Please help save my coffee table!

[merilenda]

Wonderfully handy PS'ers, my clumsiness resulted in tragedy this evening. I was using nail polish remover, which I knocked over on my coffee table. I grabbed it before too much spilled, but it was more than enough to cause quite a bit of damage. Any ideas for salvaging my table? It's not particularly expensive, but it's sturdy and we really like it - and we have matching end tables. Here's a picture of the damage. The closest thing at hand to wipe it up were some napkins, which resulted in the weird dot-effect.

 

[NOYFB]

I don't have any ideas, other than sanding it down and re-staining it, so I hope some other PSers chime in. I'm sorry that this happened! I hope it can be salvaged.

 

[sonnyjane]

Alas... I think you might have to strip all the varnish off and re-stain it. If you just stain over top of the table, that spot will still be lighter than the surrounding areas. Ask at your local hardware store. I thought of doing this (on purpose) to our coffee table but I got too lazy. I believe I was told to use paint thinner but I can't remember. BTW that's some good nail polish remover! My nail polish remover doesn't even work on my nails. Maybe I should switch brands!

 

[merilenda]

I'm afraid you're probably right - we'll have to sand down the whole thing and re-stain. Unfortunately, neither DH nor I are very handy, so I don't know how well that will go. But maybe DH needs an excuse to practice his handyman skills, right? Well, I'll hope that maybe someone will chime in with a miracle solution.

Sonnyjane, the nail polish remover is just Sally Hansen moisturizing remover. What's funny is that I had a hard time getting the polish off my nails, but it sure didn't have trouble ruining my table!

 

[JewelFreak]

Merilinda -- it's pretty easy to re-do the top of your table. You can find refinishing directions online, or bookstores have great how-to books in paperback. I've refinished several pieces of furniture & they came out super. It's actually fun & enormously satisfying to see the result.

One icky part: matching top to legs is almost impossible, so you may have to refinish the entire piece. Not much more work really.

Good luck!

-- Laurie

 

[Hera]

Oh you poor thing. I did that to my parent's table when I was growing up. I'm afraid for it to be whole and happy again you'll have to refinish it.

 

[JillyC]

Short of refinishing it, I don't think there's anything you can do with it. My daughter ruined my kitchen table with nail polish remover. It's maddening how fast that stuff destroys!

 

[somethingshiny]

there is something you can try!!!

I do a lot of wood work and restoration projects. Before you strip and refinish, which is not near as hard as you'd imagine, try rubbing real mayonaise into the wood. The oils will seep into the wood, plump it up and renew some of the color. If it looks like it's working, keep doing it every day. Then, seal the whole top of the table with beeswax or a beeswax product.

 

[lovebug1031]

I'm afraid you're probably right - we'll have to sand down the whole thing and re-stain. Unfortunately, neither DH nor I are very handy, so I don't know how well that will go. But maybe DH needs an excuse to practice his handyman skills, right? Well, I'll hope that maybe someone will chime in with a miracle solution.

Sonnyjane, the nail polish remover is just Sally Hansen moisturizing remover. What's funny is that I had a hard time getting the polish off my nails, but it sure didn't have trouble ruining my table!

hah same thing happened to me...using the SAME nail polish remover! Weird

 

[MissGotRocks]

there is something you can try!!!

I do a lot of wood work and restoration projects. Before you strip and refinish, which is not near as hard as you'd imagine, try rubbing real mayonaise into the wood. The oils will seep into the wood, plump it up and renew some of the color. If it looks like it's working, keep doing it every day. Then, seal the whole top of the table with beeswax or a beeswax product.

I've used mayonnaise on water rings and stuff on furniture - works really well! I hope this can help you!

 

[merilenda]

Oooh thanks for the mayo tip! I'm definitely going to try that before resorting to stripping/refinishing. Poor DH tried to cover it with some pumpkin decorations, but it's in a really awkward spot.

 

[ame]

Oh you poor thing. I did that to my parent's table when I was growing up. I'm afraid for it to be whole and happy again you'll have to refinish it.

As did I. They did have to refinish.

 

[tyty333]

A nice coffee table book?