In article ,
" wrote:

Ralph Mowery wrote:
After canning some tomatoes my wife put the hot jars on a thin towel on ur
kitchen table. It is wood and looks to be finisned in a light oak color.
Where each of the jars were there is a white spot the size of the jars.
Probably due to the heat.
Is there anything that can be done to remove the spots without refinishing
the whole table ?


Is the WOOD oak? I've seen a number of "cures" for the problem, but
none that work. Another I recall seeing is to rub cigarette ashes into
the whitened area, but it did not work for me. The finish has whitened,
not the wood....I would take very fine steel wool and test by rubbing
onto a small part of the whitened area to try to remove that much
finish. You might also remove stain if it is a lacquer finish, so there
are no sure ways to undo the damage. If the white disappears, you can
try patching the finish then with a similar gloss clear finish. If it
is a valuable piece, have an expert look at it. If not valuable,
refinish by sanding the top lightly and put on a clear finish....I've
never seen a spot repair on wood that was satisfactory.

A guitar maker I know explained white spots as moisture sucked out of
the wood and deposited on the *underside* of the finish. That, he says,
is why you can't ever really do anything to remove them from the topside.