Expert: Eileen Cronk - 6/5/2008

Question
I have a 200 year old farmhouse kitchen table (from Maine) with what I think is a varnished (could it be shellac?) top.  I'm not sure what species the wood is, but it doesn't look like oak.  There is a stain, roughly 1 x 2 inches, that appears to be dried ketchup or jelly, dark red and quite hard.  It flakes off with a thumbnail,sort of, but it's extremely slow going and I don't want to mar the finish, which is in pretty good shape.  Any ideas for a solvent that would remove the stain but not the finish?

Answer
Hi Mark
Nice to hear from you.
This should not require a solvent if its food.
Use a warm wet cloth.
Place it directly on the stain and maybe move it back and forth over it to soften whatever it is.
It will gradually come off.
But don't walk away and forget it. Keep a close eye.
And I would not attempt any scraping.
Hope this helps
Good luck
Eileen