Should you forget to secure your wood furniture with coasters, then you’ll eventually have to manage the white rings left by cups, pots and glasses. The rings come from heat, and warm liquids make them form most quickly, but they appear more problematic than they actually are. They’re merely the result of a cloudy end — a state called blushing. Getting rid of rings does not take major operation, and you need to have the ability to find the materials to perform it in your refrigerator, utility room or medication cabinet — perhaps even at a wood stove or ashtray.
How Blushing Occurs
Furniture finishers who spray lacquer are familiarized with blushing, especially when they work on humid days. It occurs when moisture from the air mixes with the end and gets trapped while the finish hardens before it can evaporate. It is a problem not only when spraying lacquer, but in addition when brushing varnish. If the wood has not had enough time to dry, moisture leaches up from the wood into a masonry finish. White rings form because drinking pots or vessels trap moisture under them. Hot vessels create rings more quickly than cold ones, since heat partially emulsifies the end.
A Wood Finisher’s Secret
Furniture finishers who encounter blushing when spraying lacquer generally correct it by spraying either lacquer thinner or more lacquer. Because lacquer does not cure, new material re-emulsifies conclude that has already hardened and allows trapped moisture to escape. You can use a similar technique to get rid of white rings from your furniture, provided the end is one that has not cured. Simply mist enough lacquer thinner above the affected region to wet down the end, and the bands will disappear. You don’t have to rent spray equipment; an empty window-cleaning bottle having a push-button sprayer will do the job.
Rubbing with Mild Abrasives
Finishes that cure, such as alkyd and polyurethane varnish, wo not soften when you mist them with a solvent, but rubbing them with a mild synthetic usually removes white water bands. Toothpaste, baking powder and wood or cigarette ash are 3 substances that are usually effective, and they function on lacquer and shellac finishes too. Having a small rag wrapped around your finger, rub any of these substances into the end. It may take several minutes, but the rings should disappear. A disadvantage of this process is that it dulls the end, so you may have to rub down the whole surface to attain a uniform sheen.
Heat, Oil and Salt
The heat from a hair dryer may be enough to make the water causing white bands evaporate and the rings disappear, if they are just a couple of days old. Run the dryer on low heat to avoid damaging the finish. You may also have the ability to earn rings disappear by rubbing them with lemon oil, petroleum jelly or even mayonnaise. They all contain oils that leach into the finish and replace the water causing the ring. Make a powerful ring-removing paste by mixing lemon oil with white vinegar to add the cleaning power of a mild acid. Include table salt to turn the mixture into a synthetic paste.