In article ,
AL wrote:

Is there any way of removing dents in planed pine (not including
sanding or planing them out)? The pine in question is a set of stairs
going up to my loft. Its the horizontal surfaces that have some dents.
The dents have been there for a few years. I wondered if there was
some trick such as filling the dents with some liquid or other so that
the wood swells up just in the place where it has been compacted...
maybe finish off by sanding etc...

I've heard that making the dent wet and then applying heat (with an iron or
something) can make the wood swell. Never tried it though - and don't
complain to be if you end up with iron shaped marks on the stairs ;-)

Others on here will no doubt have more advice (and hopefully experience!)

Darren