You are here:

Cabinets, Furniture, Woodworks/stain on white furniture

Advertisement

Expert: - 2/24/2009


Question
Hey! My daughter placed colored window decals on her white furniture. They are plastic clingy stuff so they stuck to her furniture just for a couple of hours. Well when we took them off they left an imprinted color on the furniture. We have tried Comet, Cholorox bleach spray and nothing is working. Please help. I am SO upset. The desk was a Christmas present that I thought could last a LONG time!!!

Answer
Hi Deane, the color could have transferred to the white, and it could be permanent...the plasticizers in the decal could have migrated the color into the white...try a buffing compound, like you would use on a car...I like the 3M products. They make a liquid "One Step Cleaner Wax" in a squeeze bottle, that you can find at a good auto parts store, or the slightly more abrasive "Finesse It II". Make a small pad out of several layers of t-shirt material and apply a quarter sized drop to the area. Buff vigorously in an overlapping straight stroke, and see if the marks start to come off. They may not...which means you'll have to get more invasive- let me know- Greg

Cabinets, Furniture, Woodworks

All Answers

Answers by Expert:

Ask Experts

Volunteer

Greg Scholl

Expertise

Questions on Woodworking, wood finishing and refinishing of all kinds, repairing furniture and wooden objects, Architectural details, Woodturning, carving, tool usage, product usage, some chemistry as it applies to woodworking and related interests,cabinet making and furniture construction/design, etc. I have experience with all manners of colorants, finishes, paints, stains, dyes, glazes, and coatings, wood species recognition and usage,tool recommendations, blade types and recommendation,techniques and methods for many Woodworking related issues, etc.

Experience

Fine furniture restorer and cabinet maker for over 30 years,serving high end Antique dealers, Interior designers, Collectors in the CT area. Consulting for area Painting/Decorating and Building contractors on non painting issues..(staining, wood prep.,clear finishing, floor restoration and architectural detail restoration and repair, etc.) Sold, built, serviced, setup Home, Industrial, and Commercial stationary woodworking tools for a major tool retailer in CT. for three years, sold hand and power tools , provided knowledge, parts replacement, service, and on site service, Trade show Demo, and training as well.

Publications
Published in Fine Woodworking Magazine (12/97), included on Fine Woodworkings first "Best of Fine Woodworking" CD-ROM (2002) ...("27 year compilation of expert know-how")

Education/Credentials
Art School at Silvermine Guild in Norwalk, CT., 9 year apprenticeship in a European run Cabinet and Restoration shop in CT., various classes on subjects having to do with the field. Seminars from major Tool manufacturers, Skil/Bosch, Delta, Powermatic, Ritter, Porter cable, Milwaukee, Dewalt/B&Decker, Performax.

Past/Present Clients
Many varied clients including work on Martha Stewarts' Westport, CT. show house, many fine Antique dealers and private collectors in and around Fairfield County and in Woodbury, CT. (the Antiques capital of CT.), Golden Age of Trucking Museum, Wilton Historical Society.

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.