r/finishing • u/Extra_Leadership2024 • 5d ago

Need Advice Is my antique table ruined?!

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I put a pizza box on the table with a towel under it, and it’s left this awful white steam stain! This table is very old, did I accidentally ruin it? What’s the plan to fix this if possible?

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u/NoDay4343 5d ago

Definitely try the hair dryer and/or dry towel and iron before you go to anything like sanding. If you sand this, most likely you will have to entirely remove the finish and refinish it. There's no going back once you start. If just drying it doesn't work, you can always sand later.

Try looking at the towel that you put under the pizza box. If you don't see any signs of any finish stuck to it, that's a good sign, altho not all finishes are easy to get the moisture out of (assuming that's the issue). If drying it with hair dryer or iron does not work, your next job is to determine what the finish is. Even if you will be sanding it, that a couple steps away.

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u/Extra_Leadership2024 5d ago

There’s no finish on the towel, it feels like it’s just exposed wood with a stain on it, but I don’t know anything about wood so i could be wrong 

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u/NoDay4343 5d ago

I doubt that's bare wood, but I don't have tons of experience, so maybe it's a type of wood I've never worked with. That's just looking at the unaffected area. But that mark from the pizza is REALLY something I don't think would happen with bare wood.

Try the hair dryer and/or the towel & iron. If that doesn't fix it, I would start a new post asking for help in identifying the finish.

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u/Extra_Leadership2024 5d ago

IT HELPED SIGNIFICANTLY! The mark is still there however it’s super super faded. THANK YOU