Damaged lacquer

[pewe]

I need some advice regarding a lacquered Oak table which has been damaged by water.

The white marks were 'hidden' under a 'protector' under the table cloth so we've only just noticed the damage.

Anyone any advice on how we can rectify the problem - or is it a complete (expensive) strip and re-lacquer job???

 

[ED65]

Are you sure it's lacquered because you lacquered it yourself?

Regardless of the finish you could try the mayo trick: put a dollop of mayonnaise on part of one of the stains and leave it there for a few hours or overnight. Wipe away the mayo and if the stain has gone away underneath you're in luck you can treat all of the whitish areas that way. After you wipe up you're done if you like.

 

[pewe]

It is definitely lacquered - I spoke to the supplier this afternoon and they confirmed it. They said they had a customer who had had a similar problem with the same furniture last year - and it cost him £200 to have it professionally dealt with.

Unfortunately we don't have any Mayo in the house - only salad cream - so will have to get some on Wednesday (our day for travelling to town for shopping).

In the meantime any other suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[ED65]

It's actually the oil in the mayo that's doing the work so try a dab of vegetable oil instead, or Vaseline.

You can read more tricks for fixing this here in the Google Books preview of one of Bob Flexner's books.

 

[pewe]

Thanks for the info and link guys.

Unfortunately I tried both the Mayo and Vaseline, leaving them overnight, and neither seem to have improved the marks.

So will need to try some of the other methods shown in the link.

If I have to resort to re-lacquering, any suggestions or recommendations would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Chrispy]

As a last resort before stripping it if you are brave you could try wetting the white patches with meths and lighting it with a match, don't let it burn too long though or the polish will blister, sometimes works sometimes not.

 

[pewe]

As a last resort before stripping it if you are brave you could try wetting the white patches with meths and lighting it with a match, don't let it burn too long though or the polish will blister, sometimes works sometimes not.

Tried that - maybe I put too much meths on :shock:

Seriously though, thanks for the tip - I may try that as a last resort.

 

[pewe]

I have now tried rubbing a damaged area with meths - which has improved it dramatically
BUT
the shine on the lacquer has been dulled by the meths - seen in the image in front and to the left of the chair cushion.

Other than spraying the whole top with a new coat of lacquer, are there any recommendations on how to return the shine.

 

[ED65]

Buffing hard with a cloth might be enough. If not you can polish it out with a very mild abrasive such as T-Cut.

You could of course wax polish the table if you don't mind that the shiny is on the surface and will need to be touched up periodically.

 

[pewe]

Buffing hard with a cloth might be enough. If not you can polish it out with a very mild abrasive such as T-Cut.

You could of course wax polish the table if you don't mind that the shiny is on the surface and will need to be touched up periodically.

I tried vigorous buffing and it didn't fully revitalise the sheen - but I will address the rest of the watermarks then try again.

If still not satisfied I'll try some wax - not too bothered about re-applying periodically as we re-oil the worktops in the same room regularly anyway.

Thanks for all your input.

 

[MIGNAL]

Bit late but gentle heat with a hairdryer might have been a better solution. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. White marks under shellac are often caused by trapped moisture, the heat drives it off. The meths has obviously removed some of the finish.

 

[ED65]

Bit late but gentle heat with a hairdryer might have been a better solution. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. White marks under shellac are often caused by trapped moisture, the heat drives it off.

That's one of the alternate methods given by Flexner in the link above.

The meths has obviously removed some of the finish.

Seems so. Normally meths wouldn't have anything in it that could solve lacquer but who knows what type they used, these days it could be based on an acrylic solution rather than one of the more traditional lacquer resins.

 

[Matt@]

be careful using T cut as it will leave white residue in the grain pores. You rubbed it with meths? (this often gets these marks out) what did you use to rub the meths? if wire wool, what grade wire wool did you use?

 

[pewe]

Thanks guys.

Ok, the white bloom has now all gone - the large 'spill' areas were solved by using meths and the 'rings' were removed using a hair dryer.

The only problem I have now is that the lacquer's shine has been dulled by the meths so I need to get the shine back.

I tried using wax, but that does not revitalise the shine.

NOTE: I suspect that the meths affected the lacquer possibly because of the type of lacquer used on the furniture - and it appears that the furniture was imported from China so the supplier can't confirm what type of 'lacquer' was used.
The other thing I would say about the finish is that the area where the meths was used appears very patchy - parts of the area are dulled whereas other parts are still looking 'shiny'.

So any advice on returning the shine would be appreciated.