers at each door’s top and bottom corners. Inexpensive door bumper pads are one solution, but perhaps a little too obvious for the creative do-it-yourselfer. Instead, try pressing small circular padded adhesive dressings into service, testing to see if you need a double layer to silence the bang.

•  Repair instead of replacing

If you’ve ever bought a replacement part for a kitchen appliance, you are probably still in recovery from the shock of the high price. The truth is many non-moving parts can be easily repaired for very little cost. For instance, a broken handle on a microwave oven or a cracked dishwasher arm can often be easily reattached with some two-part epoxy adhesive. Likewise, a little silicone sealant can be used to patch a small crack in your refrigerator’s door gasket, while a few strips of gaffer tape can usually mend broken parts on a fridge door shelf. Remember that you only need to replace parts that really can’t be fixed.

•  Make customized wood filler

When working with specific types of wood, save some of the finest sawdust produced by your sanders. Mix a handful of the sawdust with ordinary woodworking adhesive until it becomes a thick paste, and then overfills the crack. Let it dry, then lightly sand. Note: cracks filled with adhesive-based filler will not accept stain in the same way that solid wood does.

•  Instant wood filler

If you need some wood filler in a hurry for an emergency repair on an inexpensive piece of furniture, mix a couple of tablespoons of ready-mixed all-purpose filler with instant coffee until you achieve the desired shade of brown. Fill in the crack and smooth with a damp rag.

•  Pluck some filler

An old guitar plectrum makes a great tool for applying small amounts of filler to fill nail holes and small cracks in wood. An easy solution with no strings attached!

•  Soften wood filler

Acetone-based cellulose wood fillers are designed to dry quickly. If you notice that your acetone filler has started to solidify in the can, you can soften it by adding a little acetone nail polish remover. Stir in just enough to bring the filler to the right consistency or it will become too runny to use. Note: it is not possible to save filler that has already hardened.

•  Get rid of glue with vinegar

Don’t despair when you get a hardened glob of adhesive on your woodwork. Cover it with a rag soaked in warm white vinegar then leave it overnight. The adhesive will slide off with ease in the morning. Vinegar will also soften old glued joints — and even that last bit of wood-working adhesive that’s hardening in the bottom of the bottle. Just add a few drops of vinegar to the bottle and let it sit for an hour or two. Shake well, drain the vinegar and repeat the process as necessary.

•  The last straw for glue spills

Keep some plastic drinking straws nearby when working with wood; they come in handy when working with adhesives and lubricants. If you use too much wood adhesive along a seam, for instance, simply fold a straw in half and use the folded edge to scoop up the excess.

•  Flip a stripped finish

Stop off in the kitchen before stripping a piece of furniture. The flat, flexible blade on an old plastic spatula is exactly what you need to scrape off used stripper. Hold the spatula by the blade in a reverse position and push it in a straight, steady motion to remove the old finish.

•  Better ways to stain

Put old pairs of pantihose to work when staining furniture. Rolled-up pantihose or stockings make a great alternative to a cotton cloth or a rag. Not only do they drip less, but they also won’t leave any lint behind.

A spare paint roller also makes a terrific stain applicator. Cut a 22-cm roller into three equal pieces. Whether fixed to an applicator or held in your hand, a roller holds more stain than a brush and applies it more evenly than a rag.

•  Stop stripper drips

The next time you need to strip a table or a chair, place the legs inside cleaned, empty soup or baked bean cans. The cans will catch the drips, which, besides keeping your work space cleaner, will allow you to re-use the stripper for a second coat.

•  Baby oil the end grain

If you’d like to save a couple of dollars, don’t spend them on a proprietary sealer when finishing your next woodworking project.

Instead, seal the end grain with unscented baby oil. It will work just as well as the stuff that you can buy from a hardware shop. It keeps the colour uniform by preventing the end from soaking up too much stain.

•  The easy way to sand around curves

Wrap a tennis ball in sandpaper and use it to sand curves when refinishing furniture. A tennis ball is just the right shape and size to fit comfortably in your hand.

•  Instant fix for scratched woodwork

If you notice several fresh, light scratches on a dark-wood wall unit and need to find a quick fix, just go to the kitchen, get a small cup or container and mix 1 teaspoon instant coffee in 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or water. Apply the mixture with a cotton wool ball. (Don’t use this on valuable antiques or shellac finishes.)

•  Cover scratches in leather

You can camouflage unsightly scratches in leather furniture using a permanent marker in a similar shade. Before you start, test the marker on an inconspicuous part of the chair or sofa to make sure that it’s a good match. Work slowly and carefully when tracing over the scratch. Medium or fine-point markers work best overall; extra-fine tips may deepen a scratch while thick markers often have a visible ‘edging’ around repairs.’

•  Check out the market

These days — especially with the advent of the Internet — you can get a whole range of wood-care products, previously available only to professionals. And they’re all available in a range of wood shades. For repairing scratches (and filling small cracks and holes), try these:

1.  Burnishing cream (superficial scratches)
2.  Wax filler sticks (and shellac filler sticks)
3.  Retouch crayons
4.  Touch-up pens

•  Homeopathic scratch care

Many light scratches on wood can be repaired without an expensive trip to a hardware shop. That’s because masking a scratch is simply a matter of covering it up or adequately lubricating the exposed wood fibres. What’s amazing is the number of items that you probably already have around your home that can get the job done. Regardless of which method you use, wax the surface when done.

