Magic Potion ~ White Ring Remover

Diana Wearing
by Diana Wearing
2 Materials
$2
1 Hour
Easy

I got this amazing little vanity for whopping $20 at a local thrift store (happy dance) I know some people think this could be gorgeous painted but I’m all about making this little beauty shine the way it was meant to! I thought the top would probably need to be refinished because of the water marks/white rings but I’m in Wisconsin so I wouldn’t be able to start that project until spring and well I’m not that patient!

Best olive oil!

Whether for cooking or cleaning this olive oil is the one that Amazon reviewers swear by!


There are all sorts of over the counter products & online white ring fixes so I figured I had nothing to lose might as well see if I could come up with something that worked ~

My magic potion was simple & cheap just a paste made with olive oil and regular table salt ~ I read somewhere that the salt will pull out the moisture and the oil will replenish the wood ~

I applied the mixture to the damaged areas and rings, rubbed it in a little and then just let it do its thing ~ I let it sit for about an hour and then wiped it off and buffed the entire top ~

It looked like this right after I was done ~ the white rings were now brown it looked better then when I started but I still would probably end up stripping and refinishing…no big deal after all this was just an experiment!

I took another look a couple weeks later and this is what I saw…the brown rings had lightened so they are almost undetectable! Magic!

I’m excited to get started on the rest of it ~ fingers crossed it’s going to look amazing when I’m done!

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  • Kathy Coulson Knitter Kathy Coulson Knitter on Feb 26, 2024

    I appreciate your comment and that is why I mentioned that. Wood is not alive but it is alive in your hands when you are sanding it, creating something from it and when you display that It certainly is alive ! Thanks for commenting. When I re-finish another persons antique furniture it comes alive again. I prefer linseed oil myself for my wood!

    • JH JH on Feb 26, 2024

      So okay, you mean metaphorically it is alive? Different ballgame, but I understand the metaphor.

  • Kathy Coulson Knitter Kathy Coulson Knitter on Feb 27, 2024

    Yes! (HUG)

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