curran@euclid.DEC (Karen M Curran) (02/11/85)
I made a mistake and would be very grateful if someone could help me out. I bought a used table made of solid oak. There were some blemishes on it that I thought could be sanded out. Well I was wrong. They are not just surface blemishes. Big black stains, that I believe are water marks. Anyway I can't seem to get them out. I tried steel wool and a wire brush using regular clorox and it helped alittle, but I still have a long way to go. I know that I could stain with a dark color and the spots would not be as visible, however that's not the solution I looking for. Should I keep at it with the clorox ? Is there some way to get the clorox to work better ?? Or is there some way to cover it so that I can still keep a light color ?? Or do I just live with it and call it character ?? thanks for any help Karen Curran EUCLID::CURRAN
mikemo@tekig1.UUCP (Mike Moser) (02/12/85)
> I bought a used table made of solid oak. There were some > blemishes on it that I thought could be sanded out. Well > I was wrong. They are not just surface blemishes. > Big black stains, that I believe are water marks. Anyway I can't > seem to get them out. I tried steel wool and a wire > brush using regular clorox and it helped alittle, > but I still have a long way to go. There is a chemical called oxalic acid that is used to remove certain stains from wood. Oxalic acid is very dangerous and in some states is only available to professional painters and woodworkers. Here in Oregon I can get it at my paint store. It is a powder you mix with warm water, apply and wait, and then neutralize it with baking soda. I have used it on water spots with good results and on other spots with poor results. As with any unknown chemical you should try it on a scrap piece first. I repeat, it is strong stuff so use rubber gloves and read the directions carefully.
curran@euclid.DEC (Karen M Curran) (02/19/85)
I want to thank those of you who responded with ideas, about how to take the water spot out of my table. I also thought I'd let you know how I made out. I used powdered oxalic acid mixed with water. It worked like a charm, very little effort and the stains are gone. It does lighten the wood noticebly, so I couldn't bleach just the spots I had to do the whole table. Then I stained back to the color I wanted. Thanks again Karen Curran EUCLID::CURRAN