can not get stain out!

recently i spilled ammonia on my wood table and it soaked some junk mail i had sitting on it. Anyway, I didn't realize that that the mail had become wet and it sat there for many days. When I lifted it up there was a dark stain on the wood. I tried bleach and then a strong solution of oxalic acid (many many treatments) which didn't lighten the stain at all. It still looks exactly the same. The table is pretty old and is done with an antique light brown finish. Any ideas on what i could use?

 

It seems that the stain is in the finish. You might try some ammonia on a cloth to see if it will take some of it out. Being in the finish means that some means of drawing it out of the finish would be needed. My guess is that the finish is worn and thin or it would not have let the stain pass into the finish and possibly into the wood itself.

If the table is oak and the ammonia got into the wood, the only recourse would be to strip and bleach the wood. Even contact with ammonia for a short time can cause fuming to a limited degree. Fuming with ammonia is a technique for producing a dark stained effect in the oak. It is a chemical reaction more enduring than stain.

Hope this helps.

 

i believe the table is oak - which would explain it according to your reply........so i suppose i have a lot of work ahead of me......thanks for the tip