Expert: Jamie Yocono - 9/3/2009

Question
I thoughtlessly sat a bottle of rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol on an antique table. It left a white ring. What can I do to make this better? It is my daughter's table, and I'll do anything at all to fix it.  It is an antique, approximately 100 years old, I think. Very dark wood.  Thanks for any help you can offer.

Answer
Hi Patricia,

I suspect that the finish on your antique table is shellac, as alcohol will leave white stains on shellac. I just looked up the solution in a couple of my finishing books, and here's what I found:

The first thing to try is to polish the spot (ring) off with some fine steel wool. It probably doesn't go too deeply into the finish. Add a couple of drops of light oil or mineral spirits to the steel wool, as you polish the surface. If the ring isn't too deep, this should eliminate it. Once the ring is gone, the book recommends that you do the same thing (steel wool scrub) to the whole piece, so that the finish will match on the entire piece.

If the ring is deep, you will have to employ a different method. You'll need lacquer thinner, and it's best to LIGHTLY spray it on the area. If you can't spray it, put a little lacquer thinner on a small pad of cloth, and squeeze it out, making the pad very dry. Then lightly rub on the ring (in a circular motion) until the ring disappears.

The only problem with this is that the area you repair might be end up shiny, while the rest of your piece is dull. This is easily fixed. Wait until the area dries, maybe four hours, and then rub the spot to dull it with 000 grade steel wool. This will scuff it up a bit, and once it's sort of blended with the rest of the piece, then rub the whole piece with steel wool to blend everything. Once it's all blended and everything matches, I would give your top a nice coat of furniture wax.

I took this from a very old book called The Furniture Doctor by George Grotz, and it's been a reliable text through the years. I hope this helps. Good luck!


Jamie Yocono
Wood It Is! Custom Cabinetry
Las Vegas, NV
www.wooditis.com