How can I repair/remove a dark water stain on Oak laminate worktop?

[Cefn.]

I could use some advise please on how I might remove as much as possible, the water stain on our cabinet. Its not a solid oak top but a laminate which doesn't help.
Unfortunately it's on the front of the unit, so cant hide it with a lace doily or such.
I saw that another request similar to this, didn't receive any responses, but Im feeling lucky today so, can anyone advise me please?
Thanks in advance. Cefn.

 

[ol_london]

Barkeepers Friend cleaning product? It works well for removing stains on wood when I have used it but you would obviously need to re-oil or whatever finish is on the rest of it to avoid a bare patch after the stain is gone.

 

[Dee J]

I could use some advise please on how I might remove as much as possible, the water stain on our cabinet. Its not a solid oak top but a laminate which doesn't help.
Unfortunately it's on the front of the unit, so cant hide it with a lace doily or such.
I saw that another request similar to this, didn't receive any responses, but Im feeling lucky today so, can anyone advise me please?
Thanks in advance. Cefn.

View attachment 103301

If it's a oak surface but not solid oak, then veneer rather than laminate. Laminate tends to mean a synthetic material. But for removing a dark stain in oak then oxalic acid does the job.

 

[ol_london]

If it's a oak surface but not solid oak, then veneer rather than laminate. Laminate tends to mean a synthetic material. But for removing a dark stain in oak then oxalic acid does the job.

I should have mentioned that barkeepers friend contains oxalic acid which is why it’s a user friendly way to get hold of it, from any decent hardware shop

 

[Cefn.]

I should have mentioned that barkeepers friend contains oxalic acid which is why it’s a user friendly way to get hold of it, from any decent hardware shop

Thats great, I'll take a look online and see where I can get it from. Appreciate your quick reply. Cheers.

 

[Cefn.]

If it's a oak surface but not solid oak, then veneer rather than laminate. Laminate tends to mean a synthetic material. But for removing a dark stain in oak then oxalic acid does the job.

Thats great Dee J, I'll take a look online and see where I can get it from. Appreciate your quick reply. Cheers.

 

[wheesht]

.

 

[Wayside2020]

Toothpaste.
worked for me.

 

[MorrisWoodman12]

Not come across oxalic acid before. Will that work on other woods like teak or sapele or is it purely suitable for oak?

 

[Jonty]

To remove water marks on furniture I use a hair dryer or heat gun on low, keep it moving over the surface, it’ll take about 15-20mins and may take a couple of goes. It works on varnished/lacquered tops but not knowing what the exact finish is on yours it may not work, worth a try though! Don’t linger on one spot too long as it may lift the veneer, but you should be able to stick it back if you put some weight on it immediately and leave it there till it’s completely cooled off.

 

[baldkev]

Oxalic is also used as grp cleaner, comes from rhubarb. It works on a lot of stains including rust and weathering, so you can often get grey weathered oak back to fresh oak colour. It also does well when the bacteria in the grain turns black.

For best results, sand away around any finish to expose the wood,
Hot water is best to get the oxalic working well. Apply, wipe off after a couple of minutes, apply again and wipe until desired result achieved, then rinse with clean water to neutralise the acid.

 

[Cefn.]

Oxalic is also used as grp cleaner, comes from rhubarb. It works on a lot of stains including rust and weathering, so you can often get grey weathered oak back to fresh oak colour. It also does well when the bacteria in the grain turns black.

For best results, sand away around any finish to expose the wood,
Hot water is best to get the oxalic working well. Apply, wipe off after a couple of minutes, apply again and wipe until desired result achieved, then rinse with clean water to neutralise the acid.

From one BaldCefn (Its Welsh for Kevin) to another baldkev, many thanks for this information. It's worked brilliantly. I virtually did it as you recommended. and so pleased with the results.
Thanks to everyone else who sent their advice. Its very much appreciated.

 

[Cefn.]

Not come across oxalic acid before. Will that work on other woods like teak or sapele or is it purely suitable for oak?

Hi Morris, Oak is the only type of wood I've tried this on, so can't really say. It certainly worked well on my oak stain though. Had to use a very fine sand paper when dry and the finish job is 90% good.

 

[Dee J]

Not come across oxalic acid before. Will that work on other woods like teak or sapele or is it purely suitable for oak?

I had an oak draining board in a utility room which inevitably got black stains from (tannic acid / iron) wet iron objects. I'd heard of the oxalic acid fix so ebayed a bucket of oxalic crystals. Worked perfectly. Never tried it on anything else.

 

[Sean Hellman]

I use to buy 12square inch pier props from a Devon farmer who bought job lots from Devenport dock yard. Sawed them into planks and where the 1 inch diameter bolts went through the wood you would get blue black staining up to 14 inches from the bolt. It looked bad and spoilt the beautiful orange of the douglas fir. Paint the oxalic acid on, and within minutes the wood was all the same colour. Its like magic and never ceases to amaze me.

 

[baldkev]

Cool

Ive fixed a few black oak doors and windows over the years with it.

I had a true nightmare years back, a good customer had a bespoke kitchen made of beech and mahogany. It was about 20 years old, but in good condition, and he wanted it refurbed ( as in back to fresh wood and resealed. )

As a test i cut up an old scraper to roughly match the door mouldings and scraped back then sanded a door. It took ages... we looked into our options and decided to have it chemically stripped. I would add that was my first experience of chemical stripping.

I had spoken to the company in advance and they said both types of wood were fine to strip.

When i went to collect it, i walked past a rather sorry looking pile of old grey wood by the door and asked where the kitchen doors etc were. The guy pointed at the sorry looking wood i had walked past!!!! Oh crap. Its ok, he said, it'll dry out and be fine.

I took it back and checked the panels over. A couple had twisted, a couple were coming apart where the glue had dissolved and the mahogany was black and purple. Literally. The beech was grey and looked knackered.

After a lot of research and trial and error, oxalic sorted some of it and peroxide helped a lot. Eventually it looked like new but it was the most stressful couple of weeks and I wish i had just scraped it all off and sanded it instead of being a clever ****

The dipping company claimed it hadnt happened before and couldnt help.

I will never do that again

 

[baldkev]

Sean hellman, was that rob euren?? East allington?

 

[sylvandale]

Now the original problem has been solved, can I hijack this thread a bit and ask about a similar one please? I have an oak kitchen table with a white water stain - photo attached. I think the 'stain' (if that's what it is) is perhaps just damage to the finish. However I'm not totally sure what the finish is, it might be a spray laquer. If anyone can offer any advice about how to deal with this I'd be most grateful. Thanks

 

[baldkev]

Did you put something hot on it? Id first try a slighly damp teatowel and hot iron, but do it inrementally. I.e just a few seconds at a time and slowly increase the time.
Go steady though

 

[sylvandale]

Thanks. I don't know what caused it, to be honest. It's been like that for years and whichever member of the family did it they never confessed! It was just reading this thread spurred me on to think about fixing it at last.