My niece spilled nail polish remover on my dining room table last night. We cleaned it up instantly, but it still ate through the stain/finish. It's an oak table. Any suggestions on how to get that area to look better? We, of course, love our dining room table. Thank you!
i would put a tablecloth over it while i worked up to having it refinished.
sorry, hon. that sucks.
khairete
S.
The only thing you can do is have it refinished.
Sorry, it sounds like it needs to be refinished.
My sister did this to an end table my Mom had.
Eventually Mom had the whole table refinished - nothing we tried made it look any better.
My instinct says refinish it.
I hope neice learned a lesson here... Why on earth did she have nail polish remover at your table?
What company made the table? Where did you purchase the table? Maybe they will help you out with the process.
We bought our breakfast and dining tables from Amish Furniture Company and each along with chairs were custom made. It was very pricey but top notch quality. Along with the pricy factor.,.. A warranty for refinishing. If anything happens or if we move and need to change the finish, for $150 they come get the table, send it back to the crafter who made it, get it refinished and then deliver it back to us.
Best wishes to you.
ETA: How old is your niece? If she is old enough to know better, maybe she needs to help with the expense of refinishing.
Ohhh, this happened to our family dining room table, the one we use every day, and I don't like table clothes or placemats....so was hoping for answer too. This table holds so many memories for me, but I also don't want to invest in having it refinished. Currently, we just live with the finish gone on that spot.
My entire house is filled with solid oak furniture that I've had for 20+ years and a lot is from my grandparents who had it even longer. It's my favorite. However, I'm PSYCHO when people come over. We had a huge party once and someone left a red solo cup on my antique desk without a coaster and I didn't catch it and it left a huge ring on it. Grrrrr
I have a dining room table in our front dining room that was made in Ohio by the Amish, LOVE it! But I keep a tablecloth that is lined in plastic so nothing gets through it. And even then I watch people like a hawk. lol
That being said, I'm sorry that happened to your table. I don't believe there is anything that can be done other than refinish it. Unless you know specifically know what you are doing, I probably wouldn't try anything you find online, it may make it worse. Good luck.
If you google "nail polish remover on wood furniture" or "acetone on wood", you get quite a few sites. Many say it's a disaster, but others say it matters whether there is veneer, lacquer, etc. on the wood, and also whether you let it sit too long. Since you cleaned it up immediately, maybe there is hope. Try this for a starter http://homeguides.sfgate.com/repair-acetone-damaged-wood-...
I've also seen scratch repair using a natural nut, such as a walnut - something about the natural oils from the nut getting into the wood of the furniture. It's probably not enough by itself, but if you can do some prep work and get close to the natural finish, maybe that's an extra finishing touch you can consider.
PS I notice you said you love your table, but didn't say you love your niece too much!!! ;-)
All I can say is I'm sorry :( and with a 9 yo who is always doing her nails it's just a matter of time in our house. Just responding so I can easily access your excellent question at a later date when I know I'll need the answer myself.....
I cant' remember the name of the product, but someone once used a magic eraser on my dining room table (trying to remove sharpie) and it took the finish off. Just made it dull. Probably not near as bad as nail polish remover, but we were told to use an oil based product (may just have been furniture oil..) and to try a small part to test. It just brought back the shine that it was not so noticeable.
I wonder if you Google that, it will give you some ideas. I've used mayo to get white water stains (from glasses) out of wood before. I have no idea what's it in to help (the oil?) but that's what I would try before refinishing.
But Google first, because I can't quite remember what kind of oil it was. You wouldn't want to make the spot more noticeable.
Good luck :)
Might be time to look at some pretty tablecloths and/or table runners and place mats!
There are some 'scratch' products available at places like lowes (crayon type things and some creams)...but the only true 'fix' is refinishing I think.
:(
This happened to my mother's table when my sister spilled polish remover. It was too large of a spot to touch up so the whole tabletop had to be sanded and refinished.
Put a tablecloth on the table that looks good. Every once and a while vacuum it so it stays moderately clean. That is what we did. What is it with girls and spilling nail polish? I have my girls do it outside. Just for next time!
Doesn't sound optimistic. You probably would have to refinish, but if the difference between that area and the rest of the table isn't tooooo drastic, perhaps the recommendations here would help:
http://www.ehow.com/how_12005036_fix-nailpolish-remover-w...
http://www.bobvila.com/posts/5702-help-i-spilled-nail-pol...
Good luck!
Strip the entire tabletop and refinish it. That really sucks! :(
