One the front corner of our buffet, a leaky water pitcher was placed
and left over night, and unfortunately was rubbed briskly when it was
still soft. The varnish is a bit gummy now and the surface is less
than smooth. Is there any way to fix it with out having to refinish
the whole top?

Also have a Cherry dining table with water rings from hot drinks.
Still perfectly smooth, just a white haze left behind.

Would greatly appreciate help in restoring these items. Thanks!

Terry,

on the cherry table: try leaving mayonnaise, furniture polish or
petroleum jelly on the rings overnight. Another method would be to
lightly dampen a rag with denatured alcohol and wipe the rings with
light pressure. Good luck.


dave

Terry wrote:

One the front corner of our buffet, a leaky water pitcher was placed
and left over night, and unfortunately was rubbed briskly when it was
still soft. The varnish is a bit gummy now and the surface is less
than smooth. Is there any way to fix it with out having to refinish
the whole top?

Also have a Cherry dining table with water rings from hot drinks.
Still perfectly smooth, just a white haze left behind.

Would greatly appreciate help in restoring these items. Thanks!

On Mon, 13 Oct 2003 01:54:56 GMT, Bay Area Dave
wrote:

Terry,

on the cherry table: try leaving mayonnaise, furniture polish or
petroleum jelly on the rings overnight. Another method would be to
lightly dampen a rag with denatured alcohol and wipe the rings with
light pressure. Good luck.


dave

Terry wrote:

One the front corner of our buffet, a leaky water pitcher was placed
and left over night, and unfortunately was rubbed briskly when it was
still soft. The varnish is a bit gummy now and the surface is less
than smooth. Is there any way to fix it with out having to refinish
the whole top?

Also have a Cherry dining table with water rings from hot drinks.
Still perfectly smooth, just a white haze left behind.

Would greatly appreciate help in restoring these items. Thanks!


Do not do any of the things that BAD said that you should do.

You must first determine what kind of finish is on the piece. Once
you have done that you can formulate a response.

Here is a link to a decent book on the subject that should be
available in one of your local bookstores.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...glance&s=books

I fear that BAD was raised as a Formican.




Regards, Tom
Thomas J. Watson-Cabinetmaker
Gulph Mills, Pennsylvania
http://users.snip.net/~tjwatson

just goes to show, because I wrote the information, you perceive it as
wrong.

so what is your EXPERT idea, without asking the OP 21 questions first?

dave

Tom Watson wrote:

On Mon, 13 Oct 2003 01:54:56 GMT, Bay Area Dave
wrote:


Terry,

on the cherry table: try leaving mayonnaise, furniture polish or
petroleum jelly on the rings overnight. Another method would be to
lightly dampen a rag with denatured alcohol and wipe the rings with
light pressure. Good luck.


dave

Terry wrote:


One the front corner of our buffet, a leaky water pitcher was placed
and left over night, and unfortunately was rubbed briskly when it was
still soft. The varnish is a bit gummy now and the surface is less
than smooth. Is there any way to fix it with out having to refinish
the whole top?

Also have a Cherry dining table with water rings from hot drinks.
Still perfectly smooth, just a white haze left behind.

Would greatly appreciate help in restoring these items. Thanks!



Do not do any of the things that BAD said that you should do.

You must first determine what kind of finish is on the piece. Once
you have done that you can formulate a response.

Here is a link to a decent book on the subject that should be
available in one of your local bookstores.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...glance&s=books

I fear that BAD was raised as a Formican.




Regards, Tom
Thomas J. Watson-Cabinetmaker
Gulph Mills, Pennsylvania
http://users.snip.net/~tjwatson

On Mon, 13 Oct 2003 04:13:11 GMT, Bay Area Dave
wrote:

so what is your EXPERT idea, without asking the OP 21 questions first?

Find out what the damned finish is _before_ you fool with it..

Your oil suggestion (even mayonnaise, which sounds bizarre but often
works) is a reasonable one for some finishes, but it's lousy on
others.

--
Die Gotterspammerung - Junkmail of the Gods

so what you are REALLY saying is that MAYBE the rings will come out, and
he will have spent all of 5 minutes trying my suggestions...

I already know it depends on the finish. but it isn't gonna hurt to
give him a quick chance at fixing the blemishes. Geez you guys, why
don't you all grow up a bit??


dave

Andy Dingley wrote:

On Mon, 13 Oct 2003 04:13:11 GMT, Bay Area Dave
wrote:


so what is your EXPERT idea, without asking the OP 21 questions first?


Find out what the damned finish is _before_ you fool with it..

Your oil suggestion (even mayonnaise, which sounds bizarre but often
works) is a reasonable one for some finishes, but it's lousy on
others.

--
Die Gotterspammerung - Junkmail of the Gods

I'm a little concerned that the finish is still gummy. That suggests a
ruined finish. A gummy finish is usually indicative of dirt, grime, and
oils. It is removed by cleaning. Varnishes to not usually turn sticky when
exposed to water unless they are incredibly dirty in which case, it just
needs to be properly cleaned. You most likely have a lacquer finish unless
you know that it is shellac or something else. Your finish became sticky
due to water exposure. Unless this hardens by the end of a week, you may
have a ruined finish that will have to be redone. Assuming that it hardens,
you will probably have to fix the remaining blemishes. If so, you can try a
very quick and light wipe with a cloth lightly dampened with anhydrous
alcohol. You will probably have to rub out any remaining roughness.

As for the heat rings, the heat caused whatever water there was in the
wood to come up and turn the finish cloudy on the bottom of the finish where
it meets the wood. I am assuming that there was no water on the bottom of
the hot drink when it was placed on the table. This is difficult to repair.
I would first try the dampened cloth above assuming the finish is lacquer or
shellac. Sometimes, the finish is thin enough that the trapped water can be
released. If that doesn't work, you may need to rub out the damage with
very fine abrasives. If that doesn't work, the blemishes are too deep and
the finish would have to be stripped.

Good Luck.

To reply directly, remove the NGs.

"Terry" wrote in message
om...
One the front corner of our buffet, a leaky water pitcher was placed
and left over night, and unfortunately was rubbed briskly when it was
still soft. The varnish is a bit gummy now and the surface is less
than smooth. Is there any way to fix it with out having to refinish
the whole top?

Also have a Cherry dining table with water rings from hot drinks.
Still perfectly smooth, just a white haze left behind.

Would greatly appreciate help in restoring these items. Thanks!

"Terry"

: One the front corner of our buffet, a leaky water pitcher was placed
: and left over night, and unfortunately was rubbed briskly when it was
: still soft. The varnish is a bit gummy now and the surface is less
: than smooth. Is there any way to fix it with out having to refinish
: the whole top?

In the hints and tips section of my web site are some details of processes
that might help with this situation.

Jeff G

--
Jeff Gorman, West Yorkshire, UK
Email address is username@ISP
username is amgron
ISP is clara.co.uk
Website www.amgron.clara.net