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Restor a Finish

368 Views 10 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  Verliesworth
I’m trying to touch up a teak table without a full sand etc and using Restor a Finish. It does a good job overall using the natural toned one but is not covering the white heat marks. Would trying this product in with some tone in it closer to my table colour deal with the old heat marks?
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I’m trying to touch up a teak table without a full sand etc and using Restor a Finish. It does a good job overall using the natural toned one but is not covering the white heat marks. Would trying this product in with some tone in it closer to my table colour deal with the old heat marks?
I don't know anything about the Restor a Finish however I'm a furniture refinisher. Can you post some pictures? How old is the heat mark? The heat mark is actually moisture which was drawn out of the wood under the finish. If it is a new mark try laying several paper towels on the spot and run a hot iron over it. Often the moisture can be drawn through the finish into the paper towel. Another thing you might do is put a small drop of lacquer thinner on the finish in an inconspicuous place and see if it wrinkles up the finish or dissolves it. It will get sticky if it does. This would determine if the finish is lacquer or could be shellac. What you could do if lacquer or shellac is pour a puddle of lacquer thinner on the heat mark and let it set until it dries. Often with lacquer you can melt the finish and it would melt through the heat spot too. It will leave an unusual spot on the finish when dry but can be rubbed out.
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I don't know anything about the Restor a Finish however I'm a furniture refinisher. Can you post some pictures? How old is the heat mark? The heat mark is actually moisture which was drawn out of the wood under the finish. If it is a new mark try laying several paper towels on the spot and run a hot iron over it. Often the moisture can be drawn through the finish into the paper towel. Another thing you might do is put a small drop of lacquer thinner on the finish in an inconspicuous place and see if it wrinkles up the finish or dissolves it. It will get sticky if it does. This would determine if the finish is lacquer or could be shellac. What you could do if lacquer or shellac is pour a puddle of lacquer thinner on the heat mark and let it set until it dries. Often with lacquer you can melt the finish and it would melt through the heat spot too. It will leave an unusual spot on the finish when dry but can be rubbed out.
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Looks like a water mark. Oxalic acid is used to tear them. You have to do the whole top.
It looks more like a water ring than heat damage. The finish is probably lacquer so I would try putting lacquer thinner on an inconspicuous place and see if it melts the finish. If so lacquer thinner would make the marks go away. I used to fix spots like that by spraying the spots with lacquer thinner and let it dry and then scuff sand the entire top and put a fresh coat of lacquer over the top. All together it was less than a half hours work and made the top look almost like it had been refinished.
It looks more like a water ring than heat damage. The finish is probably lacquer so I would try putting lacquer thinner on an inconspicuous place and see if it melts the finish. If so lacquer thinner would make the marks go away. I used to fix spots like that by spraying the spots with lacquer thinner and let it dry and then scuff sand the entire top and put a fresh coat of lacquer over the top. All together it was less than a half hours work and made the top look almost like it had been refinished.
Steve - have you ever used this blush remover from Mohawk? I have to look but I think I have a can of Behlen brand that I had used many years ago for a small repair. I don't remember exactly what I did but I think I sprayed the spot needing repair, and after it dried used Menzerna polishing compound over the entire the area.

Steve - have you ever used this blush remover from Mohawk? I have to look but I think I have a can of Behlen brand that I had used many years ago for a small repair. I don't remember exactly what I did but I think I sprayed the spot needing repair, and after it dried used Menzerna polishing compound over the entire the area.

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I haven't used that. Hard to imagine using retarder thinner from a rattle can. I have retarder thinner in a gallon can which I sometimes add to lacquer thinner in hot weather for an application like this thread. In this case it's not exactly blush, water is causing the finish to start to lift.
I haven't used that. Hard to imagine using retarder thinner from a rattle can. I have retarder thinner in a gallon can which I sometimes add to lacquer thinner in hot weather for an application like this thread. In this case it's not exactly blush, water is causing the finish to start to lift.
Yes, I agree, retarder in a rattle can (???). I just looked at the TDS and the MSDS. It's primary component is n-butyl acetate. They list it as a "Penetrating solvent retarder" and the description states "Contains a special solvent designed to eliminate blushing (hazy whiteness or cloudiness due to trapped moisture) in lacquer finishes." I'll have to find my old can of Behlen to see if it's listed as a retarder or just a blush remover.
Yes, I agree, retarder in a rattle can (???). I just looked at the TDS and the MSDS. It's primary component is n-butyl acetate. They list it as a "Penetrating solvent retarder" and the description states "Contains a special solvent designed to eliminate blushing (hazy whiteness or cloudiness due to trapped moisture) in lacquer finishes." I'll have to find my old can of Behlen to see if it's listed as a retarder or just a blush remover.
It may penetrate a spot like that but you could do the same thing by putting lacquer thinner in a squirt bottle and flood the spot. You could strip a lacquer finish off with lacquer thinner but wouldn't remove what is penetrated into the wood.

I was told retarder thinner is suppose to be added to a lacquer finish to slow the drying time down to allow water to escape. I don't know how you could use it with a rattle can. It seems it would evaporate before you could get some lacquer over it or are you suppose to spray the retarder over the lacquer immediately.
The rattle can softens a cured lacquer finish to allow the moisture to escape. The existing finish then dries / re-hardens. It seems that “retarder” in the product name is misleading. It looks like it achieves the same results as just spraying the finish with lacquer thinner.
Thank you everyone for your suggestions. There must be something I can try before a while redo!
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