Need Help-Marred Conference Table

[Ed Sallee]

I have been asked how to fix the scratches in this conference table. A friend of mine moved it inside their office building and ended up with the the following. I am not sure of the wood, because he just emailed me these pictures asking for advise. I don't have a clue how to fix this problem.... any advise would be appreciated?

[Glenn Clabo]

Ed,
They look like dents...if so try putting a damp towel over them and heating the towel with an steam iron. Many time it will raise the grain and the dents. Sometimes you don't need to do much more.

[Ed Sallee]

Thanks Glenn,

I've read about that technique.... Just wasn't sure how or where to apply it.... We'll give it a shot...

[Greg Sznajdruk]

Not being sure of the value of the table are folklore remedies that your friend is asking. If the table is not of significant value and the results are of little concern then experiment away.

I was faced with a similar situation and opted to use one of these Furniture Doctor type companies. Their repair was $200 and I was the only one who could find the repair only because I watched the process.

I have no affiliation with these types of companies.

My .02

Greg

[Ed Sallee]

Will probably wind up doing the same....it's a $14,000 table.... I may test and try - but it may not be worth the possibility of me screwing it up.....

[Carlos Alden]

I've dealt with dents on UNFINISHED wood by warming the surface with a heat gun (not too hot to burn) and spot-dripping very, very hot water right where the dent is. The warm wood soaks up the water and swells the wood. You can be amazingly precise this way.

Don't know what kind of finish is on those tables - if it's poly or some kind of commercial spray it might be very water-resistant and this tecnnique wouldn't work.

Carlos

[Glenn Clabo]

If it's dented...that's how the pro will do it. However, if you use a pro they'll have to fix what they screw up. I'd say explain it to your friend and let him make the final call.

[Frank Drew]

I agree with Carlos -- steaming out dents where the wood is depressed but the fibers are intact definitely works on unfinished wood; on finished wood... maybe not so well, but perhaps worth a try.

The dents might be from careless shipping (the top sitting upside down on top of something, even a small piece of grit, that made those tracks), or it could be because so many people are simply clueless about treating wood as something other than plastic laminate.

I'd probably recommend that your friend go the pro route; let someone who does this every day worry about the results.

[Earl Kelly]

Those are Pressure dents. They don't go thru the finish, and dented the finish and the wood.

It also looks like a Conversion Varnish finish. Which is common on Conference tables. This will not make the repair any easier. Check with the finer Furniture and Piano stores and ask to be put in touch with their Touchup Man. This a job requiring experience doing these types of repairs. And even then table tops are the worst to make invisible repairs to because of the large reflective surface.

Please don't try to Steam out the dents!! This is a finished surface and you might ruin the finish and still have no affect on the dents.

Earl

[Jim Becker]

I agree....not really a DIY job.