Some type of liquid refillable air freshener spilled on my dining room buffet(approx 15 yrs old) top and made a gooey mess of the finish. I’m not sure what the liquid was, some sort of essential oil/alcohol mix? Either way, it took off what whatever finish was on the top which was a pretty high gloss. See pics. It doesn’t look like it really damaged the stain/color of wood because if I wet my finger a little an wipe it on the section where the wood is exposed, it seems to match the original color.
I just want to take care of the top because the rest looks good. I’m not looking for perfection because we usually keep a runner over the top.
What would you suggest I try to remove/strip the rest of the gloss coat on the top and what should I refinish it with? Do you think I will need a new sealer/stain?
I don’t have that much experience with this stuff so please dumb the process down for me. As I said I’m not looking for perfection and understand I probably won’t get the high gloss look back
but I do need to do something. Thanks in advance!
Replies
I'm guessing it was a shellac finish, and the air freshener had alcohol in it. You can test by rubbing some denatured alcohol next to the damaged area. If the finish melts, its shellac.
Once you know what the finish is, you can proceed from there.
You'll need a dozen more air fresheners for your project to look and smell the same across the entire surface.
Kidding, but check to see what is in them that dissolved your finish. Once you know, test a bit to get to the point of stripping the top. I see no reason not to get back to gloss if that's the result you want.
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