Water damage?

[Jared Cuneo]

So I just completed two very nice walnut and ash trays with removable dividers for clients, they came out perfect and are coated in 2 thin coats of Tung Oil and a coat of wax.

After buffing them out I set them on my poker table to await delivery. Well, for some reason my home AC decided to dump about 4 cups of water from an overhead vent and completely soak the table while I was at work today....Consequently, the trays were resting on their sides on this soaked cloth for several hours.

The grain feels slightly rough now (was glass smooth, its lost its sheen and the box joints glue has tiny ridges .

I spent a LOT of time getting these perfect, please tell me that I can salvage them! :( Can I lightly sand them and throw on another coat of oil? When would it be safe to do so? In the past hour or so, they seem to have dried a good bit but they still have a slightly rougher surface than the other sides..... :(


Thanks for any suggestions...

JC

[Mike Cutler]

I don't know why you wouldn't be able to redo them. Bring them into the house , or any stable enviorment, for a few days, or weeks maybe?, to dry out and stabilize the moisture content. Sand them back down and refinish them. At most, you might have to redo the glue joints. I think though that you probably won't.

[Mike Henderson]

As Mike pointed out, let them dry well before you resand them. If you don't, you'll sand them flat, then the wood will dry and contract and you'll have depressions in part of the project.

You don't say what the trays will be used for, but if they are serving trays you should finish with something more waterproof than tung oil and wax. Lacquer is good because you can polish it to a high shine, but it's sensitive to heat so if someone puts a hot dish on the tray, it'll leave a mark. Catalyzed lacquer is better but harder to work with.

Mike