# Fix indentation on wood table? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 15, 2010, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fix-indentation-on-wood-table/529105 "2010-02-15T19:47:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/96bed5/32.png) [@Fang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fang)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fix-indentation-on-wood-table/529105/1 "2010-02-15T19:47:31Z")
In a Valentine’s Day mishap, I made some slight indentations on my girlfriend’s wooden tabletop with the grooves on the bottom of a wine bottle. The indentations are roughly the size of the grooves, probably less than a millimeter. Is it possible to have these removed (or do it myself)? I imagine it could probably be polished down, but wondering if anybody knows anymore details. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fix-indentation-on-wood-table/529105/2 "2010-02-15T19:54:18Z")
No guarantees, but you could try steaming them out. Put a few drops of water on the dents and place a towel over them. Put more water on the towel over the dents. Use a steam iron on high held slightly above the towel for a few minutes. The heat and humidity can swell the wood and hide the dents. ---
**Author:** ![Kiwi\_Fruit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kiwi_fruit/32/12_2.png) [@Kiwi\_Fruit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiwi_Fruit)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fix-indentation-on-wood-table/529105/3 "2010-02-15T19:54:41Z")
[Steam](http://www.westernwooddoctor.com/tipsandfaqs.htm#dents) them out! ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fix-indentation-on-wood-table/529105/4 "2010-02-15T19:54:54Z")
You could certainly sand the entire area down and re-finish, but that’s going to be a lot of work. You might try scraping the finish off just over the dents, and putting some water in the dents, which will tend to swell the wood, and then sand and re-finish. Actually, it’s going to be a lot of work no matter what, and hard to do well if you just try to spot-correct. Probably better to just buy her something nice as a peace offering and just live with it. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fix-indentation-on-wood-table/529105/5 "2010-02-15T20:08:20Z")
A trick my mom used on a scratched-up chair recently, and which I was amazed actually worked: Take a piece of walnut (the meat of the nut, the part you’d eat), and rub it over the scratched area. The walnut will stain the scratched area to match the surroundings. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fix-indentation-on-wood-table/529105/6 "2010-02-17T06:08:46Z")
> [@Fang](#): > > … wine bottle. … indentations … the size of the grooves … less than a millimeter. … Start [here](http://www.hardwoodlumberandmore.com/Hardwood/TipSheets/WhatIsThatFinish.html). Only do the denatured alcohol test\*, preferably somewhere where more damage to the finish won’t matter (look for “drips” of the finish on the underside of the table). Sounds to me like it’s a shellac finish damaged by the alcohol, not scratches or dents. Steaming won’t fix this! Fixing it isn’t difficult, but if you’ve never done it before, it’s easy to turn a minor defect into major mess :smack:. Instructions [here](http://www.hardwoodlumberandmore.com/Hardwood/Finishing/Shellac/ShellacRepair.html). \*If it is a shellac finish your best bet is to get a piece of wood, shellac it, and practice the repair technique before you actually tackle the table itself. If it’s anything else, it’s still repairable, but a lot more [complicated](http://www.woodfinishsupply.com/TouchUp.html)! ☹ CMC fnord!