How to close up a chip on a laminate at home?

Laminate is the undisputed market leader in flooring. Many users have already appreciated the variety of drawings, the ease of care, and the ability to make a warm floor. However, the laminated surface is very easy to damage. Sometimes defects suddenly appear where they seem to not be. How to close up a chip on a laminate at home? Now you will know about it.

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What are the damage?

Laminate is a multilayer material. The condition of each layer affects the overall quality. Damage can occur for several reasons:

• violation of technology in the manufacture;
• improper handling.

If you have to repair a laminate, chips are the least evil that you may encounter. Damage to the coating is divided into several categories:

• serious;
• moderate severity;
• lungs.

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Technological reasons

As a rule, serious damage occurs precisely due to the fact that the manufacturer does not take the process seriously enough. These reasons include:

• the use of insufficient quality materials;
• worn out equipment;
• low qualification of staff;
• base of poor quality;
• weak protective layer.

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"Human factor"

Chips, cracks and cracks occur through the fault of users - however, much less often. The reasons may be different:

• installation violations;
• improper care;
• frequent movements of heavy sharp objects.

Important! It is not difficult to avoid troubles - it is enough to lay the cover correctly, do not water it and do not arrange furniture every week with sharp legs.

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Serious damage

Before you restore the laminate at home, evaluate whether you can do it yourself or better to completely change the coating. There is nothing impossible in repairing damage of any complexity, but you will have to tinker a lot with serious defects. These include damage to one or more boards. Boards are better to replace. You can do it like this.

Option 1:

1. If the extreme board is damaged, which, in principle, can be reached, disassemble part of the floor.
2. Do not forget to write down in what order the boards lay.
3. Replace the board and reassemble the floor in the reverse order.

Option 2

There are more difficult situations when you can’t get to the damaged board. In this case, the only possible option is pruning, for which you need a circular saw.

Operating procedure:

1. Mark the damaged board into small areas.
2. Adjust the circular saw to the thickness of the cut - it will be slightly less than the thickness of the coating itself (this method allows you to keep the substrate intact).
3. Make circular cuts along the marked lines.
4. Remove sawn parts.
5. Cut the remaining fragments with a chisel.
6. Prepare a new board - cut off its locks and adjust it exactly to the size of the hole.
7. Apply “liquid nails” to all sections.
8. Insert the new board in place of the old.
9. Press it with a press - any heavy object, and the weight should be distributed evenly.
10. Remove excess glue with a soft cloth.
11. After the glue has completely dried, remove the press.

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“Injuries” of moderate severity

These include deep chips and cracks. The board does not need to be changed, but you will have to tinker with the restoration. Before you fix the chips on the laminate, pick up the mixture.

There are a lot of options:

• gypsum and sawdust;
• epoxy or polyester resin;
• mastic for wood;
• acrylic sealant;
• putty;

Preparing a gypsum mixture

Gypsum-sawdust mixture is the most affordable and affordable way to deal with chips and cracks:

1. Mix gypsum and sawdust in a 1: 1 ratio.
2. Add some water.
3. Shuffle.
4. If the mixture does not mix well, add more water and mix again, in the end - you should get a paste.

Important! If the crack is very deep, first a wood chip is driven into it, and only then a gypsum-sawdust mixture is laid and rubbed well.

Sawdust with glue

There is another similar composition. Gypsum can be replaced with PVA glue, the result will be exactly the same. Glue and sawdust are mixed in equal proportions, only water in this case does not need to be added. But it is necessary to cover the repair site with putty in the color of the floor, and apply a layer of varnish on top.

Epoxy resin

A great way to restore even a badly damaged coating, which is time to change. Even very deep cracks can be repaired. Epoxy is diluted strictly according to the instructions, the composition is poured into the cracks, after which the resin must be allowed to solidify.

Important! Epoxy can be used in place of “liquid nails” if one or more badly damaged boards need to be replaced.

Mastic

The simple answer to the question of how to repair a chip on a laminate is wood mastic.

Important! Mastic is colored, and it is better to immediately buy two types of material:

• Pine;
• dark walnut.

Mixing them in different proportions, you get a wide variety of colors. Dark paste should be added to light, and not vice versa.

Keep in mind that the mastic must dry - it will be possible to grind the restored area no earlier than in eight hours. This is done with a small skin, and you need to fold it in half and work with an edge so as not to damage neighboring areas, because your task is to restore the coating.

