Fixing burned wood.

[Dan Karachio]

Any techniques, materials, solutions... to repairing a burn in wood?

This one hurts. Years ago I bought a beautiful 1920's quarter sawn oak mechanics tool chest. It was a mess. I stripped it and finished it with the help of a friend who used to refinish furniture. Years later a girlfriend put a little candle on it. Somehow the candle burned/broke through it's glass jar and made a nice 3-4" round burn scar on the top of my chest (tool chest, not my chest).

See attached pics. In person the burn doesn't go as deep as it may seem in the pics. For example, you can see grain in the wood and it seems one could scrape down a bit to get to unburned wood. However, I don't want to create a dip. I think a repair job might be possible and I'd like to try. I'll google around and research, but you all are the best and I thought I would start here.

[Matt Tawes]

That looks bad but certainly repairable I would think. If it were me since I have a drum sander I would take the corner caps off and lid and run it through the sander to sand out the burn while keeping the surface level.
Looks like the lid where the burn is could be 3/4" thick so even surfacing it by 1/8" would not hurt but that burn is likely only 1/32"-1/16".
If no access to a drum sander a carefully guided belt sander over the whole lid will do the job and keep from creating a dip where the burn was. Just touch up with a random orbit sander to smooth the beltsander marks and you should be good.

[Dan Karachio]

Smart! Thanks Matt. My friend has a drum sander.

Any ideas on matching the finish. It was so long ago, I have no idea what we used. I think there was no stain and spray on lacquer.

[Jeff Mohr]

Any ideas on matching the finish. It was so long ago, I have no idea what we used. I think there was no stain and spray on lacquer.

That's what I'd like to know....

Getting the burn gone seems the easier of the two and I'd try sanding as stated above. Getting the finish to match...I've got no idea but will stay tuned to see if anyone else does.

[Julian Nicks]

My guess is shellac for the finish. Take a rag with denatured alcohol and wipe the surface in an inconspicuous spoy and see if the finish pulls up on the rag. If so, then its shellac.

[Scott Holmes]

My guess is shellac for the finish. Take a rag with denatured alcohol and wipe the surface in an inconspicuous spoy and see if the finish pulls up on the rag. If so, then its shellac.

Actually DA may take up the lacquer too.

If the DA redistributes the finish and it redries hard, then it's shellac. If the finish is ruined then it's old NC lacquer.

[Dan Karachio]

Thanks for the tip JSH. I am about 99% sure it is lacquer. I didn't know much then about finishes (less than now, but not much!), but I remember he did almost everything in lacquer and a spray gun. I don't have a gun so if I want to recreate the same finish, how might I go about that please? Still, since I will be sanding the top, I will do the test!

The only part that has me nervous now is pulling and redoing all those rivets for the corner brackets and handle. Any advice on that or should I start a separate thread somewhere else?

[John Keeton]

Dan, let me offer one other consideration. What about the possibility of simply adding another layer to the top? Prepare and finish to match, a slightly smaller (enough to clear the corner brackets) solid panel, 1/2" thick or so, with a roundover to match or compliment the top, and attach it to the existing top. That would compliment the piece, and if done right, would blend with the original design. It would also allow you some leeway in finishing, as you could do a test panel or piece to play with.

You may have to remove enough finish in the middle to get a glue surface and attach with pin nails if you can't clamp it. Or, simply attach from the underside with carefully placed and countersunk screws.

Just a thought.

[Prashun Patel]

That does look like a melty finish like shellac or lacquer. If it's shellac, the repair might be quite easy.

1st identify the type of topcoat.
If it's shellac, I'd try a combo of amber shellac on top of some kind of medium brown pigment stain to match. You might get a few samples and blend.

If it is indeed shellac, then I'd first try to sand down the spot , blend in the stain, and then blend in the shellac. If that's not sufficient for you, then you can do the whole top over again.

[Dan Karachio]

John and Shawn, thank you very much. One thing I have learned about wood working is this - when I don't quite know what to do, don't do anything! I tell you, that is the best advice for me in most cases. I think I will try lightly hand sanding just this burn and see what is under it. Think of it as exploratory surgery.

[Prashun Patel]

Dan-
You might wait one more day until Howard or Steve chimes in...they know WAY more than at least me.

[Chris Padilla]

John and Shawn, thank you very much. One thing I have learned about wood working is this - when I don't quite know what to do, don't do anything! I tell you, that is the best advice for me in most cases. I think I will try lightly hand sanding just this burn and see what is under it. Think of it as exploratory surgery.

I think some 220 grit exploratory HAND sanding would be fine....

[Matt Day]

I agree with Chris. If you're planning on possibly running it through a drum sander, you should do some exploring by hand sanding first to see how deep it goes. You'd have to drum sand down to that level anyway right? The drum sander is a good idea, just do it last.

[Dan Karachio]

Thanks guys. You are absolutely right. I did some exploratory hand sanding last night. Though there is a bit of a depression now, I am starting to think it might be better with that then all the work in drum sanding the entire top. I could live with it. I think with drum sanding it will end up too thin and pulling and replacing all those rivets will not be easy. Disassembling the top and flipping then refinishing the top piece is also not looking like a good option. Dutching in a patch is another option, but I'm not sure.

Question about wood bleach please. I have sanded past all the black charred wood, but what I have now is darker then the surrounding wood, but I can see grain and it looks okay. Rather than sand further, what about attempting to bleach this section with a wood bleach?

[John Keeton]

I think if you bleached any of the wood, you would have a very difficult time getting a color match - even worse if you bleached only the burnt part.

Dan, I mentioned the added layer before, and to me, that is the easiest and best option. No hardware to remove, you can take your time with color and finish match, and it would actually compliment the chest. I would cap it with a piece of less thickness than the existing top, with a round over or ogee edge, and 1" - 1 1/2" back from the edge of the existing top. Still my pick of options!