dull spots on finish

[nivek]

I have a coffee table that people have been putting their feet on causing a dull spot on the lacquer finish. What is the best way to get the spots out?

[xrongor]

elbow grease.

randy

[pray4surf]

[nivek]

I've tried scrubbing, but it seems like the smoothness of the finish has just worn off. Is there some sort of wax that i can use to restore the shine?

[xrongor]

i'd try just some plain ole furniture wax.

now if the actual FINISH is worn through thats another story...

randy

[Rich]

The best way would be to have the people that put their feet up on the furniture refinish the table.

[nospambob]

[Baron]

Actually, a mixture of lacquer thinner and retarder is what you really want to mist on.

Wax does not interfere with refinishing furniture. It is easily removed and will not interfere with subsequent adhesion. Many furniture polishes contain silicone which can interfere but there are many techniques to handle this problem as well. It is best to avoid silicone containing polishes to begin with but silicone contamination is not the "end of the world".

Good Luck.

[nospambob]

[Baron]

For those that don't know, "fisheyes" are what happens when a finish, typically lacquer, pulls away from the surface leaving a dry spot, sometimes with a drop of finish remaining in the middle of the "hole". They are caused by silicone oil contamination. The silicone interferes with the surface tension of the system and the finish pulls away from it.

When I refinish a piece of furniture, I always assume there is some silicone contamination. The most popular spray waxes contain silicone. The first thing I do, at least after stripping a piece, is to make sure I give the surface a good washing with a solution of toluene, acetone, and alcohol. This is really to remove the remains of the stripper but it also helps to remove residual silicone oil. If I think the contamination is really bad, I may wash it down with a little ammonia. I use a lot of fresh rags so I don't just spread any silicone contamination around. After cleaning, I seal the surface with a sprayed coat of dewaxed shellac. I don't use an exotic spray system, just a Preval spray can. By mixing my own, I can choose the type - garnet, amber, white, etc. I can even add a little Transtint to make it exactly the way I want. I have not tried spraying Zinsser's Seal-Coat but it should work pretty well. I spray rather than brush since I have found that brushing stirs up the silicone rather than sealing it in. I continue with my finishing schedule. I am on the lookout for fisheyes and if I see any, I immediately wipe off the still wet finish. If another sealing with sprayed shellac does not do the trick, I will add a little silicone oil to the finish. One brand is "Smoothie" but there are many others and they all work as well as each other. The purpose of adding a tiny bit of silicone oil to the finish is to make the surface tensions of the surface and finish the same so they will remain in contact. I don't like using these fisheye removers since too much will make the finish soft and less glossy. They also tends to leave residual amounts on brushes. I've never had an occurrence, at least not yet, that I couldn't handle by these methods.

Good Luck

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[nospambob]

[Baron]

Just alcohol alone won't do it. It can reamalgamate a shellac finish and works okay for lacquer. Lacquer thinner works better when reamalgamating lacquer. Dewaxed shellac works very well to seal in silicone as I stated previously. It is important to spray the shellac so you don't stir it to the top of the film.