How do you get white heat marks off wooden table tops?

The marks you have are actually caused by moisture being forced in and trapped under the wood finish and possibly into the wood fibers themselves. You can try to cover this up, but the best thing to do is to try to help the water escape. So buy some Heet gasoline additive - it's designed to remove moisture from gas tanks. (It's basically isopropanol.) You should also get latex gloves and a clean, white rag. Put on the gloves, wet the rag a bit and test an inconspicuous area on the piece of furniture in question by rubbing the wet rag against it slightly. Isopropanol will remove and affect some finishes. If the test goes OK and you see no ill effect on the finish, then SLOWLY try the same thing on the area with the white ring. Take your time. Do not rush. It's not a race. If the finish mars or you see color on the rage STOP. If not, keep going - you should start to see subtle improvement with each application Each time you brush the surface with Heet, you're helping to dissipate and ...  more