How can I remove these water marks from wood tables?

Question

My husband bought these tables and a few of them are in good condition while some have like water marks on them (not sure though).  I would like to know what could I use to get these tables in its original state? Thanks!

Cori Widen · Answer

I haven't tried it yet myself, but a bunch of Hometalkers have said that rubbing mayonnaise on the marks works!

Wylie · Answer

i have had success with rubbing alcohol and dry with a hair dryer

Cecile Pearsall · Answer

Rubbing a half walnut on the stain should do it. I've done this with scratches and water rings on my wood tables.

Janet Pizaro · Answer

Rub oil,peanut butter,coconut oil, mayo or plain toothpaste(not gel) into the area with a soft cloth leave on long enough for the solution to aid in removing the marks and wipe with a clean cloth.

Alice M. Kirkland · Answer

As a young housewife in the 70s, I encountered water marks on dark pine end tables. My mother-in-law suggested putting cigar ashes on the spot and rubbing with a soft cloth. Her brother smoked cigars, so when he visited, I took some ashes from the ashtray he used and tried her suggestion and it worked perfectly. I saved some of the ashes in a recycled baby food jar, so I had them for future projects.

Sophia,M.,McConnery · Answer

If the photos are correct you have bald spots of the lacquer!Just sand the whole top lightly with 220 grit sand paper,wipe with a damp clothe,and apply liquid plastic.

Nakeisha F · Answer

Thanks everyone for your help!

Sarah · Answer

Before you do anything, try Dutch Glow first. It's good to get out water marks if you want to keep the wood in it's finished form.

Donna Crosland · Answer

This works and is very easy and you can't mess it up. Make sure you are in a well ventilated room for this project.

Howards Refinish (I use Walnut for everything and cut it down with alcohol if I need a lighter stain

000 steel wool

soft cloth to wipe on the Howards on the rest of the piece.

gently pour a small amount of Howards on the area and then go with the grain and rub gently with the steel wool. Do not do circles as this will cause a scratched appearance.

Continue until the white rings/marks are gone.

Wipe entire surface with Howards and buff

Beauty is restored!

Nakeisha F · Answer

Thank you Donna!

Dawn E Brown · Answer

I know it sounds crazy, but you can Iron them out. Put your iron on as hot as it gets - NO STEAM and carefully iron out the stain. I did it to my table and I am delighted with the results, now if I could just get the scratches out as easily . . .

Virginia Prestridge · Answer

sometimes you just clean the wax off and water marks go away

Lus2122838 · Answer

Rub with Vaseline then wipe off when the marks are gone

Joy Hammond Norton · Answer

I've always used rubbing alcohol.

Terry Meek · Answer

you can always use mayo too. I think it's the oil in it that works. just rub it in and around the water mark and it helps make it go away.

Dlf16671793 · Answer

they have a cloth you can buy that removes watermarks without damaging the finish. Works great.

Gill Martin · Answer

my son removed the marks cause by a hot plate with salt and olive oil. He added half teaspoon of salt to the mark and used the oil to gentley rub [ in circles to remove the mark. Much more gentle than steel wool!!

Patricia · Answer

I've used just oil and vinlager. Equal parts in a bottle pour on spots and rub with a soft cloth. I did this to vintage teak dressers that had scratches and water marks. Most of the scratches disappeared and the water stains lightened considerably. Was very satisfied, I even have used this on old wood floors with amazing results.

Its6268865 · Answer

I've had good luck in removing watermarks with WD 40.

Mto11305602 · Answer

I just refinished my mothers table from 1910 because I had the same thing. First I took a little Denatured Alcohol to the finish to see what the finish was in a hidden spot ( I used one of the table leafs ) then when it started to almost melt

( the finish started to come off ) I knew it was a shellac so what I did was clean the whole table with mineral spirits then took a 320 grit sandpaper to my Palm Sander and gave it a lite sand I was able to hook my shop vac to my sander so there was no dust in the house at all then took a vac to the table to suck up any left over dust then cleaned it again with mineral spirits and took a real good brush and went and bought a Quart Can of Zinsser Shellac ( Menards,

Home Depot carry this ) and put a coat on it. It worked awesome. I put a couple coats on it and it looks just the way it was when it was new. This works for Shellac the rest you might not get it out like your thinking. Good Luck

Mto11305602 · Answer

Here are a few pictures

Janet Louks Hustek · Answer

What a gorgeous finish on the table. Great job.

Annette Garcia · Answer

<div>Beautiful!</div>

Sandra · Answer

Use a hair dryer on the water marks. Or that Amish stuff works too.

Alma · Answer

You might want to try smooth peanut butter. Rub it on the table top, wait a few seconds, rub it off. If needed, repeat. Worked on an oak dining table this week.

Sherry Swayze · Answer

Those water marks aka white rings, are caused from placing a hot object on a waxed surface. The heat melts the wax and when it cools, it leaves that white ring. Once you know that, it makes it easier to know what to do to fix the problem. The finish, meaning the stain, is actually still there. You just need to buff out the wax. Any wax remover will work. That's why all the homemade solutions (above) calling for a light abrasion followed by oil, work. Frankly, even cigarette ashes and/or toothpaste, which surprisingly have some abrasion factors to them, work in removing the white wax rings. They just take a little time to work. We just rub either of those materials into the spot using our finger tips. The heat of the hand seems to help heat up the wax to make it easier to remove.

Karen · Answer

I had a water stain from a wet glass, left on table overnight, I placed a T shirt over the stain and used a hot clothes iron, kept going over the stain, constantly moving the iron over the area, the water stain was removed in minuets.

Susie Lee · Answer

I've had success with water spots using a paste of baking soda and white (not gel) toothpaste and rubbing vigorously with a soft cloth. If the water stain is too deep it won't work, but it's worth a shot before going the refinishing route. Good luck!

Julie Moyna · Answer

My client had borrowed a large dining table from a friend and to give back only to find under the table cloth rings and white spots from cups and such. She called me panicked and I was so happy to help. I searched HT and found a few posts and I too used the iron method. I used a piece of old clean drop cloth and was beyond relieved and excited that it worked! I didn't charge her because I had not tried it but she was so pleased that she surprised me with a nice PayPal deposit! Here is the pics. Happy New Year and happy hometalking!

Dawn Jones · Answer

make a paste with cigarette ash & with water, rub it over affected area

How can I remove these water marks from wood tables?

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How can I remove these water marks from wood tables?

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