Featured Restore old table with bubles

Hi guys!
I'm new here and have a few questions about restoring our old rococo table I got from my grandmother a couple months ago.

The table looks good except for the top where it has some bubles and black spots. I have no idea what kind of wood it is so I'm adding a few pictures so you can see what I mean. Any suggestions on how I can restore it without destroying it completely?

 

Hi,
A real mess in trying to repair it. I would put a glass top on it and enjoy it.
greg

 

Lovely table but from my limited experience with furniture rehab, this is going to be a big job. Not a bad idea to throw a glass table top on it instead.

 

TRY THIS AT YOUR RISK!!!!!

I had the same issue with a table top some years ago. It was suggested at that time that I just put a piece of glass on it instead of trying to repair it (as others here have suggested).

I had the (4 mm) glass cut and when I felt its weight I had an inspiration..........I sprayed water on the "bubbles" (I know, it SOUNDS counter intuitive), THEN I placed the glass on top and then I piled it with books to weight it down - lots of books, distributed evenly. After a week or so (possibly longer?) most of the bubbles had flattened out. At least enough that the glass would lay flat on the table top. It was not a real repair, but cosmetically the table looked MUCH better.

PS getting custom glass can be expensive - shop around, gently letting the merchants know that you are open to having them re-cut a piece that was done in error or refused by the buyer. The point being that they WILL DO THIS ANYWAY and not mention it to you - if you mention it first you may get a slight discount.

 

If it's round, can't tell for certain but looks it, rounds are made for stock so find a place that has those ready to go.
Or...a thrift may have a table with glass top for far less then give the table back.

 

Beautiful burl. Rosewood?

 

What has worked for us in the past is to put a cloth over the bubble and iron over it with a hot iron. It seemingly melts the glue and flattens the veneer down. I t has worked for us, but I don't know about yours.

 

Tough fix. I doubt any of the above methods will work as a permanent repair but maybe worth a shot. However, adding more water runs the risk of further darkening and/or raising of the veneer. A permanent repair will involve cutting in to the bubbles with a razor knife and possibly removing a bit of wood until they will lay flat with pressure. Once you have it to that stage, you need to force some wood glue under the veneer, cover with wax paper, apply a flat 1/4" iron (or glass) plate to it and as much weight as you can stack on to it. Once the glue has dried, you may need to remove excess and sand lightly to smooth the surface completely. You would then probably need to refinish the entire table top to get a complete repair that is as good as can possibly be.

 

This is not a DIY type project in my view, veneer work is an art form and one of the highest forms of cabinetmaking & repairing it is even worse so if not familiar with it, I'd leave it to a professional.
BTW, gorgeous walnut burl!

 

I have flattened bubbles like that with heat.
As has been said above you can do it with a hot iron, its risky though because the varnish melts too but if you're willing to risk it it can work but the results won't be professional.

 

If table is important to you and you are not in a position at the moment to do it correctly, I'd go with what Greg & Sassy says above, cover with glass & leave it be.

 

Right - not a DYI unless experienced and with tools for the job. Put a fancy cloth doily over the bad spot and call it a job!

 

That's what I'd do too, or put an empty vase (no more water for you, Mr Table!) over the veneer damage and call it solved? Or a big chunk of rock/mineral specimen with some felt on the bottom? That might even help make it look better eventually.

 

A few big coffee-table books and you'll never know ...

 

If you've really got even one of these under that veneer I'd just forget about fixing it-bubles are noisy and move around, too.

 

OR, you could still get the glass cut for the top, but make it a conversation piece by putting awesome, either, old or antique photographs or newspaper headlines or clippings!!!! Something like that.......I suppose it depends on how much aggravation you want to deal with........

 

We've gone to our local glass place and gotten some nice, beveled-edge glass cut for a couple of pieces of furniture. Unless you have some skills with woodworking, I wouldn't recommend trying to fix it. You could ruin the beauty of the pattern.

 

Like those above me said this is a very hard and particular repair. It would involve cutting into the veneer, removing glue, flattening, re-gluing and a lot of pressure. It's finicky stuff and a technique with quite the learning curve. Generally you don't want your first time to be on a piece you like!

The glass idea seems much, much more reasonable.

If it was one little bubble that's one thing, but this is not one little bubble!