Teak wardrobe finish problem, advice needed for fix

[Gemmamc]

Hello, I was hoping someone could help me out with a problem please. I have recently bought a G plan teak wardrobe from the 60s/70s. I have just cleaned it with warm water and a tiny squirt of fairy liquid. There were some white paint speckles on the wood which I rubbed at to remove. However it looks like I have rubbed away some of the original finish and it's left an obvious mark. I didn't rub too hard but the water looked a bit brown when I rinsed the cloth. Please could someone suggest a good way to try and get rid of the patch I've created? I'm so mad with myself! I'm not sure the best way to fix the problem, any help would be much appreciated.

 

[mrpercysnodgrass]

Hi Gemmamc
This is a difficult one to advise on for a couple of reasons. Teak furniture from the 60s-70s is usually finished with lacquer but could be oil. Whichever the finish it is usually quite thin which means that you could have gone through the finish into the wood. What did you use to rub at the paint spots? Can you post a photo of the damage? Whatever the damage, it is fixable, hopefully we can guide you through the stages to do this yourself but the first stage will be a photo or two.
FYI. The best way to get paint spots off is to 'ping' them off with a very sharp blade, preferably a scalpel but a stanley blade will do the job as well.

 

[Gemmamc]

Many thanks for the advice mrpercysnodgrass. I took a risk and tried some Danish oil on the patch and it's somehow covered it perfectly, and has completely vanished! Thanks for the tip on the paint spots too, I've just tried using a Stanley knife on the remaining paint spots and they came off much easier. Thanks for getting back to me and helping, it's much appreciated. I will be a lot more careful when cleaning wood in future, I didn't realise how easy it is to damage the finish, thanks again for your help