Wood Repair - Fireplace mantle

[Chrisne]

I’m a complete beginner when it comes to woodwork but hope that sometime can help.

You’ll see from the picture that there is a slight mark left behind on the wooden mantle from where candle wax has spilt and been cleaned up.

What is the best approach for repairing and covering this?

From what I can tell the wood isn’t treated with anything unless it’s just dried up over time.

Ideally I just want to apply some sort of treatment stain to the wood so you don’t notice the candle stain from a side view.

 

[Simon89]

Perhaps a beeswax finish?

 

[Phill05]

Wipe over the stain with a damp cloth to see if it wets the wood each side of the wax slide that should tell you if you have any other treatment on, if the wood shows wet then use some Mentholated spirits on a folded paper towel and try to hold the towel in place over the wax slide to leach it out you might have to do it a few times, I would not put any stain on then you want to mix some Boiled linseed oil and bees wax and coat the lot a few times it should work okay.

 

[okeydokey]

Put a beermat over it - fixed

 

[thetyreman]

I'd sand it back using a random orbital sander, go through the grits starting at 80 up to 240, that should remove any wax stains, then finish it with something like osmo polyx as it's very durable and long lasting.

 

[Chrisne]

Cheers everyone for your quick reply. That’s really helpful

What colour would you class this wood as in terms of getting the right wax / finish?

 

[Housey210]

Is there a finish on the wood? I would try brown paper, manila envelope, and warm iron. Hold paper in place over wax stain and apply the iron, to paper only. The paper should draw the wax into the paper from the heat. Not too long though and not too hot!

 

[Chrisne]

There’s no finish on the wood at all, it’s very natural. I’ll definitely try the paper idea

 

[Chrisne]

I’ve got another question. The reason for doing the repair is for somewhere I’ve been renting for a few years and I’m moving out in a couple of weeks and so wanted to ensure that the damage wasn’t noticed. After having a read about oil such as linseed, I’m concerned about the smell it will leave behind. Obviously I’ll try first to remove the candle wax but ideally I’d like to apply something incase there’s any marks left over.

Does anyone have a suggestion of an oil that doesn’t smell too bad or how I can remove the smell in a short window? Otherwise it’ll be obvious what I’ve done. My own stupid fault to be fair but I’d like to protect my deposit.

Maybe natural mineral oil and beeswax?

 

[PDW125]

Just get a tin of Sheraton furniture Polish and a cloth and give it a nice coat and then rub it down - as a landlord I think they would probably appreciate someone actually taking care of the place.

 

[Chrisne]

I’ll give that a shot actually thank you as it’s only £2 in the shops before I resort to other options. I’ve taken pride in the house as it’s lovely and don’t want it returned in a crap condition especially as the landlord has always been very reasonable

 

[M_Chavez]

I wouldn't sand anything - you'll ruin the piece . Especially 80 grit is way too rough for this job. And a RoS will cover your precious house with a thick cloud of dust.
Might as well put an angle grinder to it at that rate!

My advice is leave as is (patina). Seriously. If you want wood to look brand spanking new, lock it behind a glass door in a humidor and never use it. I can't see any issue with the wood on your pic. You should see the woodwork in my house after 3 kids have had a go at it with pens and crayons...

Alternatively, if you are interested about learning the woodwork side, buy a good quality cabinet scraper, learn how to sharpen them, after plenty of practice on a scrap piece, scrape the slightest amount (less than a hair's width) where the wax has dripped and Robert's your father's brother.