Finishing question - re: water rings

[Perry Schmidt]

I have a friend who has a stained table, but no other protective coatings (i.e. tung oil, poly, etc...) They had two water rings on the table, have sanded down these areas, and asked about finishing these areas. The rings are 'almost gone'. You can still see them, but they are nearly gone.

I thought that the stain would not absorb the same on the water rings as the rest of the table. But wasn't sure.

So that's the question - is the sanding to bare wood good enough and the rings won't show after restaining? Or do you have to treat the wood before restaining it? Any special treating instructions?

My recommendation was sand down the whole top, seal it and restain it. The rings won't show any more than they do in the unfinished state after that. Is that correct? (Of course then afterwards, put a protective finish on it like poly...)

And for the question of 'what kind of wood is it?', I don't know...I didn't recognize it. It wasn't pine, looked closer to oak, but definitely wasn't oak.

Thanks,

Perry

[Carl Eyman]

By applying some paint thinner to the sanded area you should see a preview of what it will look like after finishing. Thus you'll be able to tell if the rings will show. My guess: yes.