How to Remove White Rings & Haze From Finishes and Furniture

Рет қаралды 669,269

7 жыл бұрын

Learn how to make those annoying white rings and water hazes disappear from your fine furniture.
Joshua explains that the white haze is actually moisture that is trapped in the finish. He demonstrates on an old board that has finish that has deteriorated.
The finish is soluble in ethanol, which can be determined with a cotton swab dipped in alcohol, which indicates that is likely shellac.
To repair the white ring, we have to re-saturate the finish with alcohol. This will allow the moisture to escape and repair the damaged finish.
The trick is to not over saturate the surface with alcohol. This is best achieved through alcohol vapor. Joshua demonstrates several ways to introduce alcohol vapor to the damaged area.
Joshua Klein is a furniture conservator/maker and is the founder of Mortise & Tenon Magazine.
For more from Josh, check out www.shopwoodworking.com/10-ess...

Пікірлер: 344

@teresabourbouli7647 2 жыл бұрын

I had an awful huge white water/heat stain on my beautiful dining table and was really desperate. I looked it up on youtube and found your video. Applied immediately two of your methods , the alcohol dampened pad first . it removed most of the stain but a white milky shadow persisted so I tried the alcohol dampened paper towel in a glass . It removed the rest of the stain. I have never commented to any video so far but I felt the need to thank you this time . The stain is completely gone. No damage to the table finish visible. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

@jameswilksey 5 ай бұрын

Ignore the clickbait videos and listen to workshop professionals like this guy. Love reading the comments too. Good luck to you.

@lindsaytaylor2967 3 жыл бұрын

I cannot believe this worked thank you handsome wood man you saved my life

@clairevoyantmagic 3 жыл бұрын

THANK YOU HANDSOME WOOD MAN!

@meaningfulquotes 3 жыл бұрын

What actually worked best for me was rubbing the inside of a cup with the hand sanitizer and placing it upside down on the table. No drips and the fume chamber worked even better than the paper towel!

@youbuymymuffin 2 жыл бұрын

you applied the hand sanitizer to the cuop? without the cloth?

@pas100watts Жыл бұрын

Followed your tip and gone are those spots. Amazing!

@ruthgunneson-poling1571 Жыл бұрын

@@youbuymymuffinyes. She smeared hand sanitizer on the inside of her cup. Using a finger most likely.

@ruthgunneson-poling1571 Жыл бұрын

You're a genius! Thanks for sharing!

@TC-yi3ue 4 ай бұрын

This WORKED PERFECTLY!! LIFESAVER!! THANK YOUUUUUU

@AuntNolee 7 ай бұрын

My mother passed away in July and I inherited her antique dining table (a beautiful, colonial dining table). I ate at this table as a child and I served her meals at this table for years in her later years. It has great sentimental value to me. A friend who was visiting from out of town sat a hot entree on the table and I didn't notice until after she'd left. I thought the finish was ruined. Your calm and thoughtful presentation was so reassuring. I used the vapor method and it worked! Thank you so, so much!

@robras8805 4 жыл бұрын

One more comment...Every other video on KZfaq uses irons or heat guns. Thank goodness I found this video. I had a white mark that was so big. I don't want to overstate how incredible this method is...but WOW. Brilliant.

@truckstopmedia 7 ай бұрын

Dude this video literally just saved my life. I thought I'd destroyed a friend's dresser with a hot cup of tea. A variation of your hand-sanitizer trick worked like a charm - it looks better than it did before I set my cup down now. Can't thank you enough!

@juliancoulden1753 4 жыл бұрын

Very helpful and so well presented. Articulate and sensitive to your subject! A pleasure to watch!

@wdavidson4761 2 жыл бұрын

I love your presentation and love of subject , and desire to help others. When you said “vapor chamber” I smiled as I slowly got it about solvent compatibility ! Your technique worked beautifully on several embedded white haze on a shellac finish. Thank you kind and noble sir !

@perrimcc 3 жыл бұрын

I tripped on puppy and put hot mug on sideboard thanks to you I was able to get rid of the white ring from mug and white from splashes in about 10mins with hand sanitiser, I’m delighted, thank you so much 😁👏

@elenaperales8847 4 жыл бұрын

In 2020... totally worth my hand sanitizer!!! My beautiful home office desk ruined by a steamed veggie bowl. Fixed in 5 minutes! Thank You Thank You Joshua!!!!!!!!

@megwatts1903 3 жыл бұрын

I had to steam a guitar neck off an acoustic for a neck reset. It was stubborn so I spent more time on the area than I would have liked. Result: finish blush. I tried a whole bunch of guitar repair channels to no avail and then stumbled upon yours. Method 2 worked like a charm. I've done some French polishing in the past so I had the "feel" for the tampon. Giggity. Thanks so much for the clear explanation and the technique. Cheers!

