SuburbanSmoker Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 Im curious what the preferred method for people who have experience with getting charcoal burns off of wood tables. As of right now im thinking sanding the entire table down and refinishing it, but i would like to know if there are any less work intesive methods. the burns are small but plentiful in 3 spots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imsomint Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 (edited) Drill out the burn marks with a drill bit and make a plug out of a darker or lighter wood to plug the drilled-out holes. Call it art. Edited March 29, 2009 by Imsomint Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chinamon Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 Imsomint's method is probably the quickest and easiest but wont look very nice.sanding it down and refinishing it would be the most time consuming but would yield the best results.my vote is for refinishing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imsomint Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 I could make it look nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilikemyusername Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 i would say leave it until you're sure you wont get any more burns on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chinamon Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 QUOTE (Imsomint @ Mar 29 2009, 09:06 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>I could make it look nice.it would be pretty tough to get the grain to match... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gorillA Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 Burn the rest of the table so it blends in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcane Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 QUOTE (ilikemyusername @ Mar 30 2009, 05:08 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>i would say leave it until you're sure you wont get any more burns on it.+1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitchard Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 QUOTE (gorillA @ Mar 29 2009, 02:00 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Burn the rest of the table so it blends in?+1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhanzair Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 Sanding and refinishing is definitely the way to go. You could get away with light sanding (using high-number sandpaper or a kitchen scrubber) and re-varnishing and polishing locally if the burns are not deep. But getting away with that depends on the type of table and finish. I wouldn't recomend it unless you've got some experience in that kind of thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EternalSoil Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 i wonder if you could lightly to get a good portion of the burn mark off and then bleach it a little to get the rest out without getting rid of a lot of the wood by sanding it all off... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sylren Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 Buy a new table Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bookworm Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 glass top tables for the win.you could get a woodburning kit and do the whole table so it's campflauged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imsomint Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 QUOTE (chinamon @ Mar 29 2009, 01:09 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>QUOTE (Imsomint @ Mar 29 2009, 09:06 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>I could make it look nice.it would be pretty tough to get the grain to match...the whole point of doing this would be to mix and match different colored woods and grains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indian_villager Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 (edited) just slightly sand down the burnt area and lacquer it so that it just looks like a dark spot in the wood? Edited March 30, 2009 by indian_villager Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inino Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 put a coaster on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rani Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Varnish changes color over time so even if you managed to sand out the burns the varnish won't match. So you can either refinish the entire table, or depending on the styling of the table and if the burns are all generally in the middle, cut out the center section of the table. Add a lip underneath and drop in either glass or a marble, or tile depending on what you want to do with it. And that's only assuming you're willing to change the overall look of the table. You could also paint it perhaps some kind of abstract and then drop glass over it. Being an artist, I have a natural inclination to "improve" everything including furniture!'Rani Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delSol_si Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 I would just not fuck with it. Burn marks are character and make good conversation pieces. You know if you refinish it and use it for hookah again, you are guaranteed to burn it again. Thats just the way life goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bookworm Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 QUOTE (inino @ Mar 29 2009, 04:08 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>put a coaster on it.this wins the budget award Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willbb123 Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 QUOTE (Bookworm @ Mar 29 2009, 05:15 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>glass top tables for the win.I've got a glass table, and I'm afraid that the heat shock of a coal will crack it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delSol_si Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Why use a table at all? I just set mine on the floor. When I go to the smoking lounge, the floor is tile and the janitor cleans it anyway, and when I was in my apartment, I just went to walmart and bought a $20 rug as my "hookah rug" to absorb all the charcoal burns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chinamon Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 QUOTE (willbb123 @ Mar 30 2009, 01:56 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>QUOTE (Bookworm @ Mar 29 2009, 05:15 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>glass top tables for the win.I've got a glass table, and I'm afraid that the heat shock of a coal will crack it.yeah i had a 3king coal split a thick glass ash tray down the middle in to two pieces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EternalSoil Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 When my friends wanted to put their hookah on the floor they had a 16"x16" tile they put it on.It kept it stable.you could always get something like that or a big piece of wood, if you dont like the look of the wood get a crappy rug to put on top. Stable and it's ok if you burn it.personally, i use a little table i made way back in the day. It's made of 2x4's and 1x4's. If i have the legs in it sits about 1.5ft above the ground. if i take the legs out it's the size of a 2x4 on its side with a 1x4 laying flat on top. its about 1.5ft by 2ft.Works great! When i used my Chic (basically a QT) i had the legs in so it wasnt so far down. now that i use my KM i have the legs out so it's not so high.Once you figure out how you're gonna fix the table you could do a number of things to keep using it.you could find a rug to put on itget a piece of glass that will fit on it. I used to work at gardenridge and they had pieces of glass like half an inch thick that had the edge beveled that would work great. not thin enough for a coal falling on it to crack it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuburbanSmoker Posted March 30, 2009 Author Share Posted March 30, 2009 wel normally i would say fuck it and not care but the only problem is it is a buddy of mines parents table. i felt bad because we were smoking inside when they dont want us too soooo ya. to replace the table would be around 350$ to sand ti down and refinish it would take a couple of hours, but as it stands now that still seems like the most reliable way to go. i dont have much experience with putting plugs into wood, if someone could link a youtube diy it would be much appreciated, or if someone has another method any and all input is appreciated.I use a glass tabletop at my own house for whoever said that. the coals def dont crack the glass, id be shocked if they did.in regards to the coaster remark, i was seriously contemplating permagluing a coaster to the table, but alas my buddy didnt go for it lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delSol_si Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 (edited) Well, in that case, I would suggest first making sure this table isn't part of a matching set or else if you were to refinish it, it will look out of place. If it doesn't matter what color the finish is, go to the store and get some of that finishing stripper shit and either pour it on, spray it on, or whatever, and then use a scraper and scrape the finish off. After you are done with that, give it a good wash/rinse (depending on how well you scrape). Then, depending on how strong your hands are, sand it by hand OR be VERY CAREFUL and use a handheld sander (I say be careful because it is VERY easy to make the table uneven or get sanding marks). Then, rinse it off again. Wait till is is dry, then get some stain, stain the table, let dry, then put some finish on it and let dry again. OR, depending on what the table's finish was before, you can skip the stain and finish and just paint it any color of your choice (of course it won't look as good painted imo, but is faster and easier). This was what I have done before at least. I wasn't doing this to get rid of burn marks tho, just wanted to make a shitty looking table not look so shitty. Edited March 30, 2009 by delSol_si Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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