Hi, i have just recently noticed someone has spilt something or had something on their hands and has dissolved the finish on my oak wardrobes. There is a thumb print left in it and you can slightly feel this when you run your finger along it. The wardrobe is from the rustic oak range from oak furnitureland. Specifically this one, http://www.oakfurnitureland.co.uk/furniture/original-rustic-solid-oak-triple-wardrobe/1160.html I was hoping i could smooth down the finish with some #0000 steel wool and maybe spray some lacquer on it to blend it in and thought this was the way forward. I went to my local timber yard for advice and showed a photo to a guy that works their just to be sure i was making the right decision. I figured someone ele's input would be valuable. Unfortunately i got the impression he didnt know much and he tried to sell me Osmo top oil. This has made me now doubt my first thought's on fixing this and im not entirely sure what the best approach is and rather than jump right in and possibly make it worse i was hoping someone more knowledgable would be able to point me in the right direction please.
I would not spray it with anything, a wax would give a much more controlled finish, have you tried talking to the supplier. I think they try and sell a wax or oil based finish when they sell the furniture, that might be the best place to start. http://www.oakfurnitureland.co.uk/furniture/light-furniture-wax-polish/1728.html
Hi, many thanks for your suggestion you may have saved me from making more of a mess. I dont have a clue what the finish is to be honest but I was guessing it was a wax to stain the wood with a lacquer finish over the top? The top coat seems to be very hard and shiny. Edit: Just spoke to Oak furniture land on the phone and the lady confirmed it had a lacquer coating on top. She alternated between saying varnish & lacquer which wasnt very helpful as they are two different thing's. She advised me not to attempt to repair myself and to call out their home care team. The thing is, they are probably going to charge me a small fortune and it's not like it's on a big area. I feel this is an easy repair that i could do myself. I just want to be confident i choose the right method before starting.
I reckon it's fairly obvious , something's been spilt on it and it looks like whoever did it has tried to rub it away. Nice fingerprint there. Best get CSI on the case and find the culprit. Seriously, I think you may well get away with lightly sanding the affected bit , back down to bare wood and spraying with a can of lacquer, or even brushing some on with a smallish paint brush (couple of thin coats to build it up) .
I know it's a lovely fingerprint they left behind I wish people would own up and tell me straight away. As is usually the case they keep quiet and when i discover the problem the part to fix it is now missing or something along those line. Complete nightmare in my house at times. I can only find Varnish in sprayable cans so will buy some of that to try out. As silly as it sounds im too much of a perfectionist to paint on. I'm one of these people that wont leave it alone and in my quest for perfection i will have to retouch it and usually make more of a mess than someone who just slaps it one and hopes for the best. As long as im on the right tracks is all i was worried about. I will pop back out for supplies and give it a go. Thank's again for the advice.
'As silly as it sounds im too much of a perfectionist to paint on'. Think you should get a free quote from the Home Care Team!
Agree with Astra... The link you gave us to that unit, Nicola, says "gently stained wax to create a rich, mature glow..." which directly contradicts their phoned comment that it's a lacquer. (By the way, yes lacquer and varnish are technically different, but are often used interchangeably...) But, lacquer/varnishes can be water or 'oil' or cellulose or 'nitrile' (or whatever the hell they use on Fenders...) or - you get the idea. What looks pretty clear from your photo is that the coating - whatever it is - has a built-in stain, because the exposed oak underneath looks to me to be obviously lighter. If that is the case, then you need to use a product which will not only not react with what's already there, but will also contain the right amount of 'stain' for it to match. You ain't gonna get that with a can of spray lacquer... Also, if that finish is wax as said in the advert, then any applied lacquer will very likely react with it, and almost certainly not stick to it; wax repels most things. By getting their 'home care team' to fix this, you will have a guarantee for the quality of repair. Let's face it, them units weren't cheap - surely it's worth a wee bitty more? Oh, and I'd look for a family member who was removing nail varnish using solvent. You gotta daughter? Or a hubby with secrets...
That mark looks very much like something has spilled from inside the unit. What is kept in there normally ? Could very well be cleaner or even aftershave. It should be obvious from inside to see where it has come from. Anyways, strike me if I'm wrong, but gently scrape the darker outer area mark, very light fine wire wool(not a lot on the clearest/barest wood), and a few coats of clear Varnish(until colour/depth of tint reached). (If you put water with any dust you make from scraping/rubbing, water based dust may change the colour of the water. If it doesn't, may well be oil based). Choose whichever you think. By putting clear varnish, you shouldn't create anything that isn't re workable if needed. Mr. HandyAndy - Really
Are you fuc-GIN suggesting the op likes VODK-her drink, that's a RUM thing the think and may make her WINE at you.
Thanks for all the advice so far guys. Really appreciated. So far I rubbed it back with a fine steel wool which made a huge improvement on its own. I could see early on the clear varnish wasnt going to cut it so went out and purchased some ronseal wood stain in a light oak colour. Im on my second coat and think I may just about pull it off. I dont think it will ever be perfect but as long as it's not noticeable without looking for it I'll be happy.
Blimey, you are brave . Well done - chances are no-one will notice it without it being pointed out. You will be more critical since you know it's there...
I'm trying my hardest to wait for the specified time between coats. Really hard for me to resist They say 3 coats on the tin but im guessing it's going to take 4 or 5, maybe even a darker stain would have been better but it was the closest i could find. I figured the worst i could do was sand it back to how it was when i started and get someone in to do it professionally. It's not that im tight honest I'll post a pic once im happy with it
Well im near enough finished. I wouldnt say it's the best job in the world but it doesnt stick out when you walk in the room. I'm hoping in time i will completely forget about it. I had to strip back off the wood stain as it left a gloss finish when the light hit it from a certain angle (Was meant to be a satin finish) so went with a wood dye in the end and then coated it with a varnish. I just need to sand back the varnish a little and rub some wax in and it's done. It's not perfect, i wasnt expecting to get it perfect without hiring in a professional but it's done now. Just like to thank everyone for their input. I wouldnt have had the confidence to just go with it on my own. Edit: Colours on pictures may look a little different as the first ones were taken in daylight and these are under artificial lighting.
Looks good Nicola. I don't think you'd have ever got a perfect match, but as timber is a natural product, the colours would have varied on the wardrobe anyway. Well done
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