@tomwells3108 Жыл бұрын

I have to thank you for doing this video! I was visiting my dad and put a cup of coffee that I was drinking on top of a folded up paper towel on top of a desk. It was furniture that was my grandfathers. When I lifted up my cup and paper towel. There were two great big white rings on the top of the desk. The finish on the desk is actually flawless. Your video totally worked with the hand sanitizer!

@alexmcwalters4293 4 жыл бұрын

A big thanks for your help. We accidentally spilt hot green tea on our oak breakfast table this morning, leaving a large white bloom on the surface. Was considering using the hot iron and tea towel method but didn't like the idea of introducing a hot iron to the table surface. Just used the kitchen towel and hand sanitiser method. 4 x 1 minute placing of the kitchen towel and sanitiser, has removed all signs of the white bloom. Never commented on anything online before but we are so happy with the results, just had to say a big thank you. All the best. Alex... England.

@sandrajean8765 4 жыл бұрын

I'm so grateful to have found this post! The hand sanitizer on a paper towel trick absolutely worked to remove a large cloudy stain on my mahogany veneer table top. Thank you!!!!

@frankcarter8655 3 жыл бұрын

The process worked perfectly on the top of an antique dresser. It took six minutes, in one minute intervals. I am thrilled to have that white mark gone.

@jeremybokor6845 3 жыл бұрын

So glad I found this. The hand sanitizer method worked 100% to remove a light haze from my wood coffee table. Followed the instructions to the tee. Thanks for posting!

@finemc28 5 жыл бұрын

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Worked on a new water mark and on an old one. Using the timer is critical as you say. I did 4 minutes at a time and 1 to 4 times did the trick. I placed a glass upside down over the paper towel to help concentrate the alcohol.

@aaronaldrich7552 2 жыл бұрын

It’s the day after Thanksgiving, and I heated up a plate of leftovers. I sat down my table and enjoyed my meal only to find out that my hot plate left a white heat stain on my table! I just fixed my table with hand sanitizer and a paper towel! So thankful for this video!!

@lauraknollman-brown3514 2 жыл бұрын

I am astounded by how well this works. Rings on a pine dresser some probably more than 5 years old, gone in less than 30 minutes.... I am speechless. Thank you so so much.

@amandasaddler3973 2 жыл бұрын

I was sceptical that this would work but it works like magic - thank you so much for this simple fix! We have a beautiful antique dresser and over the years people have put damp bottles/glasses on it that have left white rings. Broke my heart! Tried hand sanitizer - didn't quite do the trick, so resorted to alcohol and it looks like new! Thank you!!

@davidchristensen2153 Жыл бұрын

The hand sanitizer method worked like magic! And your explanations are beautifully clear and sensible. Thank you very much!

@michaelmanning7954 2 жыл бұрын

Amazing that you took your mentors advice and enhanced it. That shows you know your craft as an expert!

@maggiew7293 7 ай бұрын

I tried all of your options without success. What was successful was lightly sanding the white spot in the grain of the wood with 0000 steel wool and then applying a product called Restore into an old kitchen towel over the area on the table in the same direction. I processed 4 iterations of the process and will wait for the table top to dry now. It looks about 90% better, but am guessing that I will need to give it another application.

@edyalderson597 5 ай бұрын

This totally worked! Thank you so much. My husband left a cup of boiling water on the coffee table playing with his steam engine and there was a huge white ring. In the end I needed to soak a swab in alcohol and sit it on top with a glass over, more extreme than you recommended. It was a pretty modern table, only made in the last 20years, not an antique, but this harsher method worked so well. Thank you!

@lawrencehincker8652 7 жыл бұрын

A veritable chemistry lesson. Very informative and useful. You have good delivery making the technique understandable.

@garybown9360 5 жыл бұрын

I damaged my dining room table with something wet and greasy no idea what leaked but it left a cloudy mark. I was about to throw the table away as it looked awful. Very sceptical after viewing this video ....but it worked! It took 2 hours of treatment and because I had left it months before there is a small residual mark but hardly noticeable. Thank you for this informative video

@Protboczkowski 6 жыл бұрын

Great video, you were the only one (or the first I found) who explained why stains happen. Thank you.

@larrieannmayfield4087 5 жыл бұрын

👍🏾Thank you so much I tried the hand sanitizer and followed your directions my table is back to its original finish.

