Removing scorch marks from wooden desk..

ajstan · 5 May 2010 at 18:55

Recently, and rather stupidly I did some soldering on my desk and didn't put down enough protection and have left scorch/burn makrs on the wood.

Does anyone know how to get rid of them?

I did have a quick search on google but there were so many different techniques I had no idea which one to try - I don't want to make it worse either, I can live with the marks, its just annoying.

Heres a pic:

It's from Ikea and is beech.

Sparky__H · 5 May 2010 at 19:00

is it wood or wood laminate?

GingerNinja1989 · 5 May 2010 at 19:01

OcUK response: Apply mustard three times daily.

Serious response: Sanding?

Morgoth · 5 May 2010 at 19:10

Put burn marks over the whole desk to disguise it.

Westyfield2 · 5 May 2010 at 19:15

Sand it a bit?

Aod · 5 May 2010 at 19:19

those large ones will be at least a millimeter if not two millimeters deep - you'll need to take that off the whole surface or it'll look even worse.

frankly, not worth the effort.

freak2002 · 5 May 2010 at 19:23

Morgoth said:
Put burn marks over the whole desk to disguise it.

This and call it designer!

Nix · 5 May 2010 at 19:26

Varnish?

ajstan · 5 May 2010 at 19:40

Sparky__H said:
is it wood or wood laminate?

It's not laminate..

Sand it a bit?

I did just get a little bit to see how deep they were and it just looks way to deep

Kutter · 5 May 2010 at 20:20

sand it back a little then revarnish it a slightly a darker colour.

Tefal · 5 May 2010 at 20:37

sand it down then polish/stain it to match.

Aod · 5 May 2010 at 20:40

ajstan said:
I did just get a little bit to see how deep they were and it just looks way to deep

i thought so. it looks like you're stuffed.

Tefal said:
sand it down then polish/stain it to match.

if he'd wanted a black desk he'd have bought a composite one and spared the expense

ajstan · 5 May 2010 at 20:56

Yep I'm stuffed then

,cheers for your help

Tachyon · 5 May 2010 at 20:58

If you have something like an orbital sander I'd definately give it a go. Even if it means going a bit deeper in the affected area you'll get a slight dip there but I'd rather have that than the more obvious burn marks.

Edit: Don't do it if it's only a wood veneer and not a solid top.

Cob · 5 May 2010 at 21:04

French polisher

apeZ · 5 May 2010 at 21:31

You could always get a big keyboard mat or something to cover it. That's what I'd do.

Aod · 5 May 2010 at 22:10

ajstan said:
Yep I'm stuffed then ,cheers for your help

Tachyon said:
If you have something like an orbital sander I'd definately give it a go. Even if it means going a bit deeper in the affected area you'll get a slight dip there but I'd rather have that than the more obvious burn marks.

if you REALLY wanted/needed to do it, then you'd need a planer - a sander isn't fast or precise enough, and you'd just re-surface the whole desk, then sand it smooth and give it a nice oiling.

they're too deep that you couldn't sand 'em out without there being a large and/or deep dip in the desk

Rich_L · 5 May 2010 at 22:32

You could put a wood veneer over the desk

mistercrabb · 5 May 2010 at 22:35

remove them with fire.

xarr · 5 May 2010 at 23:01

ajstan said:
It's not laminate..

I did just get a little bit to see how deep they were and it just looks way to deep

Are you sure its not a veneer, most (if not all) of their desks that are beech are particle board with a veneer, not solid wood.

Which desk is it?

If it is a veneer its almost impossible to repair as the veneer is very thin and will not hold up to sanding well and therefore you are best covering it up (repair sticks from Homebase etc.) or buying a new one. Repair sticks are mostly used on scratches but I see no reason for them (bar looking awful) to be used on a patch. If in the unlikely case it is solid beech then sand the whole top down and reseal with a clear varnish.