LESLIE: Joining us from the Discovery Radio network, we’ve got Laura in Louisiana. What’s happening at your house?
LAURA: Oh, well my husband burnt a hole on my new table.
TOM: Oh, no.
LAURA: It’s a Chinawood. And anyway, I was wondering how you patch it. I got one of those pencils, you know, you buy at Home Depot and patched it.
TOM: (overlapping voices) Yeah, wax stick.
LAURA: And it won’t – that don’t work. (Leslie chuckles)
TOM: It doesn’t work, huh?
LAURA: No.
TOM: Well first of all, is it a black spot or is it a hole? What’s the – what’s it look like?
LAURA: Well, it’s a dark table and then when he burned it the stain came off and it’s like a white – the wood – the white wood shows …
TOM: I see.
LAURA: … and the grain. But I – you know, I don’t know (inaudible) on it. You know …
TOM: Probably going to have to try to restain that spot. So get all the …
LESLIE: Mm-hmm.
TOM: … carbon out of that. And then what I would do is I would get a small paint brush – like a child’s paint brush – I would get a very small can of stain that’s as close in color as you can to that spot.
LAURA: OK.
TOM: And I would dab it – dab it in there so that you kind of darken it as close as you possibly can to the finish that’s there. This is kind …
LESLIE: Yeah, and you might have to mix one or two colors to get the exact shade or stain that your existing table is.
LAURA: OK.
TOM: Yeah, it’s kind of like when you repair a chip on the finish of your car. You’re sort of filling in the area that chipped out.
LAURA: Yeah.
TOM: Well, you’re going to be sort of – with a small paint brush, like an artist’s paint brush –
LAURA: Yes.
TOM: – dab in that area; fill it in so it’s the same color and then do the same thing with a urethane finish on top.
LAURA: Oh, OK.
TOM: That’s going to be the best way to do it. A little trick of the trade: you could use, also – as the last upper surface – you could use clear nail polish, too.
LAURA: OK.
TOM: If you want something that’s high gloss you could try it with that.
LAURA: Alright. That sounds great. I know those pencils don’t work so …
TOM: Well, the pencils work well but it may not be the kind of damage that a pencil fills in. If you have a nail hole or a scratch or something like that …
LAURA: Yeah?
TOM: … they work really well. And a little trick for using them is to take a lighter and heat the tip so the wax gets really soft. And almost drip it into the area and then rub it with your finger, kind of really fast, and it sort of blends in on top of it. That works …
LAURA: (inaudible)
LESLIE: (overlapping voices) It almost like varnishes it.
TOM: Yeah, it works really good with hardwood floors that way.
LAURA: Alright, thank you very much.
TOM: You’re welcome, Laura. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
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