A scratch, a gouge and a line of nail holes in a wood floor each take a different product. The short answer: wood putty goes on a floor that is already stained and topcoated, wood filler is for bare wood that will be sanded and then stained, and a touch-up pencil or a stain marker restores colour where no wood is missing. The putty, filler and pencil lines sit in our hardwood floor repair products collection, and the stain markers are listed with our wood finishes and stains.
Quick answer: which product fixes which damage
What separates the families is whether the floor is finished and whether wood is missing. Here is each kind of damage, the family that suits it and the rule its maker gives.
| Damage | Product family | The maker's rule | What we stock |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scratch that took colour but no wood | Stain marker or touch-up pencil | For scratches and nail holes in finished wood | Minwax markers, mostly $6.29 each with Dark Walnut at $7.37; Blend-Fil pencils, $2.65 each |
| Nail hole or shallow dent, finished floor | Wood putty | Applied after the stain and topcoat, and not sandable | Minwax Wood Putty, $3.49; SamaN Wood Putty, $6.00 |
| Crack or small gouge in bare wood | Stainable wood filler | For unfinished wood, sanded flush, then stained | Minwax Stainable Wood Filler, $4.50 for a 29 mL tube |
| A few small repairs in one colour | Touch-up kit | Filler, touch-up marker and finish in one box | SamaN Touch-Up Kit, $13.27 |
Prices checked October 26, 2026.
Wood putty: for a floor that is already stained and finished
Putty is the first product people reach for, and it is easy to use at the wrong stage. Minwax describes its wood putty as a non-hardening, pre-mixed putty colour-matched to its Wood Finish stains and meant for minor scratches, gouges and nail holes. On the same page the preparation step is stain and topcoat first, then apply putty, and the product will not harden to a surface you can sand.
A putty repair is only as good as its colour, and putty cannot rebuild wood that has gone missing because it does not set hard enough to level with a sander. On a nail hole or a shallow dent in a finished floor, that trade-off is right: press it in, wipe the excess off the finish, and the hole is gone.
We carry Minwax putty in five colours, from Natural Pine 909 and Golden Oak 910 to Red Mahogany 925 and Ebony 9718, at $3.49 for a 106 g tub. SamaN putty is the larger tub at $6.00 for 200 g, in four colours from 1055 Oak to 1065 Old Miss.
Wood filler: for bare wood, before the stain goes on
Filler does what putty cannot. Minwax lists its stainable filler for cracks, small gouges, nail holes, knot holes and other defects in unfinished wood, and formulates it to take a penetrating stain. The step that decides whether it belongs on your floor is the sanding step: the filler is sanded smooth and flush to the wood, and all of the residue comes off before the stain, topcoat or paint goes on.
Filler belongs on a floor coming back to bare wood, which in practice means a board or a room being sanded and finished, not a floor you are living on.
We stock a 29 mL tube at $4.50 for a handful of holes, or a 473 mL tub at $9.79 for a bigger sanding job. The Minwax Stainable Wood Filler tube is a sensible size for a single room.
Touch-up pencils and stain markers: colour without filling
When no wood is missing, filling is the wrong move: a putty that cannot be sanded flat sits on top of the scratch instead of blending into it. Minwax sells two products that work with colour instead.
The Blend-Fil pencil is the harder one, described by Minwax for touch-up and repair of scratches and nail holes on a finished floor. It comes in six numbered colours, #1 to #7 with no #4, at $2.65 each, and the numbers can be blended when none is close.
The stain marker carries liquid colour. Minwax lists floors among the surfaces it is made for, alongside furniture, mouldings, cabinets and doors. Our line has seven colours, from Golden Oak 210B and Red Oak 215 to Dark Walnut 2716 and Ebony 2718, mostly at $6.29 for a 9.9 mL marker, including Minwax Wood Finish Stain Marker 215 Red Oak. Dark Walnut is $7.37.
The one-box route: a SamaN touch-up kit
SamaN sells the same steps as one box. Its repair kit is described as being for filling, repairing and restoring lightly damaged wood, and the contents are a wood filler, a touch-up marker and a polyurethane finish. For a floor with a couple of scratches and a nail hole or two, that is the job in one purchase at $13.27.
Our SamaN kits come in ten colours, among them Oak 1055, Maple 1054, Whisky 1057 and Tuscan 1063. A kit earns its place when repairs sit in different rooms, because the filler and the marker inside are the same colour.
