How can I repair damaged wood lacquer?

Question

I've ruined a wooden, varnished table by putting a hot mug of tea down on it. In case that’s relevant, the cup was also slightly wet (only water). Now at the place where the mug stood is a milky-whitish blemish in the lacquer. On the first try it looked as though it could be scraped off with a sharp object but that doesn’t seem to be the case after all, and no amount of scrubbing with a wet cloth has any visible effect.

Is there a way of fixing this, short of repainting the whole table? I’m hoping that maybe the damage is only superficial after all; are there special cleaning products for this?

Answer 1

Now you know why varnish is rarely used anymore. If it is pure varnish/shellac, then damage to the wood is likely. Before sanding and refinishing, the nuclear option is to try to rub it out with denatured alcohol. The alcohol will dissolve the varnish and redistribute or remove it. You can then touch up the varnish carefully.

If it is lacquer, then use lacquer thinner. Remember, varnish and lacquer are not the same.

This is somewhat successful in some stains.