So one of them plug-in air fresheners was left on the table for a couple of days and the liquid leaked out and ate away the finish on our new dinner table.

Any suggestions on which stain and table finish to use? I'm thinking a grey or slate colored stain, if such a thing exists.



Tony.

Don't know if it would help but Home Depot has or used to have/sell 'stain' pens. You might find one that matches your color. They were in the paint Dept. I have used them and they were OK for what I needed them for.

quote:

Any suggestions on which stain and table finish to use?

A nice doily?

Getting the right colors might be a challenge.
I would say a gray, brown and black stain.
Oil or water based? hard to say but I would probably use oil.
Use paint bush to lightly layer a gray base coat then overlay with brown and black steaks.
Use a fine artist paint brush.

Good Luck.

That almost looks like an all in one stain/finish like Minwax Polyshades was used originally. I would use a scraper around the area to remove more of the finish and then apply the finish after testing on another piece of white oak.

My daughter put a towel on the dining room table for protection when she was removing her nail polish once. Of course, the acetone soaked through the towel and removed some of the finish just like your photo.

Set the table right and a plate covers it nicely. Someday, when our kids are gone, I’ll remove the rest of the finish and refinish the top. On a side note, I can’t wait for my kids to get their own houses so I can jump up and knock the ceiling fan, put finger prints on the ceiling, run through house touching every wall with my Cheeto hands, set up goals with the chairs and practice my penalty shots, etc.

+1 on the stain pencils. They are at home Depot/Lowe's they come in probably 20 shades. I used them on the cabinets where they had rubbed spots. When I was done it blended very well

Thanks all. I think this is about as good as I can get it. I tried a few different stains and settled on a mix of Navy gray and dark walnut. We'll see how it looks after I add some finish to it.


Tony.

This may be too late but I’d test some combinations on the underside to see what’s closest. You can use some spray toner to even it out.

Looks good.

The funny thing is that spot will always stand out to your eyes, but no one will ever notice it.
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