Pro Handyman Blog

Baseboard corners take a beating. It doesn’t matter if they are 90-degree or rounded, whenever you move something around the house, they have a target on them. So invariably they will get nicked, scratched or dented and you will have to repair them.

Wood putty will quickly become your friend. In a pinch you can also use drywall mud, but if it gets bumped again, it will fall apart very easily.

For a straight section, use a putty knife and mix the wood putty thoroughly. You want to blend in the liquids and the solids and evenly distribute the color. Scoop some on the putty knife and follow the section on the baseboard, pushing the wood putty into the depression as you go. Use as little as possible to get the job done as sanding this stuff is like sanding concrete. You want to slightly overfill the void but not by too much.

For curved sections, follow the contours with the putty knife and don’t overfill it by much. When everything has dried, use sand paper to get the surfaces flush and then paint the baseboard. If you happen to overfill the depression by a lot, you can use a more aggressive grit of sandpaper and then work your way down to a finer grit for a smooth finish.