Water Damage on Wood Furniture

One the front corner of our buffet, a leaky water pitcher was placed and left over night, and unfortunately was rubbed briskly when it was still soft. The varnish is a bit gummy now and the surface is less than smooth. Is there any way to fix it with out having to refinish the whole top?

Also have a Cherry dining table with water rings from hot drinks. Still perfectly smooth, just a white haze left behind.

Would greatly appreciate help in restoring these items. Thanks!

Reply to
Terry
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Terry,

on the cherry table: try leaving mayonnaise, furniture polish or petroleum jelly on the rings overnight. Another method would be to lightly dampen a rag with denatured alcohol and wipe the rings with light pressure. Good luck.

dave

Terry wrote:

Reply to
Bay Area Dave

Do not do any of the things that BAD said that you should do.

You must first determine what kind of finish is on the piece. Once you have done that you can formulate a response.

Here is a link to a decent book on the subject that should be available in one of your local bookstores.

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fear that BAD was raised as a Formican.

Regards, Tom Thomas J. Watson-Cabinetmaker Gulph Mills, Pennsylvania

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Reply to
Tom Watson

just goes to show, because I wrote the information, you perceive it as wrong.

so what is your EXPERT idea, without asking the OP 21 questions first?

dave

Tom Wats> >

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Reply to
Bay Area Dave

Find out what the damned finish is _before_ you fool with it..

Your oil suggestion (even mayonnaise, which sounds bizarre but often works) is a reasonable one for some finishes, but it's lousy on others.

-- Die Gotterspammerung - Junkmail of the Gods

Reply to
Andy Dingley

so what you are REALLY saying is that MAYBE the rings will come out, and he will have spent all of 5 minutes trying my suggestions...

I already know it depends on the finish. but it isn't gonna hurt to give him a quick chance at fixing the blemishes. Geez you guys, why don't you all grow up a bit??

dave

Andy D> >

Reply to
Bay Area Dave

I'm a little concerned that the finish is still gummy. That suggests a ruined finish. A gummy finish is usually indicative of dirt, grime, and oils. It is removed by cleaning. Varnishes to not usually turn sticky when exposed to water unless they are incredibly dirty in which case, it just needs to be properly cleaned. You most likely have a lacquer finish unless you know that it is shellac or something else. Your finish became sticky due to water exposure. Unless this hardens by the end of a week, you may have a ruined finish that will have to be redone. Assuming that it hardens, you will probably have to fix the remaining blemishes. If so, you can try a very quick and light wipe with a cloth lightly dampened with anhydrous alcohol. You will probably have to rub out any remaining roughness.

As for the heat rings, the heat caused whatever water there was in the wood to come up and turn the finish cloudy on the bottom of the finish where it meets the wood. I am assuming that there was no water on the bottom of the hot drink when it was placed on the table. This is difficult to repair. I would first try the dampened cloth above assuming the finish is lacquer or shellac. Sometimes, the finish is thin enough that the trapped water can be released. If that doesn't work, you may need to rub out the damage with very fine abrasives. If that doesn't work, the blemishes are too deep and the finish would have to be stripped.

Good Luck.

To reply directly, remove the NGs.

"Terry" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@posting.google.com...

Reply to
Baron

"Terry"

: One the front corner of our buffet, a leaky water pitcher was placed : and left over night, and unfortunately was rubbed briskly when it was : still soft. The varnish is a bit gummy now and the surface is less : than smooth. Is there any way to fix it with out having to refinish : the whole top?

In the hints and tips section of my web site are some details of processes that might help with this situation.

Jeff G

-- Jeff Gorman, West Yorkshire, UK Email address is username@ISP username is amgron ISP is clara.co.uk Website

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Reply to
Jeff Gorman

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