Letter 8575

Water Stain on Teak Wood 

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I have a teak wood table and it has a water mark on it I have read different ways to remove it. One being cigarette ashes mixed with vegetable oil or mayonnaise rub into the stain.... I also read to use very fine steel wool and rub the stain out.... I have had this stain for years and have polished the table many times over the years.... Would any of these remedies work on polished teak wood?

Thank you

Sally W [last name deleted for privacy]
- Staten Island, New York

I have the same problem. My cat just knocked over a vase of flowers while I was out and came back to some of the table being white from the water mark. Did you have any luck with this?

Sandra C [last name deleted for privacy]
- Sarnia, Ontario, Canada

Water stains on teak furniture (or any kind of furniture - maple, cherry, oak, walnut). I have had to remove water stains, nail polish stains and even cigarette burns. First you have to get an assessment of how bad your damage really is -- minor, moderate or severe. Is it right in the middle where everyone can see, or is it over on a unlighted corner. Let's assume it is right in the middle, 5 inches across and everyone can see it. If it has a finish one it, then just assume the entire finish has to come off. You cannot refinish one little corner -- two different finishes never match. Ok, if the wood has no finish (bare wood then you are a little better off.) If you know what kind of finish the surface has on it, then you know what to replace it with (varnish, boiled Linseed Oil [link is to product info at Rockler], and Tung Oil [link is to product info at Amazon] are three examples)

You strip the finish off down to bare wood. Now there is a bare surface with a stain on it. If the stain is light, try to sand it off with a 400$ grit or so. Try not to scratch the wood, but to work it in circles. If the wood was stained, there is going to be some discoloration. Right now just try to get the stain out -- don't worry about what's next. If the stain is deep and you can't sand it off, then bleach it off. Get wood bleach and bleach it out (I did this with nail polish stains) It might take a lot of bleach. Finally is it's gone. The whole surface is the same color -- but most of the color is gone (and bleached) good. Now smooth sand the entire surface using the 400# to 600# grit. Nice and easy. wipe the surface off. Maybe you could polish the surface with a little steel wool .. very very fine Steel Wool [link is to product info at Rockler]. Rub it off. Get a "tack cloth" and tack cloth it every two or three sandings. When the surface looks very uniform -- if you want it darker then get a wood stain and put it on with gauze -- one nice coat then wipe it off with a cotton rag. If the color is not dark enough keep doing this until it is dark enough -- stain on, stain off. Ok now the surface is exactly what you wanted, but bare. The color is right, it is smooth as a baby's bottom, and the color and grain and texture is perfect. (if it was not smooth enough then rub it with rubbing compound or pumice until it is exactly what you want (because the varnish is not gong to make the surface better).

When the bare surface is perfect, tack rag it off about four times. It has to be squeaky clean. Put the piece in a dust free room and put paper under it. Apply the new finish with gauze too -- just like the stain. No bubbles, no brushing, Very easy, very gently put on a very thin layer of whatever finish you chose to use. Let it dry -- real dry. Lightly sand or steel wool it off (pimples on it), tack rag it off twice, put another very thin and very easy coat on and let it dry. Keep doing this until there are four or five (or even ten coats)... each coat will dry with some pimples, and always take them off with a very fine sanding and tack rage them off. OK finally you have a ten layered finish and since it had pimples you light sanded and tacked it and now it needs to be shiny. So take the rubbing compound and your hand or a car polish bonnet and lightly buff it. It will get a lot nicer. Then use just a car polishing bonnet -- no rubbing compound. You now have a finish that is actually nicer and stronger than the original. I have done this many times including gun stocks I sold for $1,000. It gives a great finish.

Paul P [last name deleted for privacy]
- San Diego, CA

Lay a dry tea towel over the white mark. Iron on the towel with an iron set on medium. Go over area a few times, lift towel. Repeat until mark is gone. I've done this to remove water stains from spilled vases and white steam stains on cupboard doors. It really does work.

Marilyn C [last name deleted for privacy]
- Canada

My outdoor teak table had mildew on it, and I'm afraid I pressure hosed it. When it dried it was covered in white marks. So I oiled it, it hadn't previously been oiled. The oil took them away but when it dried they came back! I'm so upset to think I've ruined it please help me. Judy :(

Judy L [last name deleted for privacy]
homeowner - London, England

Thank you, thank you, thank you. It worked! I put a white linen table napkin (tea towel) over the white water mark on my teak veneer rolltop desk and ironed it with the highest setting on my iron. After about 30 seconds the stain was gone! I'm not sure of the mechanics involved, but I believe the oil in the wood was drawn up through the water stain into the napkin which made the stain disappear.

