How do you remove alcohol stain on wood furniture?

Question

I had a cup of alcohol sitting on my coffee table and now there is a ring where the cup was and it won't dissappear.

Answer 1

If it is a foggy gray ring try waiving a hair dryer over it for about 15 minutes. The heat should help evaporate the moisture caught in the varnish.

If it is the varnish that is damaged (you can tell if the surface feels uneven to a light touch) you may need to look at re-finishing.

Answer 2

The TV's little plastic feet have left a mark, so I'd start with mineral spirits and see what that does. If that's no help, you can move up to Goof Off, but tread lightly: Goof Off will take off lots of finishes and melt some plastics; it will take latex paint right off the wall. Test on an inconspicuous part of the table first to ensure it won't damage the table. Bleach probably won't have any effect, but there's little harm in trying it since the finish is already white. But be advised that bleach itself can react with some materials to make a yellow stain, so test that someplace out-of-sight first as well. If the feet are brown or black and the plastic I think they might be, I think your best results will come with Goof Off. Good luck with it.

Answer 3

My grandmother (god rest her soul) passed on this tip that worked exceptionally well when I had little ones running around and they used to spill everything on my tables.

Mayonaise.

Believe it or not, it actually worked countless times on my wooden tables for I can not remember how many items that spilled.

Her instruction to me were:
Dab some mayonaise on the spot, take a paper towel or rag, rub in a circular motion. VOILA!

The alcohol may have damaged the hard finish and the only option would be to sand down and re-finish.

Good luck!
Newt

Answer 4

put a coaster over it