I've noticed that some of the woodwork in my home needs some extra attention. There are areas where the stain has gotten dinged and it's an eyesore. I'd like to touch these areas up but I'm worried that it's going to look too obvious or that the stain colors won't match. Does anyone have any tips?
If you don't have the matching stain, then I would sand it all and stain it new. I've never found touching up stain to be easy to do. It always shows, even when using the same stain color. Of course, maybe I just don't know how to do it properly.
My mom bought some stain pens, to fix tiny dings on her furniture. It works pretty good, but if you are picky just sand the wood down, and start new.
I'm super picky so I know I would sand it all and stain it again. If you don't have the exact stain (brand and color) then you will notice the difference. You could always try to apply stain in a small area (not noticeable area) to see if you are happy with the look. Then go from there.
We have a fine furniture store in our family, and furniture sometimes comes in with dings and scratches. My brother-in-law has become really proficient with those furniture pens and a rag. He puts things on, wipes it off, reapplies and eventually gets it right.