@JoannatheSuperFox 5 жыл бұрын

Thank you! I had a nasty heat damage ring on my beautiful table! Just used the gel and paper towel trick and worked like a dream!

@envoyousent5782 5 жыл бұрын

Thanks, this really works and helped me out as i put a hot plate on my dads table and it left a really bad white stain. This method took out the stain and saved me getting earache from my dad for ruining his table.. thanks so much. 😁

@carolynn3615 5 жыл бұрын

Wow, I'm amazed! Wish I took a before and after! Thank you.. took a few times, but definitely worked! 100% unnoticeable 😊

@ianmceuen 5 жыл бұрын

You saved me from a potential major fight with my wife. Hand sanitizer worked like a charm!

@ros4395 3 жыл бұрын

It was hand sanitizer that did that to mine

@fludderkiddie Жыл бұрын

Oh my God… Thank you for this… My sons goldfish had to be relocated temporarily for the holiday season and he was placed upon one of my Hitchcock tables. His little filter got moved around and started spewing water all over the table so it was just covered in white (goldfish was fine) I literally just dumped some alcohol on a towel, white the white spots down with the alcohol with a plugged in hairdryer at the ready, and the moment the white disappeared (which was IMMEDIATELY) I rubbed it down with wood milk. Coming from the town in NW CT that is the home of the original Hitchcock chair furniture company-My family owns a ton of antique furniture, especially Hitchcock furniture. I can’t believe I am 41 years old and I am just learning this now but thank you. This was a lifesaver

@jamie01 5 жыл бұрын

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!! You have gotten me out of a very sticky situation and I am eternally grateful!!! ------- This method worked a treat!!!

@scotthesaltine516 4 жыл бұрын

Tried the alcohol with shop towel technique on my lacquered cherry bar top. A bottle of liquor had left several white hazy rings and spots in the bar top - very bad looking! I used hand sanitizer gel on shop towel for about 2 minutes- worked fantastic!! Thanks so much for the smart tip.

@scott-jc5nd 11 ай бұрын

You are such a great teacher! Well done!

@m.l.cheung9342 Жыл бұрын

I tried petroleum jelly last night and it did not work. I was thinking to try toothpaste but then I came across this video. I tried to fold the paper four times but it seemed too thick to let the hand sanitizer liquid reaching the wooden surface. Finally I folded the paper twice. 80% of the white ring was gone within 3 minutes and after 5 minutes was done. It is an informative video. Thanks!

@papey3 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you! The hand gel on a paper towel technique worked amazingly well on our oak table.

@josephromero1596 Жыл бұрын

Omg thank you- I’m cured when it comes to all clear/top coat finishes and no matter if it spray paint or brush on Polly I often get haze spots and have to sand it off and switch top coats or other drawn out fixes - I tried the alcohol on my most recent haze blunder and it worked!!!!😎

@kenhoward8406 3 жыл бұрын

I used a paper towel with alcohol stuffed up into a glass, and it worked perfectly. In fact, I would say it was miraculous. Fixed a spot in a beautiful antique table. There is no sign of the discoloration. Thank you so much!

@devenidarock 2 жыл бұрын

How long did you apply this method? Thanx!

@kenhoward8406 2 жыл бұрын

@@devenidarock It was a while ago, but I would say it took about 30 minutes.

@nextjin 3 жыл бұрын

The hand sanitizer trick is s absolutely genius. This dude should have his own KZfaq channel.

@StudioAlegiani 7 жыл бұрын

I had a lacquered finish to deal with and didn't have any retarder handy, nor any way to suspend lacquer in a gel. So I tried what he talked about at the beginning of the video. I fastened a lacquer thinner soaked paper towel to the bottom of a plastic cup. I placed the cup upside down on the surface, and it worked ! It was slow, requiring patience (took almost an hour). I had to remove the cup every so often to let the finish harden back up. It would get very slightly tacky after a while of having the cup on it and getting the exposure to the lacquer thinner vapors. Great trick! A huge thanks for sharing this.

@jesusbarbosa9 5 жыл бұрын

SFWoodWiz I’m having to fix a top for my client and the top has a lacquer finish as well so I was thinking of doing the same thing you did then I ran into your comment to realize that it would work. Thank you for commenting!

@christiexavier1872 2 жыл бұрын

Very useful advice very sensitive and very well presented. Congratulations. Such a pleasure to watch your presentation.

@ivanmurraylee3885 5 жыл бұрын

Worked like a charm on the vapor chamber...man I owe a big big thanks.real appreciated

@AB-gn8oh 5 жыл бұрын

What a great instructive video! Thank you very much from the UK.

@johnliu4569 4 жыл бұрын

Great video and great help. I used your gel method repaired many patches on my $3500 dining table. Thank you so much.

