Cigarette burns on furniture - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

ChillaWatt · 06-29-2008, 09:38 PM

I just scored a nice, old desk from a flea market for a really good price. It needs to be refinished and I already have all the finishing products. I'm using an orbital sander to remove the old finish from the top. The problem is there are a couple of burn marks on it, and I can't seem to sand them off without taking off too much wood. Is there a way to get rid of them with chemicals or something so I don't lose too much of the patina?

-Chilla

boman47k · 06-30-2008, 12:37 PM

Quote:

so I don't lose too much of the patina?

Correct me if I am wrong, but when you refinish it, you will lose the patina.

eastend · 06-30-2008, 02:54 PM

burns won't bleach out, and if they are too deep , they won't sand out without creating a valley.

try painting them out- opaque-out the area of the burn to match the background color of the wood

**genecarp** · 06-30-2008, 02:57 PM

burn the whole piece, i am not kidding, i saw them do it on a home show, they took a torch to the whole piece, lightly burning it, then they polyed it, it looked cool.

MALCO.New.York · 06-30-2008, 03:08 PM

What Gene is speaking of is called "distressing". Looks fantastic when done properly and with a fair amount of reserve.

http://degroot.id.au/furniture/distressed-furniture.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distressing

Steve Richards · 06-30-2008, 04:01 PM

I dropped a cigar on my newly refinished hardwood floor. (I own the property..so don't give me any crap about smoking a cigar in there, because my wife already did).

anyhow...left a real nice circular burn mark.

So I took a nail-set, set that spot, filled it w/color putty, and put on the final coat of urethane.

**slickshift** · 06-30-2008, 04:16 PM

If it's too deep to sand, there's no chemicals that'll "bleach" it out
Either cover it (filler) or paint it (sealing it first)
...or paint on some Sterno and do nice controlled burn distress on that bad boy

ChillaWatt · 07-04-2008, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MALCO.New.York

What Gene is speaking of is called "distressing". Looks fantastic when done properly and with a fair amount of reserve.

http://degroot.id.au/furniture/distressed-furniture.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distressing

That is interesting. I was able to sand through it so no need to burn it.

-Chilla

**slickshift** · 07-04-2008, 01:43 PM

Kewl
Thanks for the update

Robie · 07-04-2008, 08:02 PM

I do quite a bit of refinishing and use shellac burn-in sticks for deep scratches and burns. It takes a little practice but will yield great results if done properly.