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

wrote in news:1160393356.107334.165010
@b28g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:

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


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.)
--
Best regards
Han
email address is invalid

Han wrote:
wrote in news:1160393356.107334.165010
@b28g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:

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

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.


(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.)

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

On 9 Oct 2006 04:29:16 -0700, wrote:

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.


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

In article ,
Derek Geldard wrote:
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.

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

--
*Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Derek Geldard wrote:
On 9 Oct 2006 04:29:16 -0700, wrote:

I have a newish Ducal pine dinner table which has an acid burn from
leaking alkaline radio batteries.

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

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

On 9 Oct 2006 04:29:16 -0700, wrote:

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

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

cheers,
Pete.

Pete C wrote:
On 9 Oct 2006 04:29:16 -0700, wrote:

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

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

cheers,
Pete.

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.

Stuart Noble wrote:
Pete C wrote:
On 9 Oct 2006 04:29:16 -0700, wrote:

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

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

cheers,
Pete.

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.

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

wrote:
Stuart Noble wrote:
Pete C wrote:
On 9 Oct 2006 04:29:16 -0700, wrote:

I have a newish Ducal pine dinner table which has an acid burn from
leaking alkaline radio batteries.

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

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


NT

wrote:
Stuart Noble wrote:
Pete C wrote:
On 9 Oct 2006 04:29:16 -0700, wrote:

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.
....
Thanks for all the replies guys.
It stopped affecting the wood shortly after I discovered it so it's not
getting any worse.

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


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.

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

--

FF