Getting Rid of Milky Stains

Ellis Walentine & Michael Dresdner

Q. Recently I held a potluck party at my home. To make a long story short, someone placed a warm dish on a towel on my dining table. Upon removing the dish and towel, I discovered a milky looking outline of the dish bottom. Is there a way to remove this? Or do I have to refinish the top?

A. Ellis Walentine: "Try wetting a cloth in ethanol or denatured alcohol, wringing it out, and sweeping it quickly and lightly over the spot. If that doesn't do the trick, you may need to resort to something more drastic, up to and including refinishing. It all depends on the type of finish that is on the piece. Michael Dresdner, who is away this month, can give you further instructions. You can visit his website at michaeldresdner.com and contact him directly for advice."

A. Michael Dresdner: "Congratulations. You have blush. It's easy to remove. Take a clean cloth and dampen it with denatured alcohol. Gently wipe the blushed area until the white comes out. You may have to restore the sheen afterwards by rubbing lightly to gloss or satin (whatever was original) or by re-waxing the table if it was originally waxed. The critical issue is to make sure the alcohol cloth is damp, but not wet, since too much alcohol can etch or damage the finish. What is damp? About as wet as a healthy dog's nose."

This article originally appeared in the Woodworker's Journal eZine.
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