@jacksprat3100 4 жыл бұрын

Excellent, You give sound good advice, without trying to sell us something, thank you and greetings from NW England

@nwadtrah Жыл бұрын

Thank you! I used the hand sanitiser method to remove a large white spot from an antique sewing table today - it was like magic! 👏🏻

@maureenmathieson7404 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for this, what a simple and effective trick using the paper towel and hand sanitiser. It worked fantastically well and my oak furniture land tables look brand new.

@jbensson Жыл бұрын

Just used the papper towel method on my wife's vintage table, she inherited from her grandmother, that I almost destroyed working on clothing (ironing) and it worked like a charm. Thanks you

@trackie1957 2 жыл бұрын

The sanitizer works great! If you have several spots, you can just move the paper towel to the next one every minute or so. Gets a big job done quickly!

@TerrySullivan773 Жыл бұрын

This worked like a charm on my wood floors! I had to do it a couple three times in some cases and watch the time for each application!

@GrowingWithSelene 3 жыл бұрын

Toddler got permanent marker on my desk, so I removed it with hairspray like I normally do. Well this time it left a cloudy haze. Use the hand sanitizer on a paper towel and worked like magic! Takes some time, but glad it worked!! Thank you!

@leahnix2105 4 жыл бұрын

Just tried the hand sanitizer on a paper towel on my table top and worked like a charm! Thank you very much :-)

@milhouse14 3 жыл бұрын

Worked for the white spots in my wooden floor. Thank you so much.

@pumehanawebb3262 2 жыл бұрын

So very helpful! Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I appreciate it. It worked effortlessly. We used your hand sanitizer and paper towel method. You are a lifesaver I mean wood saver!

@marilember 10 ай бұрын

You're a life saver! Didn't realise it was so easy to remove this nasty water stain that i was looking at for months! ❤

@StaticBlaster 9 ай бұрын

what method did you use? if i may ask.

@jazzy2k1293 5 жыл бұрын

I'm trying to pay attention about the stain removal process however I'm all into how cute this guy is!! My mom is gonna kick my ass for this stain on this coffee table lol help!!

@lumpcrabbarnacle3382 3 жыл бұрын

Lol

@nancylarkin2251 2 жыл бұрын

I used the first method with the hand sanitizer and it worked great!!! Thanks for the good advice.

@wnorful 11 ай бұрын

Accidentally left paper plates on top of place mats overnight (after having lobster) which bled through and white spotted my wooden table. The technique with the hand sanitizer worked wonderfully. Thank you!

@VintageSeniorService Жыл бұрын

Thank you! This technique worked beautifully on an antique headboard.

@lumay333 5 жыл бұрын

Thank you for the great video, I have a question. I am trying to clean oil stains from a matte veneer finish dining table, do you have any tips on that?

@beenaseymourdsouza1773 5 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much. I wanted to removed those coffee mug stains from my side tables and your method worked brilliantly. Thanks and God bless you for sharing your knowledge.

@kristelsantos515 Жыл бұрын

Wow, got an awesome table at a thrift shop. Tried this method with hand sanitizer. At first it looks like it got worse and then it got better! I'm so happy with my $10 table even more now. Ty for the tip!

@usnfc 11 күн бұрын

THANK YOU for sharing your knowledge. I have yet to try this, but will at some point this week, time and memory permitting.

@royksk 3 жыл бұрын

Excellent video and techniques new to me. I remember in the old days, cigarette ash was recommended for removing ring marks etc. These ideas seem far better. I wonder if a drop of my vodka would work or should it be the 60% min. alcohol sanitiser? An easy way to prevent an alcohol dampened rag dropping down in the plastic tub could be to push a bamboo skewer (or similar) through the tub sides to trap the rag, with another at right angles if necessary.

@ginetteminor7724 3 жыл бұрын

OMG....you are such a life saver!!! It totally worked on my chairs that had steam damage from removing a back panel held in with glue. Thank-you!

@milkhousecustomwoodworks4368 7 жыл бұрын

Well spoken and informative. Thanks

@jeffyoung5923 Жыл бұрын

Just did this and really worked. Dang. We put a cup over the hand sanitizer rag to concentrate the fumes a little more. Such a great method. Thanks so much.

@bakadollie9217 7 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for this video! I just got a vintage table from a friend and put a potted plant on it. I guess the bottom part was still wet and when I removed the plant the table had a white circle on it. I honestly thought I ruined it permanently but thank youtube and this channel for stating otherwise 🙏

@scottwh8086 7 ай бұрын

We had a massive water bloom on a family heirloom table from a flood. No other options we did the hand sanitizer method. To my absolute disbelief it worked better than I thought it would.

