If the finish is lacquer, then lacquer thinner will remove the finish and new lacquer can be applied.

If the finish is shellac, alcohol will dissolve the finish and new shellac can be applied.

Both the above finishes can be feathered into the old finish.

Basically, the remaining types of finish will need to be sanded/stripped to remove the stain if attempts to remove the stain fail. Might try GooGone or a similar stain remover/cleaner.

Once the stain is removed, the easiest finish to apply(IMHO) is non poly varnish, since it can be feathered. Polyurethane is a type of plastic and is very difficult to spot repair.

I just realized my picture did not upload to my original post. How do I get the stain out of the wood if it's penetrated, though? Alcohol lightened it up a bit. Which might mean it dissolved the shellac, assuming that was what the finish is.

I believe solvents are likely to desolve the ink so that it soak's in farther. I recommend a card scraper to remove stained wood.

I'd try more alcohol, although I think the finish is some form of varnish/poly. Even if the alcohol causes the ink to bleed through the finish and into the wood, either scraping or sanding the spot is going to be necessary.

Using a card scraper (or spokeshave) will remove the stain/wood without pushing it further into the grain like sanding could. However, mastering the technique for using either the card scraper or spokeshave take a bit of practice---and an investment in card/burnisher(how an edge is created on the card scraper) or the spokesshave. Either will be north of $25+.

Sanding can be done with a piece of 100 or 120 grit sandpaper helr in your fingers---making sure to not make a hole/groove) then finish sand with 180 grit. Sandpaper can be found at any hardware/home improvement store or Walmart.

AACk!! That's awful!! The stain has penetrated the wood....and I am afraid the only to remove it is with bleach...like Clorox. Some inks won't even bleach out with that and you have to use oxalic acid.
Do as mac says....then bleach the stain.....and feather in a new finish....hoping there is no stain that you will have to try to match.

There are two more possibilities:

The wood looks like oak. Oak is rich in tannins. When tannins get in contact with iron (aided by water), they make a black stain like that. The cure for that is oxalic acid bleach. But you need to strip the wood down to bare wood to do. (But this is just a possibility, as a guess) http://www.woodcentral.com/bparticles/woodbleach.shtml

The other potential is a Sharpie type marker. Alcohol is the solvent for all colors of Sharpie. Dampen a rag with denatured alcohol and sweep across it with a padding,l touch and go method.

Thanks, everyone. My heart just sank when I saw this. I can do some of it for him, but hope he can do at least some of it, as I’d already “signed off” on this set.

Bobsmyuncle, it does not look like the oak iron stain: I’ve had that on another piece, that I successfully used wood bleach on. At least some looks to be sitting on top. Though some has obviously soaked in too.

It looks like ink. It could very well be Sharpie rather than a ball point pen. I could see a Sharpie bleeding that far.

To get ink off finishd wood, try spraying a little hair pray on it, then wiping it off with a damp cloth. You could also try magic eraser.

I think in this case, it has soaked in, plus I think now that it is Sharpie vs something like fountain pen ink. But if it were still on the surface, hair spray would be an excellent idea, cheryl. Thanks for the reminder. I have successfully used hair spray on ball-point ink on a couple of items that nothing else would work on, including vinyl.

Handymac, if you are still around, how do you identify what is really a non-poly varnish to buy? I could use that knowledge for myself, as well as touching up the finish on this if my friend (or I) successfully get the stain out. Thanks!