Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - How to rectify uneven tone in repaired floor board?

I just moved into a rented apt. The movers created a long scratch (about 1 ft) across 4 floor boards and sent someone to repair. The repair man sanded and varnished the floor boards, but created an uneven tone (lighter tone) in the scratched area compared to the surrounding floor boards. I am at a loss of what to do now and fear that the landlord might deduct my security deposit. Would greatly appreciate any advice!

What the repair man needed to do was to match a stain with the surrounding wood after he sanded .....then apply the finish. Depending on the severity of the scratch he may not even had to sand it down to bare wood. Often a lighter sand or even a screen followed by a coat of poly will fix a scratch. Is the tone difference VERY drastic? If so maybe get the guy back in there and show him that he really didn't help the problem any. If they refuse to fix it then try to sand it back down....color match a stain then poly it. If you don't want to do that you could always replace the boards.....that may be a bit drastic though at first. Or you can throw a rug over it and hope for the best when it is move out time. Good luck.

Thanks for your advice, Evan. The repair man did not apply any stain at all. He merely sanded the area, then applied a coat of poly (varnish). He's not even a wooden floor specialist, but some handy man sent in by the mover. The mover has since sent in another "expert" to assess the situation.

This "expert" said that the affected area, which looks lighter now, would darken over time to a similar shade as the rest of the floor boards due to "oxidization". He also said that if stain is applied, the stained area would appear darker than the rest of the floor boards after some time.

I wonder how true his statements are...

His statements are relatively true. If the person who put the poly down used oil based then the newer section will began to amber (darken) over time. Water based polys do not amber or darken over time so it is dependent on what finish he used. How long does it take for the "darkening" to occur?.....It can take awhile.....a long while. How long will it take to match?......probably never (I would think). Personaly I would still stain to match but that is me......maybe someone who has been doing this for a long time and who knows the changes in the color of polys over time could share some knowledge. I prefer to use only water based polys (GOOD QUALITY ONES......cheaper ones can be pretty lousy) because I do not like the amber color over time nor the long drying times of oil so I am not an "expert" on the field of oil based.

I'd recommend you talk this over with your landlord now. It is not your responsibility, the movers have insurance for this. You hired professionals to avoid just this kind of thing, they are responsible. If your landlord tell you it is unacceptable, you need to get the movers to fix it properly-now. Worst case scenario, a refinish of the entire room. Can't tell from here. You could just be getting the brush-off. How many coats did the handyman apply?

My landlord is based overseas and does not come back often. I don't want to be blamed for not keeping a close eye on the movers, so I hope to be able to fix the problem myself. I'm inclined to go for the stain too and will be getting a wooden floor supplier in through the movers to take a look. Thanks for all your suggestions!