At Christmas, the granddaughters all got personal bottles of hand sanitizer aka alcohol. They left finger prints all over Gramma's Pennsylania House coffe table. It appears that the marks have been etched through what I believe is the lacquer finish. The print marks are rough and now are white spots. I don't know if the damage went through to the cherry stain coat.
It appears to be a satin or semi-gloss lacquer, probably satin. Can I just buff out a reasonable area around the defects with 0000 and attempt to apply a thin layer of new lacquer? Is it better to buff out the whole coffee table top and try leveling out on the entire top? I've also read that the best tecnique to achieve a uniform finish is to spray the whole top in gloss and then work up from 320 to 800 to get the desired satin finish. Lots of questions and a aGramma that is bugging me. Any help is appreciated.

Senior Chief

While your general concept of the repair is on track, the white spots would probably give you the problem. If you get through the finish coat and sand any of the stain, you'll probably end up with a noticeable spot. There are some professional products that allow you to actually soften the existing finish so that the alcohol from the sanitizer (that actually left the white spots) can evaporate out. There's then another product that will re-harden the existing finish. Some final touch-up on the finish luster may be necessary. If you want to try this yourself, here are the steps to consider:
1. Clean the entire surface with mineral spirits or turpentine to remove any wax, etc.
2. LIGHTLY scuff the entire top (in the direction of the grain only) with 000 or 0000 steel wool.
3. On the problem areas only, I'd use something like 320-grit sandpaper VERY LIGHTLY and make sure to not sand any more than the clear finish---NONE OF THE STAIN.
4. Wipe with denatured alcohol. This should help flash off the white spots.
5. Spray entire top with several coats of good quality laquer. Rub out with 0000 between coats. I'd use 4 or 5 coats of laquer.
6. After the final coat of lacquer, you can use the 0000 steel wool to get near the gloss you want, or use (lightly!) some white automotive rubbing compound (careful-this stuff can cut through the lacquer unless you're REAL careful), or something less aggressive, like Meguire's Mirror Glaze.

Spot touch-up of quality cherry furniture is not easy for the amateur. While a pro could probably do a spot repair, if you're going to do this yourself, you may want to consider respraying the entire top.
Bill

Rover- Thanks for the insight. I'll give tecnique a try tomorrow.

Mike B,

Hi, Senior Chief!

Are you positive that it's a lacquer finish and does it already have very tiny, parallel lines that are close together that make it look like it's already been buffed with steel wool?

Rover88 does make some good suggestions. But, I would suggest, before using any solvents on the finish, to test out on small spots like on a side or edge somewhere that aren't as visible in order to make sure that the solvents aren't going to cause further damage.

Thanks!

Clough,
We used to sell a bit of Pennsylvania House in our store. Had I not been familiar with the line, your advise is absolutely correct.
Bill

Okay, thanks!

That's good to know! :)