I have this scratch in the lacquer (clear) finish on the door panel trim piece that has been bugging me. Has anyone had a scratch like this repaired before? I have a few calls out to furniture repair stores but haven't heard anything back.

 

I happen to own a fine furniture store (www.keepingroom.com) so I deal with that almost daily. That's a very easy fix you can do yourself. Get some # 0000 Steel Wool and go over the area lightly - do the entire piece. Do not bear down in the scratch area. The Steel Wool will cut the topcoat down and that will disappear. Be sure to rub the wool with the grain. When done, you can put a coat of wax on top (any kind of wax will do, but not silicone-based). That's all there is to it!

If for some reason that is less than satisfactory, get a can of satin lacquer in a spray bomb (if you can't find any, I can send you a can - I keep like a dozen around here for repairs). Then spray one moderate coat and you're done. There are ways to fill deeper scratches using a product called sanding sealer, but you're not anywhere near needing that. Good luck!

Duane