We had a bunch of friends & families coming over for a party last week to "celebrate" my latest ww project. When the party was over, I was shocked to find a white ring from a drink someone left on it!!! (probably one of the kids.) :{
What would you do to make sure this is not going to happen again, short of canceling all future parties (impossible) or follow everyone around and put the coaster on the table before he/she puts down the drink (kinda impolite)?
If I remember correctly, I think there is an easy fix for this. I'll look at some of my books to see what to do. What kind of finish was it?
Thanks, it was shallac. But my real point is, what would be a socially acceptable way to prevent people from being careless on your "proud pieice of art"?
(Sorry if this is not directly related to the WW topic. But I guess it's a problem that many of WWreckers might be facing.)
Glass top. or 'table pad'. Prevents recurrances.
Put 7' legs on it.
Education might be in order but, kids and fine furniture are never a great mix.
I'll bet you never thought you'd be one of those uptight people running around putting coasters under everyones drink.
FYI on fixes
Poly goes over shellac if it's dewaxed. It's impossible to keep people at a party from placing drinks on a table, at some point.
Try removing the ring with a tiny bit of alcohol on a rag wiped around and around the ring. Don't saturate the cloth and don't let the cloth sit in one spot. The idea is to create a fast dissipating "vapor trail" of alcohol, barely more than fumes.
Dave
S> Education might be in order but, kids and fine furniture are never a > great mix. >
Several years ago, I had just finished a coffee table for the living room - butternut oval with two leaves and a shellac finish. About two weeks later, we had people in after a charity auction to add up the proceeds. One of them, a gentleman who certainly knew better, put a clunky old adding machine on the table. I swept in and placed a towel under the machine but the damage had already been done by a foot that had lost its pad. He instantly appologized profusely. I am not sure I did the right thing but I just could not bear to see the table ruined. Of course by now it has scratches from the cat, mother in law's ankle cast and who knows what else. Maybe the lesson is that furnature is to be used, even if we try for the perfect finish..... Dave
100 years ago shellac was the predominant furniture finish. everyone knew how to treat it, even people who couldn't afford any. today laquer and poly have largely squeezed shellac out. if you want your shellac surfaces to be treated properly you'll have to educate your guests.
for those of us that try to be considerate the inconsiderate are just maddening.
I think the best thing to do is just sigh and be glad that you are not the type of person that would put an unprotected drink on someone's new piece of painstakingly handcrafted furniture and call it good. Then again perhaps a tablecloth or something to protect your better pieces when kids are visiting isn't such a bad idea.
A tablecloth will not protect the shellac from a sweating glass.
Dave
snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com wrote:
Then again perhaps a
Put the table behind a velvet rope like they have in museums. If you have no velvet ropes consider not serving drinks.
-j
Depends on what they're drinking. If it's beer, then you can serve them in those foam cooler wraps. I think there might be some higher end plastic glasses around that don't sweat the way ordinary glass does, but I don't remember where I've seen them. Only other solution is to place a waterproof cover on the table. There's some really good looking ones available if you go that route, but then it won't be as easy to show off your new project.
On Fri, 27 May 2005 13:47:19 -0700, the inscrutable snipped-for-privacy@all.costs spake:
Right. Print out copies of the rules & gather everyone around. Now hand 'em to everyone, making sure they read 'em BEFORE they get their drinks. Keep a wooden yardstick handy for those who choose to forget. "KAWHAP!" is a sound (and feel) the guests won't soon forget. ;)
I would use varnish. Seems simple enough; or is this a trick question?
I love butternut, but it is largely ornamental; you can't actually put anything on it! In fact, I just made someone a butternut buffet; and warned her I wasn't responsible if she put anything heavier than a picture frame on it. Has anyone tried putting epoxy wood hardener on butternut?
fine. i imagine that there is some piece of technology available that will protect this gentleman's table's shellac finish from sweating glasses. Perhaphs he could avail himself of that.
I saw some "table runners" at the store yesterday that had some sort of plastic-type coating on the underside. The visible side was nicely woven, and came in several colors/prints. They didn't cover the whole table, just a good portion of the center- but they looked nice, and something like that would reduce the chances of the finish getting damaged while still allowing people to see at least some of the project. You can't protect it from everything that way, but it skews the odds in your favor a little.
You could also get a sheet of plate glass to lay over the top. Easy to clean, and completely waterproof. Last one I saw was about $60, but that'll vary depending on how thick the glass is, what the dimentions of the top are, and whether or not the glass is beveled. I believe standard practice when doing this is to place some small spacers between the table and the glass (felt is what I've seen most often, but suction cups get used a lot for this as well.)
Some may be inconsiderate, but I believe most just don't know any better. I think the responsiblity lies with the host. Provide plenty of coasters, placed where people are most likely to put their drinks. It's really a stretch to consider someone inconsiderate for using an object such as a table for exactly the purpose it was intended, and in fact in exactly the way that most tables are used. The problem is with the finish selected and its inablity to stand up to normal uses. Can't really fault the unsuspecting guest for not being as well informed about these things as the hobbiest woodworker.
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