Ralph Germann
- Honolulu, HI, USA

My husband spilled water and it ran down the front of our oak cupboards, leaving terrible white strips.

I could just cry. Is there a way for us to get the oak the same colour as the other aged, beautiful wood in my other cupboards. There is also some "swelling" on the top drawer.

What can we do??? :(

Karen McCrea
Consumer - Picton, Ontario, Canada

We used Marilyn Conner's iron-and-towel trick on a finished oak table that had a water stain from an accident and it worked marvelously.

Nick Gully
- Denver, CO

My wife had great success using her hair dryer for about an hour on water stain on teak table!

Ed Bacon
- Toronto, ON, Canada

Thank you very much Marilyn yet again the tea-towel tip worked . I had 6 foot of steam iron stains from turning up curtains up(I even laid a towel on table to protect it but it still stained)thank you again you life saver

Fiona Shepherd
- Luton Beds, England

For the Christmas holidays we put a ceramic bowl filled with chocolate on our teak hutch. When we removed the bowl we noticed a black ring. Was this water that was absorbed into the ceramic from washing and than leached out onto the teak wood? We will try the Marilyn method with a tea towel/iron and post the result. We also had the misfortune of a cat getting up on the teak table when we were away on holidays and to our surprise when we returned we found cat vomit on the table. Any suggestions as to the removal of vomit, tea towel/iron trick?

Any help would be appreciated

Thanks
Jo and Harry

Harry Schachtschneider
- Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

The iron-and-linen-napkins technique really works. Thanks much.

Terry Fisher
- Lincoln, MA

Hi Jo and Harry

Did you manage to remove the cat vomit stain? Our cat's done the same on our polished oak dining table!

Thanks,

Nigel

Nigel Howarth
- Erimi, Cyprus (eastern Mediterranean)

A candle was set on my outdoor teak table. Alas wax on table. Any suggestions for removal of
wax before I oil the table. Thanks

J D Descoteaux
Gardener - San Rafael, Ca, US

I have just used the Tea towel and iron method on my teak table. Brilliant result no mark left.

Celia Hamilton
- London, Britain

I have a SOLID teak table (from Denmark) - Had a container with flowers sitting on 2 sand coasters with cork protectors on bottom - container leaked & I now have a dark circle stain on my beautiful table - I tried very fine steel with pure teak oil but it did not remove the stain. I am apprehensive about letting a furniture refinisher take an oxy-bleach to remove the stain - any suggestions that have worked ?

Marnie Staub
- Calgary, AB, Canada

I have a teak table which has a large dark stain in the middle. I have used Teak Oil on the table to try to make it look a bit better. When I applied the Teak Oil (and left it for a few hours), the table has a beautiful sheen, but the area where the stain is seems to absorb the oil and has a matte look.

The other posts in this forum mention white stains. Is there any easy way to deal with dark stains like the one on my table?

Any suggestions would be gratefully received.

Heidi Szymaszek
- Buffalo, NY, USA

We have water stains on top of thin Oak membrane on fibre board.

I wonder if the hot iron and tea towel method would lift the membrane.
We have used an oil finish for lustre.

Have you had any experience with this.

Donald Ruggles
none - Nanaimo, BC, Canada

I have a sturdy, perfectly sized teak table that is almost 30 years old. We've been using it as a kitchen table and there is no finish left on it -- just a little stickiness. Our new kitchen is solid cherry, and our floors are cherry and maple. The teak isn't THAT far off the cherry.

I'm wondering whether I can sand the top and apply a cherry stain to even the scratches and wear, and then seal it.

Thanks for any help you can give.

Deborah Savage
hobbyist - Columbia, CT, US

I too have dark rings on a few pieces of teak furniture that I would love to get out. I hesitate bleaching the teak and refinishing it - it seems more damaging than restorative - but hey, I'm not a wood worker. Does anyone have any suggestions that work for them?
Thank you.

Deborah Lane
- St. Paul, Minnesota, USA

Black placemats were on my oak dining table for months before I noticed. I had to move suddenly after a heart attack, so the stains have not been dealt with for more than two years! I tried Olde English lemon oil and it did not get stains out even though I rubbed with a toothbrush for hours and put many coats of Lemon Oil on the stains. Any ideas about how to get them out?

Melanie McDowell
Seller of restored furniture - Houston, TX, USA

I have used the iron and napkin way on my wooden table only I did it to much and it has gone all dry and bumpy please help :( !

Megan Quinn
- Preston, England, United Kingdom

I tried the dishrag and iron trick! It was amazing. I had a ring left from a white ceramin gravy boat. In 10 seconds it was gone. I can not thank you enough, I was so upset. It looks like new! Amazing!

Melissa March
- Pawtucket, RI 02860

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