Question:
I spilled some nail polish remover on my kitchen table and it turned white and my table is a dark dark brown. Is there anything I can do to restore it without stripping the stain?
By Jojo from Bouctouche, NB
Solutions:
Using a Clothes Iron
I just figure out the easiest most affective way to do it (and believe me, I tried it all).
- Warm up your iron on max (no steam just the dry iron).
- Put a clean, white wash cloth on top of the stain.
- After the iron is hot, work circular motion moves with the iron on top of the stain for about 1 min.
- Remove the wash cloth to check your progress.
- Keep doing that over and over until the stain is gone.
Here is an explanation of why it works: the heat of the iron dilates the wood grain, and also evaporates the nail polish which is very volatile.
Don't let the iron sit on top of the wood for too long, it will damage the wood grain and burn your table.
I hope it works on tables with different finishings. I know it worked on mine.
Hope that helps lots of people staining my table with wood polish was so frustrating!
By Fernanda
Hot Iron Worked
Using the suggestion with the dry iron worked great for me. I spilled some candle wax on a laminated chocolate brown table and tried some nail polish remover to get ride of it. What a mistake! The stain was still there plus, now, a god awful white stain.
Following the above suggestion, I used a dry iron over a clean cloth and and the white stain (and the wax!) disappeared.
Note: I first used a facecloth with a line-texture in it and it imprinted the texture on my table. I then switched to a clean plain tea towel and everything was fine!
By xtineh
Touch Ups
You have stripped the stain with the nail polish remover. Look for products in the paint store for spot touch ups. They may have something that will fix the spot. Sadly, I think you are going to have to refinish the whole table top. to get a good match.
By Louise B.
Mayonnaise With Ashes
To whoever suggested mayonnaise with ashes, thank you! I just created an account to post my testimonial. I spilled nail polish remover on my deceased father's desk four years ago and have always just put a cloth over the surface. I finally found this tip and it drastically reduced the cloudy white stain. I smeared mayo over the surface, sprinkled ashes from the fireplace over the top, and then buffed until it was dry. Thank you so much!
By Diana