Nail holes: what the floor makers tell installers
Face-nail holes are a common small repair on a solid floor, and Goodfellow's instructions for its pre-finished solid plank tell the installer to sink the face nails, then fill any hole that will not be covered by the wall base or quarter round with a Floor Putty that blends with the pre-stained floor. That is the same rule as the Minwax one: colour-matched putty on a finished surface.
Where the holes run along a whole room and you want a closer colour, the Goodfellow Wood Floor Filler line is wider, with nine colours from AE10 to DM04 at $14.99 each. The face-nail step comes from Goodfellow's installation guide; the colour numbers are ours.
Hollow or popping boards are a different job
Not every repair belongs on the surface. A board that sounds hollow underfoot or pops when you walk on it has a gap between the wood and what is under it, and no putty or marker reaches it.
Stauf's IFK-100 refill is for that job, and its technical data sheet describes it as filling voids under engineered or solid wood flooring. At $79.99 it is a deliberate purchase, and no substitute for a surface repair.
Will the colour match my floor?
Minwax colours its putty and markers to match its own Wood Finish stains, and nothing in that range is a promise about your floor. Test in a spot you do not look at.
Our solid floors show the spread. The Top Floorings Depot Red Mahogany Oak is $4.20 per sq ft, the Seasons No. 1 Red Oak Jatoba is $4.69 per sq ft and the Riche Red Oak Cherry is $5.99 per sq ft. On a floor in the Jatoba tone, Red Oak 215 or Golden Oak 210B is the place to start; on a Red Mahogany floor, Red Mahogany 225 sits closer.
Try the two closest colours under a rug or in a closet, and keep the better one for the next repair. Pencils can be blended, so a $2.65 one is worth adding to a marker order.
What a small repair costs in materials
The work here is a tube, a tub or a marker, so the numbers stay small. Material cost for the two usual combinations, with HST at 13%:
| Combination | Materials | HST 13% | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Putty plus stain marker | $9.78 | $1.27 | $11.05 |
| Touch-up kit plus stain marker | $19.56 | $2.54 | $22.10 |
The first row is a 106 g tub of Minwax putty at $3.49 plus one marker at $6.29; the second is a SamaN kit at $13.27 plus a marker in a second colour. Both are materials only: we do not carry a repair labour rate, and board replacement is priced after we see the floor.
When a spot repair is not enough
Putty and markers fail in a specific way. Putty will not harden to something you can sand, so it cannot rebuild a missing edge or a chipped corner. Filler can be sanded flush, but only as part of a finishing job, which means sanding and recoating around it.
Where wood is missing rather than discoloured, or a board has come loose, the fix is a board replacement. That is not a shelf item, and we quote it after viewing the floor, because the board, the colour and the way it is fixed all change the job. Our guide to what a full refinish or replacement costs compares that route with refinishing, and how to remove scratches from a hardwood floor covers the diagnosis side.
Engineered floors need their own answer, and our post on the sanding limits of an engineered wear layer explains how much sanding a floor like that will take. On laminate or vinyl plank, the products here are the wrong ones, and laminate and vinyl plank repairs covers what works instead.
FAQ: choosing a hardwood floor repair product
Which product fixes a scratch on a finished hardwood floor?
A stain marker or a Blend-Fil pencil, since both are made for scratches in stained and finished wood. Use the marker on a scratch that has taken colour and the pencil where it feels deeper.
Can wood putty go on an unfinished floor?
It can go on, but it is the wrong product there. Putty gives colour on a finished surface and will not harden to a sandable surface, so it cannot be levelled and stained. Bare wood takes a stainable filler.
Do wood floor markers work, or is a kit better value?
A marker is a single-product buy at $6.29 and handles a colour-only scratch. A SamaN kit at $13.27 adds a filler and a polyurethane finish in the same colour, which pays off when a small dent is part of the damage.
What does a small hardwood floor repair cost in materials?
From $2.65 for a pencil to $22.10 for a kit and a marker with HST included. A putty tub and a marker come to $11.05 with tax. Those are shelf prices for goods, not a labour charge.
When is a board replacement the only fix?
When the damage leaves a gap where wood should be, or a board is no longer fixed to the floor. Filler and markers change colour and level; they cannot restore a missing edge or stop movement.
Get help matching a repair product to your floor
Bring a photo of the damage and the floor colour and we will point you at the closest colour in our repair line. If the damage is a board-level job, request a quote and we will price it after viewing the floor.
Top Floorings Depot
3781 Victoria Park Avenue, Unit 1, Toronto, ON M1W 3K5
www.topfloorings.com
Call: 416-499-0117
Text: 416-770-8819