Help w/ scorch marks?

Does anyone have an easy way to remove scorch marks from a shellac base finish? When our granddaughter was baptized in front of the fireplace in our parlor, heat from two candles scorched the finish on the underside of the over-mantle and we are hoping that someone out there has a better solution to lightening the dark spots (about 1.5" in diameter) than stripping the entire underside of the over-mantle.

Comment by John Leeke on February 23, 2009 at 4:00pm: >> When our granddaughter was baptized in front of the fireplace in our parlor, heat from two candles scorched the finish on the underside of the over-mantle

On the philosophical side:
Often "signs of life" like this are the reason stories are told and retold. Are you sure you want to erase this. It could be the reminder for future generations to continue to telling the story of her baptism. If erased the story might be forgotten.

On the technical side:
Scorch marks have to be scrape out, or covered over. Scrape with a steel cabinetmakers scraper if there is any loose finish or charred wood, or possible sand it out with sandpaper, then stain and refinish. There will be a depression that may show in the reflection of the finish surface. To avoid that, the depression can be filled, often with the same paint, varnish or shellac that is used for the finish. It is an art to do this sort of repair so it does not show. This sort of repair could only be considered "easy" if you have done it many times before. A first time attempt may look worse than the scorch marks. Practice several times if you are bound to do it yourself. The traditional repair method is with "stick shellac" and a hot iron. Melt the solid stick onto the iron then gently spread the hot shellac over the scorch mark, particularly tricky on an upside down surface, but I have seen it done. If you over fill, polish it down to the surrounding surface with 400, 600, 800 grit wet/dry sandpaper with water. "French polish" the final finish to match the sheen of surrounding surfaces--an art in itself.

John
www.HistoricHomeWorks.com

Comment by Russ Savory on February 23, 2009 at 8:38pm: I have used just about every finishing product out there, including several varieties of shellac that I mixed up on my own. I have twice repaired a damaged shellac surface, with only passable results. If you really want to match the existing finish you will need to get a professional to do the work. It takes a lot of practice and the right supplies to do it correctly. There isn't an easy fix.

I also agree with John about "signs of life." There are many worn and slightly damaged and alligatored areas of finish on woodwork throughout our house. For the most part we have left them alone.

Comment by Randall Marder on March 25, 2009 at 8:46am: Hi, send me pictures and you can run some simple test. The repairs are easy not difficult. See my wares at www.rmdesignconst.com

Comment by Bill Roberts on March 29, 2009 at 11:13am: Thanks for the offer to look at the scorch marks. I will try to upload a picture w/ this post.

Comment by Randall Marder on March 30, 2009 at 7:31pm: thanks for the pictures. I have one question how handy are you, are you good with you hands? If yes, this is what you can do. If no please don't. Get a Simpson rectangle truss plate at the home depot. Round the corners on two sides (get rid of the sharp corners), use a grinder or sander. You will get sparks, Please do not burn down the barn, garage, or your house!!!!!! Take your new tool, yes the one with the holes :-)), and sit in front of the damage area. Please sit head on, square to the surface area. Take the plate and hold the plate at a right angle and flat and square to the burnt surface. Scrap the burnt area lightly to test how hard the finish is. Carefully just scrape. WARNING,,, the reason you rounded the ends to the plate is to avoid digging the corners into the wood, just in case. This can only happen if you are not holding the plate flat and square to the surface area. Just scarp the area until you are flush with the original surface. Stop and send new pictures. DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS UNTIL YOU PRACTICE ON A PIECE OF SCRAP WOOD. If you have a painted scrap piece of wood laying around, practice until you get a feel for you new tool. This work great. If done right no sanding will be necessary.

Comment by Randall Marder on March 30, 2009 at 7:37pm: Oh by the way save the removed scraped pieces. Take the shellac or vanish scraped dust or pieces and put into a plastic bag for future tests. Test is easy and simple. From your pictures I do not think the final finish is shellac, it looks like varnish.

Comment by Bill Roberts on March 30, 2009 at 8:40pm: Thanks for the advice, Randall. I'm fairly handy, so I'll have no problem creating such a "specialized" tool! But I probably won't get to experimenting & photographing the results for a few weeks , , ,

Comment by Randall Marder on March 31, 2009 at 9:30am: The hand made tool is a cabinet scraper. If you need to sharpen the tool, burr the top edge. After reviewing your picture, the wood maybe scorched. By the way how old is your house?