re-stain table top

hi, I got a dining table that is in pretty good shape. But the stain on one area on the tabletop has been damaged by a hot pot. Is there a product I can get from Home Depot to re-stain the entire table without doing any stripping first? The existing stain is in good shape, except for the damaged area.

What tool do I need to do this re-staining on this table?

I got some pictures of the table:

formatting link
Any tips would be appreciated...

Reply to
dchou4u
Loading thread data ...

Rather than Home Depot, you'd find better and more varied products at stores that specialize in woodworking materials or paints and finishes. Try a Woodcraft store if you have one.

Stain is absorbed into the wood so there is no free lunch on this. It must be stripped for the stain to work properly. Trying to do a small area and blending it tot he rest of the table is a job for a pro or someone with experience with stains and dyes.

It is also possible the stain is OK, but the top coat only is ruined from the heat so you may minimize the work a little bit. Of course, to properly do a repair, you have to know what the finish is.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

Actually I was thinking of re-staining the entire table, including its sides and legs. So blending is not a problem. But if I need to strip the stain or its top coat, then I will just live with the table as is... :(

Reply to
dchou4u

Doing an entire quality table is best left to experts. Try the yellow pages for shops that can handle it for you. Not likely you will have the tools or space and techniques to get the results you want. Of course, it doesn't matter if it came from Furniture Row's $99 section.

Joe

Reply to
Joe

It appears that the clear finish - varnish or lacquer, probably - is whitened from the heat. You can't restain the clear finish, although a tint added to clear finish might help disguise the whitening but probably would make matters worse.

I had a spot repair done to a good piece of furniture once, with very disappointing results. Your best bet is probably to either strip or sand the finish off the top and then stain and varnish.

You might be able to get decent results from using very fine steel wool on the whitened area to see if you can reduce the white without getting into the wood or removing stain. It will leave fine scratches, so you need to go with the grain. Dip steel wool in linseed oil, wipe dry when done and apply a coat of furniture wax.

I've seen tips advising the rubbing of cigarette ashes into white spots; I've tried that with no apparent change in the appearance. Good luck, and let us know.

Reply to
Norminn

" snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com" wrote on 02 Mar 2008 in group alt.home.repair:

You can try something like "Restore-A-Finish". I got a 1/2-pint cant at Rockler and used it to "refinish" some chairs for a client. At $7.00, it's worth a shot. Rockler had several other chemical fix-it solutions with which you could experiment. The worst case is that they make the spot look worse and you have to strip and refinish the top, but that's what you're looking at anyway.

I used to repair damaged wood for a furniture store (OK, it was a waterbed store, so it barely counted as furniture), and I did a lot of sanding and spraying with lacquer. That's a second possibility. On the downside, most manufacturers put the stain in the finish instead of on the wood, so you'll have a really hard time making things match.

Reply to
Steve

To do the job right, figure it will take you 40+ hours over a period of a few weeks. Remove the finsih with a stripper, sand smooth, stain, one coat of diluted polyurethane, second coat full strength, sand, third coat, sand, four coat. Let cure minimum of two weeks. Sand with wet 400 grit, wet 600 grit, steel wool, pumice, rottenstone, finally wax. It iwll be well worth the effort for a smooth professional looking finish.

Or you can slap a couple of coats of poly and call it a day. It will look plastic coated.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

I ran my fingers over the damaged area and it is rough. So I guess the heat must have penetrated the clear coat and got to the wood.

Any recommendation? Is sanding and restaining a must now?

Thanks

Reply to
dchou4u

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.