Remove white rings, Blonde bedroom set, Dip stripping, Drilling glass bottles, Veneer

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Remove white rings, Blonde bedroom set, Dip stripping, Drilling glass bottles, Veneer

White rings

White rings and other shaped white spots from heat and moisture on table tops are common subjects of email requests for information.

Since it's pretty disturbing to have a white stain, whether on a new table or an old one and since we have new subscribers that sign up between newsletters we'll cover the information periodically. We don't need to cover the spot, because it's pretty easy to remove most of them. I've tried the White Ring Remover on several types of finishes and it's worked every time.

Several readers may recognize the following reply as one you got. When I can I copy and paste replies in email with the same type of question so I can answer as many as I can.

email question . . . . . I set a box of hot pizza on our cherry coffee table. The table now has a approx 6 x 4 area that is whitish in color. As I run my hand over the wood, it does not appear rough or damaged in any way. Only the discoloration mars its original finish. What do I do? Reply . . . . . There is a product called White Ring Remover that works real good. It's on our catalog page Refinishing Supplies

There's a before and after picture of how it worked on our dining room table at White spots, before and after I'm going to write a page about using the White Ring Remover, but I'll give you a sneak preview of the pictures.

I just used a soft cloth and rubbed the white area under the L shaped stain and it came right out.

Our table is about a hundred years old and it's gone through a daughter, two sons and is in the process of accommodating a granddaughter. It's used for dining, visiting, crafts and many other things. I refinished it about 30 years ago and it seems that as the finish gets older it accepts the white heat stains more easily.

The white is caused by moisture in the top infinitesimal layer of the finish.

An Extra note that wasn't in the reply: You might be able to remove the white stain with a hair dryer.

Set the heat on the hair dryer to the lowest heat and while holding your hand on the table close to the white spot to be sure that you don't heat the finish too much lightly heat the white spots. There is the possibility that the heat may dry the moisture in the surface top and remove the white.

If you heat the finish too much it may bubble or roughen it or soften it.

Blonde bedroom set

email question . . . . . I want to refinish a blonde bedrrrom set. It's such well made furniture, but it's dirty and scuffed. What I want to know can blonde and/or gray as some people call it be refinished? I can buy the furniture real cheap but it just looks bad.Can it be redone or should I just let it go. I'm not a pro but I have done a few things, but nothing like this. Thanks and I hope you reply before someone else buys it.

Reply . . . . . The first thing you should do is give it a good cleaning to see what you have finish wise. There's a good furniture cleaner on our catalog web page clean and wax either the Prelude Furniture Cleaner or the Orange Oil will do a good job of cleaning.

If the old finish is good under the dirt and stuff and you just want a color change, you might be able to change the color a little through the finish with Restor-a-Finish.

If the old finish is beyond help you can refinish it. You can find lots of information on our web site, over 200 pages total. Use the site search feature above the navigation bar on the left side of each page to look for different subjects.

Stripping supplies are available on our catalog page stripping supplies.
Stains at stains and colors and
Clear finishes on our catalog page clear finishes

Dip stripping

email question . . . . . I have talked to alot of people that have had furniture refinished and all of them tell me the same thing. They put it in a large vat and let it soak to get the old finish off

The problem that I am having is I can't find anyone that is willing to give me any information on the process. Can you help me! Richard

I am in the cabinet buisness. I have been asked so many times lately "do you refinish cabinets". I usely tell them "NO". The way that I have been refinishing cabinets reguires a lot of sanding and it is very dusty and messy to try and do it in the house, and the laquer finish that I use is to dangerous to use in the coustomers house. Can you suggest a easy and safe way to refinish kitchen cabinets. Thank you. Reply . . . . . I combined your two questions for one email reply.

First, the dip stripping. Dipping is one of the worst things you could do to a piece of furniture. It's just about equivalent to setting a piece of furniture outside and leaving in sun, rain, wind, snow and anything else that comes along for about three years.

Dipping works on the glue in joints as well as the old finish and it will make the soft wood in the grain fuzz up in most cases.

If you dip an antique it would lose a lot of what makes it an antique, would probably no longer be considered an antique and would lose considerable value.

There used to be an old gentleman in our town that dipped furniture and he'd come into our business periodically and wave his fists and threaten me with dire things if I didn't stop telling people the effects of dipping furniture. I figured I could outrun him so I still put out the word to this day.

Consequently I'm not too familiar with dipping suppliers.

There's nothing like the slow methodical hands on method of refinishing.

As to refinishing kitchen cabinets. Unless someone wants a lighter color, which would require sanding below the darker color, sanding wouldn't be necessary. If there are snags or chips on edges a little touch up sanding would take care of it, but not cause mess.