1.  Conceal scratches with closely matched shoe polish, a melted crayon or a permanent marker.
2.  Use the meat of a Brazil nut, walnut or pecan. Rub the nut over the scratch several times, and then vigorously massage the oil into the scrape with your thumb.
3.  Can’t find the nutcracker? Rub in a little peanut butter or mayonnaise instead. Wipe it off with a damp rag after 30 minutes or so.
4.  If that’s too messy, try a little baby oil or mix 1 tablespoon olive oil or vegetable oil with 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Apply it with a soft cloth, and then buff it off after 30-45 minutes.
5.  Cover scratches with a generous amount of petroleum jelly. Let it soak in for 24 hours, then remove the excess with a soft cloth.

•  Wax away hairline scratches

High-gloss lacquer finishes are prone to developing hairline scratches when dishes or other items are slid across their surface. You can often get rid of these light scratches with car wax, which contains a light abrasive. Test the wax first on a bottom edge or some other inconspicuous area first, to make sure the wax doesn’t discolour or damage the finish. Once you’re ready, apply the wax to a soft cloth and polish using a steady circular motion.

•  Solution for sunlight damage

Sunlight can wreak havoc on your furniture, but you can restore it to its former lustre with plain old petroleum jelly. Use a soft cloth to rub a good amount into the wood until the finish perks up. Remove any excess with a clean cloth, and then polish the wood to renew its shine.

•  Tea time for grime

To remove accumulated grime on wooden furniture, put two tea bags in a litre of boiling water and allow to cool. Dip a soft cloth into the solution, wring it out and then test it in an inconspicuous area on the table. If you’re pleased with the results, wipe down one section of the piece at a time. Continue dipping, wringing and wiping until all the old polish has been removed. Let it dry, buff with a soft dry cloth, then stand back and watch it glow.

•  Steam out a dent

You can sometimes repair a small, shallow dent in wooden furniture with a warm, damp cloth and a steam iron. Fold the cloth and place it over the dent, then press down with the tip of a warm iron for several seconds. If the dent doesn’t swell, repeat, but don’t overdo it. You need to provide just enough moisture to swell the wood back to its original size. (Don’t do this on shellacked or painted finishes.)

•  Repair veneer edging with an iron

If veneer stripping or edging is bulging or popping up from the surface of a piece of furniture, lay a warm, damp cloth over it and press down with the tip of a warm iron for several seconds. Once it’s flattened, roll the edging with a rolling pin.

•  Unstick a drawer

Wooden drawers can become stuck for all sorts of reasons, but the most common cause is excessive humidity. Although you can’t see it, the wood fibres actually swell from the extra moisture in the air. To shrink them back to their original size, use a hair dryer on a warm setting, directing it to the drawer slides and the drawer itself — which should open with ease after a few minutes. For stuck drawers that are more stubborn, try rubbing the sides, bottom edges and slides with lip balm, a bar of soap or paraffin wax or beeswax.

•  Lubricate metal drawer runners

Rust and other deposits can cause metal drawer runners to seize up or to move unevenly. Keep them running smoothly and free of rust by lubricating them occasionally with a smear of petroleum jelly or a squirt of WD-40.

•  Hassle-free hardware

If you want to keep the shine in decorative brass handles and knobs, give them a coat of clear nail varnish or clear lacquer. This simple task will provide years of protection against the damage wrought by skin oils and tarnishing.

•  Revive sagging cane seats

The more use it gets, the more a cane seat is likely to sag. To tighten a baggy seat, first soak two or three tea towels in hot water and wring them out lightly. Then turn the chair over and lay the hot towels on the bottom of the seat for about 30 minutes. Remove the towels and let the seat air-dry and then give the cane at least 12 hours to shrink back into place. The revived seat will be tighter and firmer to sit on.

•  Tighten loose joints

A bit of woodworking adhesive is usually all that you need to secure a wobbly chair leg or rail. But if the joint is very loose, adhesive alone may not do the job. An easy way to solve the problem is to increase the width of the tenon (the contoured end of the loose piece) by coating it with wood adhesive and wrapping it with cotton thread or by adding a wood shaving. (If you decide on the latter, choose a shaving that’s uniformly thick for a consistent fit.) Let the adhesive dry, and then glue the tenon back into the mortise.

• Reglue it right

Most wobbly furniture can be fixed by simply regluing the parts back together — but since new glue won’t stick to old dried glue, the key is to get rid of the old stuff. One of the best tools for getting rid of dried glue is the small wire-bristle brush you can get for cleaning car battery terminals. The external brush (shaped like a tiny fir tree) is ideal for removing glue from mortises and holes, while the internal brush is perfect for scraping dried glue from small tenons and dowel ends.

•  Paste over a minor burn

Although fewer people smoke in their homes these days, burn marks on wooden furniture are a more common problem than you might think. If the scorch doesn’t go below the finish, you can usually rub it out with a paste made of fine ash (wood or cigarette ash) and lemon juice (2 parts ash to 1 part juice). Wipe the area clean, then polish and wax.