How to remove a dent in a table top

[Mike Conley]

I have a cherry table top that someone dropped something on and caused a dent. The finish on the table is BLO, shellac, and varnish that was then buffed with steel wool and wax.

Can I use an iron and a damp cloth to steam out the dent? What effect will it have on the finish?

Any additional advice would be appreciated.

thanks

[Gary Breckenridge]

Get a scrap piece of cherry and slap some finish on it and then put a bunch of dents in it. Try various heats and amounts of water. I doubt much of the steam will penetrate the varnish. Please post your results.:cool:

[Jason White]

Yep, it'll work. I've seen it work.

You might have to remove some finish in that area first, however.

Jason


I have a cherry table top that someone dropped something on and caused a dent. The finish on the table is BLO, shellac, and varnish that was then buffed with steel wool and wax.

Can I use an iron and a damp cloth to steam out the dent? What effect will it have on the finish?

Any additional advice would be appreciated.

thanks

[Wade Lippman]

It works great on raw wood; as someone suggested, you might not get adequate penetration on the treated wood.
But if the dent damaged the wood (as opposed to simply compressing it) you should get penetration through the damage. Of course in that case the damage will always be there; steam won't make the fiber rebond.
In any event, you will have to sand and refinish the whole top. Patched varnish looks like patched varnish. With that in mind, you might want to remove the finish first.
Good luck.

[Chip Lindley]

Getting by without damaging your finish if *IFFY* when applying heat and moisture. That is the bad news! The good news is It Works! I have *un-dented* unfinished oak this way with good results.

Moisten a paper towel folded several times, almost to dripping, and apply the tip of a HOT iron on the *linen* setting. Only apply for 3 or 4 seconds--not too long! And move the iron around slightly. Repeat as necessary with newly wet towel. (I have also used a soldering iron to concentrate heat in a very small spot)

Refinishing the spot may be the downside, but the dent should disappear!

[Frank Drew]

As noted by others, you can raise a dent with steam; from my experience, however, you might then need to sand the repair flush with the surrounding wood, so, as also noted, it will be difficult to impossible to accomplish all this with the film finish intact.