[silentandcliche]

My boss has a large desk that has a finish on it that I accidentally put a milky white splotch on when eating some warm food on it. Would a blush eliminator fix this? Or will I have to pay to get it refinished?

What I know about the desk:
Sadly, I know little about what wood or finish is actually on it. I know this makes it next to impossible to make recommendations but I'm open to anything right now. It's a very glossy finish that gets scratched and damaged extremely easily.

 

[Dave Paine]

White blotch normally means the finish now has some moisture in it.

If you are very lucky the white may go away as the moisture dries, otherwise, the attempt to fix depends on the type of finish - laquer, shellac, etc.

 

[Steve Neul]

One thing you could do is put a small amount of lacquer thinner on a inconspicuous place and see if the finish tries to dissolve. If it does you can pour some lacquer thinner on the spot and let it dry. You don't touch it or rub it, you just wet it and let it dry. The thinner will melt the blush spot and once dry a little steel 0000 wool or rubbing compound will bring the finish back to it's original condition.

 

[cabinetman]

My boss has a large desk that has a finish on it that I accidentally put a milky white splotch on when eating some warm food on it. Would a blush eliminator fix this? Or will I have to pay to get it refinished?

What I know about the desk:
Sadly, I know little about what wood or finish is actually on it. I know this makes it next to impossible to make recommendations but I'm open to anything right now. It's a very glossy finish that gets scratched and damaged extremely easily.

We have an introduction section where you can say a few words about yourself. If you fill out your profile in your "User Control Panel", you can list any hobbies, experience or other facts. You can also list your general geographical location which would be a help in answering some questions.

Depending on your finishing skills and equipment or lack of it, you may want a professional finisher to do the work.

.

 

[Charles Neil]

ok.. This is going to sound a bit unorthodox, but it works really well .

Wipe the area with some denatured alcohol , just a thin wipe, no puddle , and light it ..yep set it on fire,, no joke.

Its really effective and really fast , the flame is out in a split second. the heat/alcohol opens the finish and dries the moisture out . The flame burns above the surface .. again its a quick wipe , very thin and immediately light it . :thumbsup:

Or you can take a cloth with some boiled linseed oil on it,( just slightly damp ) and using a clothes iron , lay the cloth on the desk and warm it with the iron, it will remove it as well.

I assure you this is for real , the alcohol thing is amazing .. its a quick flash and its gone .

 

[silentandcliche]

Thanks!

Thank you to everyone for the great advice. I at least have some ideas to go off of now. The fire one sounds great, it's just a matter of convincing my boss :blink:.

 

[WillemJM]

Wipe the area with some denatured alcohol , just a thin wipe, no puddle , and light it ..yep set it on fire,, no joke.

Its really effective and really fast , the flame is out in a split second. the heat/alcohol opens the finish and dries the moisture out . The flame burns above the surface .. again its a quick wipe , very thin and immediately light it . :thumbsup:

flash and its gone .

LOL, I can imagine his boss's face while lighting up.

How did you find out about this solution?

 

[cabinetman]

It hasn't been established what the finish is. Pictures of the problem would be a help.

.

 

[Steve Neul]

If burning alcohol works it is because of the heat. I would think it would be safer to use a hair drier or carefully use a heat gun.

 

[Priusjames]

I can't wait to use the flame trick on a conference table this happened to (it's always due to pizza at the university)...always learning something new...

 

[CharlesNeil]

Many years ago I helped a couple of old guys who restored antiques and built reproductions of them for museums . Thats where I learned the flame trick , it was simply a matter of course .. if it had white rings thats what ya did and called it a day. I have done it many, many times ..no issue .The hair drier , I have not had much success with it, The warm iron and oil work pretty well also .

I have not encountered a finish it didn't work on .. Have not tried it on a water base or really old veneer unless in decent shape. On the veneers I use the iron . Most of them were put down with hide glue , which heat can soften , so the iron is the best because if it did soften a little , your pressing it back down ..BTW we did the iron thing on old veneers , and in many caes we were able to lay the loose veneer back down. Same thing as applying yellow glue to a veneer and to the substrate ,let dry , then using a iron , you can press them down ..works well.


again the key is a very thin wipe and light it, you can do small sections at a time .. its very fast .

 

[Mark G]

Wipe the area with some denatured alcohol , just a thin wipe, no puddle , and light it ..yep set it on fire,, no joke.

To the original poster, if you need help getting your resume together just send me a PM. I'm a pretty good editor.

 

[CharlesNeil]

Mark,

Never professed to be a good speller, writer , and punctuation and grammer are out the window .

Considering, I just finished writing a book, and now have the second one done , guess it was good enough. Then again that's why ya hire folks like you. Who's area of expertise it is . One should always try to recognize their weaknesses and seek others who have strengths in that area.

 

[Mark G]

Mark,

Never professed to be a good speller, writer , and punctuation and grammer are out the window .

Considering, I just finished writing a book, and now have the second one done , guess it was good enough. Then again that's why ya hire folks like you. Who's area of expertise it is . One should always try to recognize their weaknesses and seek others who have strengths in that area.

I think we got our wires crossed. I was making a joke. This poor guy has messed up the boss's desk. Now he might light it on fire in an effort to fix the problem. What could go wrong? :laughing:

I was just extending a hand to help him get a new job.

 

[CharlesNeil]

oops...My bad .... Seems I'm a bit slow as well:laughing:

 

[DIY-Her]

I'd like to hear which disappeared first, the white spot or his job
I'll have to try this tip. I have an older piece of furniture I don't really care about that happens to have a white spot on it. I can practice on it first before I might really need to try it

 

[Manuka Jock]

My boss has a large desk that has a finish on it that I accidentally put a milky white splotch on when eating some warm food on it. Would a blush eliminator fix this? Or will I have to pay to get it refinished?

What I know about the desk:
Sadly, I know little about what wood or finish is actually on it. I know this makes it next to impossible to make recommendations but I'm open to anything right now. It's a very glossy finish that gets scratched and damaged extremely easily.

I hope you left the desk alone until the surface well and truly dried,
and the cloudiness disappeared.
Tell us , how is it looking ?

 

[dhh57]

I would think most woodworkers would know the name Charles Neil. If you don't, I suggest you google his name. I am confident he knows what he is talking about and you can learn a lot from his webpage and videos. I don't personally know the man but I know his work and I believe it would be an honor to meet him.

 

[Trav]

I would think most woodworkers would know the name Charles Neil. If you don't, I suggest you google his name. I am confident he knows what he is talking about and you can learn a lot from his webpage and videos.

I know I have learned a lot from his videos. Thanks for participating in this forum Mr. Neil.


I have yet to see him post here without adding value to the thread. There are very few that I can say that about here, myself included.

 

[DIY-Her]

I've only heard about Charles Neil the past month only because I do wood staining for a hobby but am now staining and finishing my new unfinished Cherry kitchen cabinets. So already bought Charles blotch control and it worked like a charm. In fact, I just ran out and have 4 more doors to go, so have to buy another quart. Already passed his name and website to 3 guys I know here in PA that do wood working.