Ducal pine table, acid burn

[bob]

I'm in the doghouse so any help would be gratefully appreciated.

I have a newish Ducal pine dinner table which has an acid burn from leaking alkaline radio batteries. It's marked a strip of about 4 inches long by about half an inch wide but as you can imagine as far as the missus is concerned it may as well be 10 foot wide!!

It's taken the top layer of wood off although I'm sure this isn't a veneer. What do I need to do to get this fixed. Tried flowers and chocolates but that was no good :-)

Do I need a french polisher or is there some other specialist I should look for? I suspect the whole table top may need sanding down.

Cheers Bob

[Owain]

Whereabouts on the table top is the burn? If it was conveniently in the centre it might be possible to inlay a new piece of contrasting wood as a "feature".

Failing that, try gold and diamonds :-)

Owain

[Han]

[e-mail] wrote in news:1160393356.107334.165010 @b28g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:

If it was due to alkaline batteries, it is probably alkaline, not acid. Are you sure the lye is now neutralized, or is it still eating further into the wood? (I have no idea how to go about fixing it, although a nice inlay is likely the best, as suggested by Owain. I'd make it plenty big for the above reasons.)

[meow2222]

I cant see how there could be any other solution. I suppose theres filler, if you want it to look bad, or a tabelcloth.

NT

[Derek Geldard]

That's a good, valid claim on your household insurance.

BTW at work they used to say that the gook that exudes from alcaline batteries would eat it's way through a concrete floor.

DG

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Might be worth having a word with the battery makers. Aren't they meant to be leak proof under normal circumstances?

[meow2222]

Maybe, but is it worth it? How much is the payout, and what effect will it have on the premium over how many years? Call me cynical but I suspect you wont gain anything in the end. And theres the excess, and they may want something for betterment...

NT

[Pete C]

Phone 'em up (Ducal) they may have some good ideas or maybe even a repair service.

cheers, Pete.

[Stuart Noble]

The liquid is potassium hydroxide apparently, so peroxide should lighten any discolouration. Then neutralise with vinegar or citric acid. Probably won't undo the damage but might stop it getting any worse.

[bob]

Thanks for all the replies guys. It stopped affecting the wood shortly after I discovered it so it's not getting any worse. Appologies for calling it 'acid' but that seemed the easiest description as some people don't realise how 'acidic like' (there I go again) alkaline can be. The patch is towards the bottom edge so I don't think I'll get away with any inlays as features. Ducal don't now manufacture in the UK and by all accounts they went to asia somewhere followed by the quality apparently!! As for insurance, I have considered that but I don't like to make small claims (although this could turn out to be a whoppa) as eventually the premiums go up. Still it's a option once I find out how much it will cost.

Oh, the jewelers is also looking a good option. :-))

Cheers Bob

[meow2222]

inlay sounds like the obvious choice then. You'll need at least 2 so it all looks symmetrical.

NT

[fredfighter]

I encourageyou to neutralize it with white vinegar anyhow. Otherwise it may still be just active enough to ruin the repair later on.

Well, you could add identical or similar inlays to create a symetrical pattern, or fill it and then veneer the whole tabletop.