Varnish bloom?

[Quandary]

The interior of our 25 year old Moody is pristine having had a very easy life, much of the time used only for club racing on summer evenings. The saloon table is cherry with a very high gloss factory sprayed finish but along one edge of one of the folding leaves, the varnish, while still high gloss, has a narrow strip of pale whitish bloom, I am not sure if it was caused by damp or sunlight, more probably the former as it is quite a small area. I recently made some bookshelves for pilot books and while I managed a decent gloss, I know that removing the varnish and recreating its glass like quality is well beyond me so I wondered was there any way to treat it.
I am not expecting to be able to cure it and am quite prepared to live with it but if it could be lightened it would reinstate the 'as new' condition.

 

[Bandit]

The interior of my Aquastar 48 is spray varnish mahogany, large windows but covered with screen covers so 90% dark inside, it also has a dehumidifier running 365 its a 2001 boat.
The varnish is starting to bloom I believe its sunlight over the years as screen covers are only off when we are on boats so 30 to 40 days a year.

In my mind only way is to strip back to bare wood and re varnish by hand.

 

[Elemental]

My saloon table and navigator desk both had white blooms. In my case I was able to 100% remove them by taking a new, dry, teatowel and placing it over the affected area. Then I used a steam iron on full steam setting to iron over the teatowel. Remove the iron, quickly wipe any water/condensation with a fresh teatowel then apply a quality furniture polish. Totally invisible now. There are a number of youtube videos that show you how.

 

[Quandary]

Thanks, Sea Spray, I was hoping someone might have found a solution like that, well worth a try.

 

[pcatterall]

That sounds like a great tip, I will look up the Utube stuff. The steam through a dry towel surprised me a bit, I wonder just what is going on?
If the OPs problem is on the actual edge/side then a bit of a try would pose less of a risk?

 

[Concerto]

A lot of British boat builders did not use a varnish on the wood interiors, but a lacquer. My Westerly was finished with a lacquer from Morrells. https://www.morrells.co.uk/

They have branches all over the country and are very helpful. They supply finishes from 100% gloss to 100% satin. My Westerly was finished with /450 low odour acid catalyst lacquer in 20% sheen. It is intended to spray, but can be brushed. I am just about to relacquer the interior of my Fulmar. It can be recoated after a couple of hours and the lacquer once mixed has a pot life in excess of 12 hours. The lacquer is in my car awaiting to be used. 5 litres cost just under £60 including thinners. https://www.morrells.co.uk/products...0-low-odour-high-build-acid-catalyst-lacquer/

It is worth asking on the Moody Forum to find what was originally used.

 

[Homer J]

My old carpentry teacher at school, a French polisher by trade told me that mentholated spirits applied judiciously would fix it. His reasoning was that the white bloom was where air had got under the surface and that the meths would penetrate and re-stick it.
I’ve never tried it but it maybe worth asking Mr Google.

 

[pcatterall]

My old carpentry teacher at school, a French polisher by trade told me that mentholated spirits applied judiciously would fix it. His reasoning was that the white bloom was where air had got under the surface and that the meths would penetrate and re-stick it.
I’ve never tried it but it maybe worth asking Mr Google.

Ahh! so perhaps the steaming referred to above did the same IE penetrated the coating and softened the finish underneath. I had it in mind that the discolouration was due to moisture inside rather than dryness. Starting to make sense to me now.

 

[Homer J]

Following the theory on - water initially penetrates (a wet glass left on the surface) lifts the finish from the wood and then evaporates leaving the finish unstuck and a white bloom. Then the meths re-sticks it.
Please don’t try it based on just my 2nd hand theory though - theory sounds good but please confirm elsewhere.

 

[Quandary]

That it is a lacquer makes sense to me, it is very high gloss obviously applied in the workshop, The area affected is along one edge of a drop leaf and only about 7cms. wide, it looks more like fading than a water stain. I will try the meths first on a corner, then pehaps some dry heat before resorting to the steam iron which seem to me the more agressive treatment. Probably wait until the boat come out but will report in due course.
Thanks for the advice.