What is the cheapest, simplest way to freshen up the wood on this sofa?

First, before restaining it, you will need to sand the wood. I would clean and sand it, and then restain it (probably a dark stain to be more au courant).

Failing that, you can get scratch cover to match most stain and apply it to the scratches. That should help improve the appearance.

@marinelife sand it down completely? :\ Or just, give it a light sanding?

@ANef_is_Enuf A light sanding will be fine. Just to give some ‘tooth” for the new stain to stick to.

@marinelife thanks. I can probably handle that.

@ANef_is_Enuf You can do a light sanding. If it were me, I’d use an all in one stain with a finish like Minwax or Zinzer. In the paint/stain section of your hardware store they all in one stains should be very near the sanding supplies.

Then after sanding, I’d do 3 to 5 light coats (so they dry fast) and Voila you’re done. These products are good for quick touch ups once you’ve used them on the surface, too. Since they dry fast, you can easily take a ½ hour, go over minor scratches that occur in the future.

However, if you really want to protect this, then I recommend 3–4 coats of a good polyurethane. It’d be near impossible for them to scratch it again.

@SpatzieLover really? That’s handy to know, thanks very much.

One more tip: Since this is for animal usage, I’d choose the matte finish. It will show less of the scratches, gloss (even semi-gloss) accentuates flaws.

I don’t know how deep the scratches are that are in the wood, but if they are superficial you could do the following: wet the wood (not pouring wet, but wet them with a wet cloth) and then use an iron to dry it (place a dry cloth between the wood and the iron).
The drying process will (hopefully) pull the grains/fibers of the wood up (‘filling’ the scratches).
Then sand it lightly with a high number sanding paper (200 about).
Then do as the others before me advised you.

@SpatzieLover yes, that was my plan. I agree, wholeheartedly.
@rebbel it’s a mix. They are pretty beat up. I don’t expect to take it on as a simple project, and for it to look like new, but I just want to camouflage some of the damage. That’s a neat trick, though, should I ever have another project with less damage. Good to know.

@ANef_is_Enuf Then it seems useless, I am afraid (my ironing thing).

Before sanding it or trying to refinish, check out Restor-a-Finish. It should work well enough to make the couch easier on the eyes with no where near as much work. I have used it on all kinds of furniture and have had really good luck, even with relatively deep scratches.

@SuperMouse thanks!

After you get it restained and resealed, I would go over it with Murphy’s oil on a regular basis.

Another approach would be to sand the arms smooth and apply tung oil. rub it in real good and it soaks into the wood to a natural finish. Bad scratches can then be touched up with a bit of the oil, or even mayonnaise

I have seen the suggestion that you could use a crayon, but I haven’t actually tried it.

Polyeurethane doesn’t do well in the sun.