@marshke 3 жыл бұрын

Sanitizing gel on a paper towel worked like magic on my dining table white water rings. Thanks a million!

@animallove203 Жыл бұрын

The hand sanitiser on paper towel worked out amazingly! Thanks for the great advice.

@foxxyladie5 4 ай бұрын

I can’t express how much this video blessed me!! Using the sanitizer was like magic

@garyharriss5322 5 жыл бұрын

Best video on the subject I have seen

@stefaniea4930 7 ай бұрын

Thank you so much, my husband put a hot container on our new table living a a white stain, I almost died but with your help I was able to fix it!! Thank you, thank you!!

@riclrk9947 5 жыл бұрын

Ime a French polisher and I didn't know about the gel hand cleaner trick,thanks gives me another option.I normally try a warm iron with a tea towel or a small amount of meths on the affected area then set light to it,you then extinguish after about a second or two so as to sweat out the moisture....you also get this problem of chilling when spraying in high humidity which I get over by using pullover rubber

@terrywilliams759 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you very much for your tip it really helped with our table it really works with the alcohol on the paper towel

@haroldnussenfeld936 2 жыл бұрын

Impressive. Great lesson. Well-delivered.

@Swamie55 5 жыл бұрын

Very good video on this subject. I like the the suspended cup idea ! I think Ill try that method with lacquer and see what happens,,

@Ah_Bo 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I just followed you hand sanitizer instructions and saved our large dinning table just in time for Christmas.

@Habs8691 5 жыл бұрын

This method works beautifully. He's right, make sure you stay on top of how long the rag stays on. Leave a minute, check, then 30 second intervals.

@janvonruden3404 2 жыл бұрын

I used a hot glue gun to secure a paper towel to the bottom of the plastic container. I added alcohol and blotted it with another paper towel so it would not drip. I put the container over the stain and set it over the surface. It worked great!

@talistuart6049 3 ай бұрын

April 2024. Thank you!!! I had 6 patches on a table at work, so this saved me so much. Wish I'd taken a before and after pic.

@danieldykes1743 3 ай бұрын

That is so cool! Worked like a charm for my table.

@ashleysetser1226 5 жыл бұрын

Hand sanitizer worked when no other method did!!! Thank you!

@claudiabarboza2675 3 жыл бұрын

WOW so helpful, I just did it with the hand sanitizer, amazing!!! thank you, I was so upset because my favorite table was damaged

@russk8091 4 жыл бұрын

I've got a classical guitar with a poly finish. The finish on the back has quite a bit of clouding. Do you know of anything that will take out the haze?

@lgfrie 3 жыл бұрын

Just wanted to say thanks for this completely awesome video. My wife was about to kill me - I let our ice tea maker do its thing on our countertop and didn't close it properly; it spewed a quarter of boiling water down the side of our cherry cabinet underneath. Big white stain 24" long and about 1" wide. Tried four or five other things from Mayo to various restoration products, which did basically nothing. A bottle of Purell and two hand towels, and literally five minutes later the problem was gone.

@robras8805 4 жыл бұрын

I just can't believe this worked! It's like a miracle. I am shocked. Just saved my dining room table from a sauce pan size white haze mark my goofy nephew made. THANK YOU

@AnyHouseCleaning 2 жыл бұрын

Super professional. Well done video. Thank you

@Hargiwald 4 жыл бұрын

How do you feel about different heat based methods, like using a heat gun/hair drier or the common tip of ironing a piece of cloth at low tempereture on top of the water stains?

@sazennonumber Жыл бұрын

Yes, I like the ironing method, because it can be applied to vertical surfaces easier.

@teresitaedwards9093 4 жыл бұрын

You take a while to get to the point, But it worked!!! I ultimately had to put the hand sanitizer on the table and time about 1 min. but it worked!!!! Thank you so much!!

@AlfredoCosta77 2 жыл бұрын

This totally worked for me!! Thank you very much

@lucyaron6761 4 жыл бұрын

That’s brilliant! Thanks so much. The white mark has gone!

@HappyQuailsLC 2 жыл бұрын

You might consider the use of slight, slow and long duration warming of the object, when it can be fully warmed, to enable the surface of the Shellac to expand and be slightly more porous and prone to evaporation of moisture.

@mattyb9137 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for Sharing the Video - great information...What would you recommend for a 1960's Teak Office desk to keep the Wood desktop maintained ie the ones with a Leather green inlay ... where my hands are constantly touching ect..Would a Teak Denmark oil be best or a to apply a Varnish.