Sealant

Acrylic Sealant - White. Therefore:

1. First, they close the crack, and then paint over the place of damage with colored pencils, just picking them according to the color of the rest of the coating. Termination is not a big deal.
2. It is useful to know about another property of this material - it shrinks, so it is better to carry out repairs in several stages, allowing the sealant to dry.
3. After the last layer has dried, the floor is leveled, and then it is already painted over.

Important! Mastic and sealant are applied to the laminate with a soft rubber spatula so as not to scratch other areas.

Putty

Perhaps the most popular way to repair a laminate flooring with deep enough, but not fatal cracks. This material:

• available;
• effective.

Important! Putty (repair paste) not only perfectly closes cracks, but also provides additional protection against dust and dirt. In addition, the range of materials is such that you can choose it exactly to the tone of any coating.

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Slight scratches

How to fix a chip on a laminate, if it is not very noticeable? Such damage, as well as light scratches, can simply be painted over. Useful for this:

• wax crayons;
• masking marker.

Wax pencils

Wax is perfect for restoration of laminated surfaces. True, you must be careful when buying crayons - they can be hard and soft.

Important! Hard ones are suitable for surfaces that experience a large or medium load, soft ones - for those where the load is small, that is, more for walls than for floors.

Work order to close up a chip on a laminate:

1. Select a chalk to match the surface color.
2. Melt the wax to make it plastic (but not liquid).
3. Pour wax into a crack or chip.
4. Align the layer.
5. Remove excess wax (best with a plastic spatula).

Important! Use wax pencils to repair the laminate should be strictly according to the instructions.

Retouching marker

For large and deep cracks, of course, it will not work. But if you wondered how to update the laminate from scuffs or small cracks, it is better not to find a way. A marker can do everything quickly and without much preparation.

Important! It consists of rosin dissolved in alcohol and mixed with toner, which perfectly conveys the structure of the tree.

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If a chip occurs when cutting a board

Usually, owners of laminate floors try to avoid such troubles. But in order to cut the material and not get chips, you must adhere to certain rules:

1. Make precise markings on both sides so that the lines coincide completely.
2. Glue masking tape along the lines.
3. Cut the material with a sharp cutter strictly along the marking line.
4. Saw with a jigsaw, a file with small teeth, at an angle of 30º.

Important! If chips do occur, they must be immediately repaired by any of the above methods.

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When a chip is smeared

Repairing chips on a laminate using special compounds does not end there. There are no cracks on the coating, but it does not look very stylish. And some materials that seal minor damage or mask gypsum or acrylic sealant are completely erased after the first cleaning.

What to do? Of course, you need a protective layer. Buy a special varnish in a hardware store and apply it to the place you restored. The pencil and marker will not be erased, so the floor will remain attractive for a long time.

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When to start the repair?

The answer to this question is unequivocal - as soon as they notice a chip or crack. The smaller the defect, the easier it is to deal with it and the easier the repair technology. Procrastination can lead to the need to change the board or even the entire coating.

Regardless of which material you choose, the procedure will be the same:

1. Clean the cleaved area by carefully removing all dirt.
2. Degrease the surface with white spirit, alcohol or acetone.
3. Coat the chips with the material that suits you best, and pre-fill deep cracks with wood chips.
4. Remove excess composition - it should not dry to the surface.
5. Dry the coating.
6. Sand it with a sandpaper (except for the marker).
7. Apply a protective varnish.
8. Wait for the coating to dry. After this, you have to wait another hour before you can walk on the floor.

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Laminate Care

Any disease is easier to prevent than to cure. Of course, if technology was violated in the manufacture of the material, little depends on you. Well, unless with the failure of several boards you come up with the idea to replace the entire coating. Perhaps in such a case this will be the only right decision.

But if the material is of high quality - damage can be avoided:

1. Laminate does not like harsh treatment - use only soft rags (best microfiber) and special nozzles for cleaning.
2. Laminate does not like water - wet cleaning should be moist, not wet.
3. Use only detergents intended for this material.
4. Do not use abrasive pastes, or metal washcloths and hard sponges.
5. Do not use aggressive detergents - concentrated acids and caustic alkalis will not become your helpers, rather, on the contrary; any stains on this material can be removed using the simplest means - lemon juice, ammoniafood vinegar.
6. Do not allow water to get between the boards during wet cleaning - they swell from this, and the locks fail.
7. Use furniture on wheels.
8. If you have cabinets and sofas on the legs - make soft pads.
9. In places with the greatest mechanical stress, lay mats.

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Stock footage

In this article, we have offered you many different ways to repair a chip, a dent, or a hole in a laminate at home with small, medium, and serious damage. Choose the optimal solution, and let the overhaul with a new floor laying threaten you soon!