Antique furniture - ring removal

[Penners]

There are lots of products on the market that claim to get rid of rings on french polished furniture, left by hot or wet cups, glasses, etc.

Anyone got any personal recommendations for a good one, please?

 

[Moo]

Oh dear. Poor Mrs P. She's really in for a shock when she gets fully mobile.

 

[Penners]

Or a lovely surprise....

 

[JoceAndChris]

I like Jasco.

Failing that, now you're all domesticated you could crochet some little lacy mats?

 

[inwood]

I wondered the same so looked on t'internet for other remedies - remarkably the recommended method appears to be some paper and a warm iron. I haven't had the balls to try it yet but I do have a cheap old chair which has rings on so may try it. Anyone else given this sort of thing a go?

 

[Toby Newell]

Depends on what the furniture is coated in. Basically what you have is many tiny water droplets that have been forced inbetween layers of finish either by mechanical means or by temperature. Basically you need to remove this moisture. The easiest way to do this is to "flash" it off. (ie set fire to your furniture, in a very controlled way of course)

If it is French polish it's easy. Remove all wax with wax remover/turpentine, wash off carefully using mild soap solution and dry then...

Place one small bucket of water nearby.

Move item if small outside, otherwise don't panic.

Take a small piece of clean cotton linen or other lint free cloth and wet in methylated spirits.

Dab this over the affected area and straight away set light to it with a lighter or match.

It should burn with a small blue flame, like a christmas pud.

Only let this burn for 2 to 3 seconds at a time, then put out by blowing. Wait a minute or two and repeat. You may need to do this several times or it may go instantly.

The ring should be much lightened. The only other remedies involve using abrasives to remove the layer which contains the water droplets, this will obviously leave a mark and the surface will normally need to be refinished although a good waxing can improve things. Over the years the remedies are endless, toothpaste, stale beer and cigar ash (a French Polisher fave as many of them were heavy drinkers, basically the stale beer is a very dilute meths and the cigar ash a very fine pumice)

This can work for some modern finishes but not for wax finishes, modern finishes may be damaged so take care. The good thing about shellac finishes is that after all this you can soften the whole item surface by going over with a rag dampened in meths to soften and burnish the surface then whey dry apply a layer of beeswax. With modern finishes you may still see a mark.

Yes, some of the 'advice' on the internet is highly sceptical, I have been in tears of laughter reading many of the items on 'how to sand your floor' one (supposedly expert) of which on Channel4 homes no less advised 'gaps can be filled with a mixture of PVA glue and sawdust squeezed from a washing up liquid bottle' it went on 'don't worry about waiting for the glue to dry, just go over with the large floor sander and the heat from the machines with dry it off' failing to add 'it will also go all up the wall, all over the floor, ruin your sander, you will loose your deposit and you will have to start again' priceless.

I would put ironing your furniture in the same catagory, it may even work with modern furniture and the idea is correct, it may EVEN work for traditional items coated in shellac, but the worry is, even if it did work, ie remove the ring, it may be hard to tell with a piece of paper permanently stuck to the surface. This sounds slightly suicidal to me but I spose if you used a piece of clean linen double folded and a WARM iron, not HOT then it might just work.

Thinking about it, it may seem slightly more sane than setting fire to them.

Toby

 

[FamilyWiggs]

Crikey :shock: As well as having a bucket of water nearby, it's probably also wise to check your smoke alarm is working first!

 

[jocelyn plummer]

Fag ash mixed to a paste with olive oil works well.

 

[Penners]

stale beer is a very dilute meths

Have you considered changing your preferred tipple, Toby? :wink:

Many thanks for your advice. I shall see whether I have the courage to try it! :shock:

 

[Penners]

Fag ash mixed to a paste with olive oil works well.

Thanks, Joss. No shortage of olive oil in the house (and please note that I have resisted the temptation to make a pun about an extra virgin).

But I gave away my collection of fag ash when I gave up smoking in 1973.

I'll just have to hang about outside the back door of the pub and hope that nobody misunderstands my motives.

 

[jocelyn plummer]

Maybe wood ash from the fire would have the same effect, I'd hate to think of you lurking around in such dangerous places.

 

[AMc]

I'd expect woodash to be much coarser and more abrasive than fag ash. Certainly it's pretty effective at removing soot from the glass of my woodburner with very little effort so I'd only try it on furniture with extreme caution.