fmattheg,

The existing varnish will need to be stripped off the table to see if the burn is only discoloration of the varnish or the wood. The burn doesn't sound like a deep burn so you can probably sand down the whole top of the table to remove the burn mark. Just sanding the burn spot will leave an indentation so you must do the whole top.

I am assuming of course that the table top is wood and not veneer.

For a wood veneer top table the best solution would probably be trying to bleach the spot or better yet a darker stain to match the burn. There are wood bleaching chemicals that might get the stain out but they will most likely bleach the wood surrounding the burn as well.

I would not buy a new table because it is far cheaper to strip,stain,and varnish your table on your own and it is not that difficult to do.

Hope this helps.

U.S.M.C. Semper Fi !!!

Thanks for the advice - I only needed to lightly sand the burnt area with a piece of fine grit sand paper to remove the discoloration. Luckily the burn was not deep nor the finish very glossy! The woman couldn't even tell!

However, I would like to recommend my iron from GE - it obviously has some heating power!