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My sister in law covered my MIL's dining room tale with a foam backed plastic tablecloth for Thanksgiving dinner. It probably sat there for 3 days with plates on it before last night. After dinner last night we pulled the cover off and it has covered the table with a coating of some kind of greasy/sticky slime that won't wipe off easily w j water. The table is more than 50 but probably less than 100 years old. What kind of finish do you think it on it? Laquer? Varnish? What would be a safe way to clean it. I looked underneath and didn't see any makers labels or markings, but it is a good quality table. I will test anything in an unobtrusive spot first obviously.
Thanks
Pedro
I miss nested quotes..........
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I'd try MS first, I don't know of a finish that it will harm but as you said test first. If that doesn't work try alcohol, or Murphy's soap in warm water. If that doesn't work try mayonnaise ( you need to let that sit for awhile). I haven't tried mayo but several folks here swear by it and a friend tried it and it worked well for him.
homo homini lupus
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Quodcumque potest manus tua facere instaner opere Ecclesiastes
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It's possible (maybe not likely) that the foam backed table cloth actually had some chemical elasticizers in it that softened the finish. If that happened, I'm not sure cleaning will be possible. Some plastics have them to stay flexible, though it's not as bad now as it used to be.
I started with absolutely nothing. Now, thanks to years of hard work, careful planning, and perseverance, I find I still have most of it left.
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Fred could be right. Many plastics have plasticizers in them that can soften a finish. If that's true the finish is likely ruined so let's assume it's not true and try mineral spirits as JR1 suggested. It removes a lot of bad things w/o damaging any finish I'm aware of. If it removes the goop you're golden. Just wipe it a couple of times to make sure everything is off and then wipe it dry with a soft cloth. But if it removes the junk and the finish remains tacky afterwards, or the finish actually comes off with the goop, then the underlying finish had already been damaged by the foam and nothing short of stripping it and refinishing is likely to work.
Whatever you do, don't use alcohol on it w/o testing a small patch somewhere first. If the finish happens to be shellac, alcohol will cut right through it and you'll have a real mess. Best to stick with mineral spirits, and Murphy's Oil soap if necessary.
And the moral of the story here is to only use protective table pads with a cloth bottom.
John
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Cheaping out on a Morris chair by using some kind of naugahyde (sp?) instead of leather learned me that lacquer doesn't like that.
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Pedro,
Based on the age I'll bet that the finish is shellac. Heed the advice above to avoid alcohol, likewise for acetone and lacquer thinner.
Mineral spirits (MS) is usually a safe bet. It will not dissolve shellac, lacquer or cured varnish. You could rub gently and carefully with 0000 steel wool or the plastic equivalent dampened with MS.
Mineral oil dissolves whatever mineral spirits will dissolve, and it is not volatile and will not smell up the room. If you get the gunk off with mineral oil you can then wipe off the oil with rags and then a rag dampened with mineral spirits.
If a plasticizer did soften the finish you are probably SOL and will want to strip it and refinish. If you can get down to a hard dry surface and want to partially refinish, dewaxed shellac (Seal Coat) reputedly sticks to almost any substrate.
Good Luck
Doug
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I'd bet, based on age, that it was nitrocellulose lacquer.
It is hard to tell though from the information in the OP.
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If it was production made I would bet you are right; it's NC lacquer. It became the preferred finish after it was invented in the 1920's.
John
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Thank you all for your advice. Mineral Spirits took most of the gunk off and a couple of coats of wax restored the shine (I used 000 steel wool to scrub with the MS). There are still some rings if you look at the correct light and the correct angle, but it is a million times better. I don't think my MIL will ever be coming home but at least now I don't have to worry about her keeling over from shock if she does see the table.
Thanks again.
Pedro
I miss nested quotes..........