There are environmentally safe strippers, which are people friendly too. The Citristrip stripper smells like oranges and although it doesn't have caustic ingredients that the older strippers have you should use good ventilation when you work with it or any chemicals. Cleanup with the wash and then rubbing with 0000 steel wool after the cabinets are all dry will leave it ready for the new stain and finish.

Lacquer is my finish of choice and mainly what I use on furniture, but it's pretty strong smelling for use in a house where you can't get real positive ventilation.

Acrylic or polyurethane works well on kitchen cupboards. Some of them can even be applied with a cloth or sponge. Although they have odors they're not as strong as lacquer.

An alternative to the lightening of kitchen cabinets would be refacing. Refacing would be faster, far less messy and would give a chance for a change of wood type and just about any color range. Pressure sensitive veneer is easy to use and doesn't take as much time as sanding a darker color off.

Take a look at our page Kitchen cabinet refacing for more information about cabinet refacing.

Drilling glass bottles

email question . . . . . Thanks for your great advice on cutting glass..it has helped me fix my bad habits...and breaking glass everywhere but where I wanted it to.

Now a qustion. Is here a way to cut a hole (any opening actually) in the bottom of a glass jar in order to run an electric cord out of? Hve seen Christmas lights displayed in various size jars butjust don't like the idea of the cord coming out of the top. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks in advance.

Reply . . . . . Drilling in glass can be very tricky and difficult. There are lamp making kits available, but I've checked all my suppliers and none of them have the kits.

Some bottles and jars are made of plastic and are hard to tell from glass products. The plastic is generally harder than every day plastic, but much softer than glass and easier to drill. If you don't know if the jar is glass or plastic take something that you know is glass for sure and run your hand over it gently, then over the unknown piece. Glass and plastic have a different feel. Another test is to tap each gently with a metal object like the rounded part of a spoon. The glass will have more of a tink sound.

If you can't tell which it is for sure, assume that it's glass and have a pleasant surprise if it drills easy.

Always wear eye protection whether it's glass or plastic, because the jar can shatter unexpectedly. Be aware of the possibility of shattering if the container is an important piece to you.

Clamp the container in some manner so that it's totally secure, because you'll probably need both hands to hold the drill secure.

The drilling will cause a terrific amount of heat, so should be lubricated with oil or water. A stream of water is best. An easy way to make a stream is to take a gallon plastic jug and some plastic tubing. Drill a hole in the lid of the jug just a little smaller than the outside diameter of the tubing and push the tubing through the hole a couple of inches. Be sure that it's real snug, because the tubing is only held in by friction and faith. Lay the jug on something a little higher than your work and poke a hole in the portion of the plastic jug that's sticking up to let air in. I'd suggest testing over a sink to be sure the tubing is secure. If you need to refill the jug you can hold your finger over the hole while you move the jug from one place to another. Don't make the air hole too big, because you just want a small stream of water.

A word of caution, do not and I repeat, do not drill in a sink with a stream of water from a faucet if you have a drill plugged into electricity. No matter what precautions you might take under those circumstances you could be electrocuted.

A diamond bit would work the best. They aren't easy to come by, so the next best is carbide drills and rasps. Use a full measure of patience and a moderate amount of pressure. The more pressure you use the more heat will be built up and there would be more chance of the container shattering.

Be sure to use eye protection.

Veneer compartments

question . . . . . Can i ask a question here regarding veneer? or could you send me where best to answer this. I want to put veneer in to a old silverware chest. I found one , clean it up, strip it and french polished. the inside had the traditional silvercloth, which i removed. ( some tiny thin patches re main) I wanted to line all three draws w/ veneer -bottems and sides. can the preglued veneer sheets work here? what tools do i need for such a project. thanks david

Reply . . . . . Yes, the pre-glued veneer would work well for your project. All you would need is the veneer, paper, scissors, veneer roller, and a small block of wood and a hammer.

Use the paper to make templates. Cut pieces of paper just a little larger than the compartments, put the paper piece in the compartment and while you hold it in the middle, crease at the edges with a fingernail or maybe a kitchen knife (not a sharp one, you don't want to cut it until you're sure it fits snugly). After the paper is creased cut along the creases with the scissors.

Check the template for fit then mark the outline on the veneer. Cut the veneer with the scissors, peel the paper backing off and insert it in the compartment.

Use the veneer roller, available at the above link to roll the veneer tightly onto the sides of the compartment and the middle of the bottom.

Set the block of wood on the veneer at each corner and tap the block with the hammer to secure the veneer.

Gently sand the exposed edges at the tops of the sides.

You can use this same method for the inside of jewelry boxes, silverware drawers or any other compartments in things.

From Refinish Furniture Newsletter July 5 2003