ᐅ BILLY Shelf Scratched During Move – How to Conceal?

Hello everyone,

I recently moved my Billy shelf from IKEA and unfortunately noticed several visible scratches on the edges and surfaces. Some of the scratches are quite deep and not just superficial. Since it’s an older model, I’m not planning to replace the entire shelf, but I would still like to improve its appearance.

My specific question is: what household remedies, products, or tricks do you know for reliably and permanently concealing scratches on a Billy shelf made of wood or particleboard? I’m looking for solutions that don’t require fully repainting the piece, but rather allow for spot repairs. If anyone has experience with special markers or wax fillers, please share.

I’m looking forward to your tips and recommendations!

For minor scratches, furniture touch-up markers work well and are available in many colors.

For deeper scratches, it is better to use wood filler, then retouch with a matching marker.

Try furniture wax. It slightly fills in scratches and provides protection.

It's quick and you don't need to use paint or varnish.

Tatovin schrieb:
For minor scratches, furniture touch-up markers work well and come in many colors.

Thanks for the tip, Tatovin. Could you perhaps say a bit more about choosing the right color? The BILLY shelf is coated in white – are there white touch-up markers, or are there better matching options? And how about durability?

usteto schrieb:
Try furniture wax. It slightly fills in scratches and provides protection.

Interesting, I hadn’t considered wax before. Would that be suitable mainly for surface scratches, or also for deeper grooves?

Furniture glides are actually available for white laminate as well. Just ask for "white" at the hardware store and possibly take a sample for color matching.

Wax is more suitable for minor scratches or to even out texture slightly, but not for deep damage.

Oh, that sounds really frustrating, but don’t worry, we’ll sort it out! 🙂

I recently did a refresh on my BILLY myself, using furniture repair markers combined with wax. First, I filled the holes with the marker, then carefully polished over them with wax. It looks much better, almost like new, especially on white surfaces!

Give it a try, I’m sure it will work for you too! Good luck, and feel free to share how it goes!! 🙂