This is a stretch but all I can come up with to account for finish turning white. Alcohol will grab moisture and combine with it. Is it possible the alcohol container sat open for a long period during humid conditions? Lacquer will often blush when exposed to moisture before it's completely dry. Maybe alcohol partly desolved surface of lacquer and water remained after alcohol evaporated. Another WAG is moisture laden alcohol reacted with wax/polish on table. I would try lacquer thinner on a spot. Did I mention that I made that up and don't understand half of it myself? ):

Shellac dissolves in alcohol, so that' s probably not it. Lacquer would be a common finish for that age table. Try some lacquer thinner to see if that softens it.

What they said ^^. Either the "blush" (whiteness) is due to moisture, or it's not shellac and denatured alcohol is the incorrect solvent for the finish on that piece. Try mineral spirits or lacquer thinner.

Thanks all! I'm off to the solvent store today.

Before I started, I wiped down (and in some spots scrubbed) the entire thing with water and that didn't cause any discoloration at all.

I wonder if this table was refinished or "touched up" with various things over the years. Maybe it's wax? The top has a completely different finish and stain. So the functional part of the table might have been refinished at some point. Seems reasonable that other touchups were attempted as well.

" I wonder if this table was refinished or "touched up" with various things over the years."

That would open up other possibilities ,mostly bad. Polyshades is a popular choice of diyers and curse of knowledgeable refinishers. Because it's so difficult to remove without ruining patina,using Polyshades is about as close to burning bridges as it gets. We should find out now whether top is veneered or solid wood. It could make all the difference in what you try and remaining options if it fails. Here's a crash course on testing with the lacquer thinner you have. When LT is dripped onto a L finish,the finish desolves and amalgamate's with thinner then dry's as if a fresh coat of lacquer was applied. Ditto for fresh lacquer over old lacquer. L thinner dripped onto or fresh lacquer over varnish or polyurethane will wrinkle and make a mess. That's much easier to demonstrate than explain so good luck and let us know if we can help.

Thanks so much. Still haven't picked up my new solvents but hope to do so today.

It looks like the entire table is solid wood, and the top definitely is. All patina it has is bad so if I have to lose the cat bite marks, I'll be okay with it. :) The top could be cherry and I can't tell what the rest is. It's pretty when wet.

Time to see if the Houzz photo posting gremlins are working today...

This is the top. The finish has a more modern feel to it, like a durable plasticky coat of varnish or polyurethane. I haven't done anything to this yet.

The top is less red than the photos suggest. It's almost that 60s "fruitwood" color.

And the naked underside of the table top (it's one of those with a flip top swivel mechanism):

The rest of it has this type of finish--they just don't seem the same. This is the base which I haven't messed with yet

As you go up the legs out of the wear zone, the finish is more solid red and doesn't match the top well so I think maybe the top was redone.

After removing some of the finish from the base and apron. White stuff. It disappears when you reapply alcohol and reappears when it dries. I think that I could get all the finish and white stuff off with alcohol but it would be a lot of work!

Houzz is getting better! It only left out one image!

Underside of table:

Mercy! The mystery become's even deeper. I agee that is a beautiful piece but I'm just not seeing a century old cherry piece in serious need of refinish. I would love to have hands on but we have to take what we have. Since I'm not seeing what you see,don't take what I say as the last word. I believe you might save a bunch of work and come out with as good if not better finish by doing a silicon clean, sanding,applying shellac wash followed with a few wipe on coats of finish. I wouldn't bet on species of wood but I'd stake my reputation on it having stain (very well done) on it.

Well, I took lacquer thinner to it this afternoon and yep, that was it. Whatever the white stuff was, it was thoroughly defeated. Some of the finish came off, and some smeared around and evened out the color. It actually looks pretty good now! I'd be happy with it staying the color it is now but one arm (leg?) still has some light spots of discoloration. (The spots are clear splatter marks. This table was sticky with old wine when I brought it home and may have been used as a TV tray at one time. It's been through a lot.)

I still haven't messed with the top--it's almost serviceable as is and I have a feeling it will require something even nastier than lacquer thinner to remove.

It still needs some work but it's much closer to being presentable. I'm wondering if I can just rearrange the old goo to even out the color more, shellac it, and call it done. It won't be kept where it'll get wear or be used for beverage service.

This table, by the way, is sturdy and nicely built but probably not expensive or valuable. I think I found its kin on eBay. The base looks the same but the top is entirely different (and less appealing).

ebay table

Sorry to temporarily hijack, but I have a question for klem1: Does Deft work on top of a previous coat of spray lacquer? I've never used Deft but am wondering if it would work as a touch-up on some cabinets that need it.

Fori, that table looks great!

Yes, Deft is a brushing lacquer that can go over spray lacquer. But new versions of Deft are water-borne acrylic and are very similar in packaging and labeling, make sure you get the lacquer version. (follow the links for pix) If you have a hard time finding Deft lacquer, Watco also makes a brushing version. The only caveat for either is if Pledge has ever been used. Silicone oil in Pledge will make most finishes fish eye.

Thanks! Is lacquer easier to use than shellac? Coconut or not, surely shellac smells better and cleans up with less nasty stuff. And this won't be a "working" table so it doesn't need the toughest finish. But if the job requires it...

On to the top. It is lacquered, probably a refinish job because it doesn't match what looks like the spots of surviving finish on the base. It's very thick compared to the upper legs of the table which hadn't--I'm guessing here--been exposed to sunlight and wear and I assume is closer to the original. It needs some repairs due to cracks and wear and dings but it's probably doable. It's also very glossy. I suppose I could learn to do that. The main problem? It is brown. The base is red. They don't match at all. I suspect at some point the top looked as bad as the feet and someone stripped it and redid it, without matching the stain (because who would have the heart to cover up that pretty wood with blood-red stain?).

I can't get it to show in a photo, but they look sort of bad together. They looks perfect together in every photo I take. But they aren't!

I don't think your internet buds will be much help with that since it look's different in photos and real life. It's a question of how good you are with colors which is talent in it's own right.

Hey,

Nice wooden work.

Did you buy it from somewhere or make it on your own?