Table top repair

[Flintlock]

My wife put a hot cob of corn wrapped in a towel on the table, resulting in this stain in the finish. I don't know what the finish is as it is an Indonesian import table. Any ideas on repair apart from stripping it all and refinishing?

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

That sort of mark is typical for water penetration into shellac, often caused by coffee cups, etc. being placed directly on the surface. It's typically only in the surface layer, any deeper (eg. under the shellac into the wood) is typically a dark mark.

You can test if it's shellac by turning the table upside-down, finding a spot of finish that no-one would normally see and dribbling a few drops of methylated spirits in place. Leave for 30 seconds and see if the finish wipes off or has become tacky. If so, then it's probably Shellac.


Personally I like to dampen the corner of a cloth with methylated spirits and wipe very softly over the damaged area, keeping the cloth moving constantly. The stain should disappear after about 30-60 seconds

Be aware that this method has risks if you don't know what you're doing... if you even THINK the surface is starting to become tacky, STOP! The method's basically dissolving the very surface layer and re-arranging it, releasing the moisture in the process. Tackiness is a sign you're dissolving even deeper into the finish and... well... you do NOT want that!


Another old school method I've used successfully, is to use a cloth dipped in warmed mineral oil instead. Wipe down the mark, then dip the cloth into some cigarette ash and carefully polish the mark out. (I've also used pumice powder for this, but it tends to be more aggressive.) Again, some care is required.


I've also heard of people applying a layer of petroleum gel over the surface and letting it sit overnight, before wiping off the excess. I have no idea as to the efficacy of this, but at least it shouldn't do any damage.


I do NOT recommend any method that involves the use of OOOO steel wool. That works, but is very much a last resort.

[Bohdan]

Another treatment to remove water marks from finish is to cover with a cotton sheet (several layers) and iron the cotton with a hot iron.

Keep the iron moving. Maybe get someone more experienced in handling an iron to do the actual ironing.

Start with a cooler iron and slowly increase the heat.

[Flintlock]

Thanks.
Tried the meths and removed 99% of it. Still a faint outline of where it was but much better and blends in with the general condition of the table.