Woodworkers/refinishers stain on wood

I wanted a little work table so I took this desk that was in the basement and did a little refinishing to it so it's more usable for me.

That big stain is where batteries of some kind sat on it for years and corroded. It was a lot bigger and greener.

I'm happy with it the way it is I was just wondering what I could have done different for the next time.

I used 3m stripper on it twice, once overnight and when that didn't work I sanded till I got tired of that. That oak is like a rock. I know I could have used the belt sander and ground it down but I didn't have any belts and was wanting to do this on the cheap.

Is there some kind of refinishing technique that works miracles?

I don't know about miracles, but, you could try oxalyc acid. Mix with warm water and brush on. Leave it for 15-20 minutes, then, rinse well with water. You can normally find the acid at a Mom and Pop Drugstore.

worminken said:

I don't know about miracles, but, you could try oxalyc acid. Mix with warm water and brush on. Leave it for 15-20 minutes, then, rinse well with water. You can normally find the acid at a Mom and Pop Drugstore.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I looked that up online and it said that the cleaner "bar tenders friend" has that in it. Wonder if that would be strong enough for next time? Too late for this one, already topcoated it.

One of the cheaper methods I'm aware of that doesn't require sanding the stained portion away is to bleach it. Regular household chlorine bleach as well as pool chlorine bleach has been effective. There are some videos floating around the net showing how to do this but it will require you to strip any polyurethane/varnish off before hand.