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Apologies if this is posted in the wrong place, I'm a newbie :)
I have a dressing table that was quite expensive, not solid wood but good matt finish to look like real wood. I have stupidly allowed items to spill and dry on the surface and now want to find a way to clean them off (mainly things like hair products) without taking the finish off the wood. I thought about furniture polish and the rough side of a sponge but a) wasn't sure if furniture polish is sufficient to get the products off, and b) was worried about the rough side of the sponge being too abrasive.
First can you clarify whether the surface is actually wood or not? You say it "looks like real wood" but then you talk about taking the finish off the wood, so I'm not sure if it's really wood or if it's not. So is it wood veneer, or is it plastic that's made to look like wood?
If it's the plastic laminate stuff that sort of looks like wood, then a regular spray cleaner is going to do the best job, and since it's plastic not wood you don't have to worry about the finish, a spray cleaner and a little scrubbing will hopefully get the stuff off.
If it is wood veneer, you may have to refinish the wood to really get rid of it. The products spilling and drying have probably already ruined the finish in those areas and even if you get them cleaned off the finish underneath is already ruined. Furniture polish is not much of a cleaner, my thought is you'd be better off trying some dish soap or some gentle cleaner, scrub and see how much you can get off, then dry the wood off right away, then assess the damage to the finish. Unfortunately since it's wood veneer and not solid wood your options are a bit limited for refinishing, generally the best thing to do would be sand it down, stain it, and then do polyurethane over the top. But I'm not sure it's a good idea to sand wood veneer, it's pretty thin so you're better off getting the products off, then find some stain that matches and touch up the spots where the finish got ruined, then do the polyurethane. You'll probably still be able to see the damaged spots, but at least they'll be better.
It's a wood veneer, so your answer kind of confirmed my worst fears... Thanks for the advice, I'll try each thing you have said in turn and if it turns out I need to have it completely refinished, well, that's my punishment for being so clutzy in the first place... ;)
Either way, the top might already be ruined. If the products that spilled on it haven't already, applying any more moisture should make the finish bubble up if it is the material I am thinking it is.
You might look in the automotive department for car polishes. You can use them with a microfiber cloth which should not be too abrasive. If there is a spot on the back of the piece that has the same finish you can practice to see if you are getting the effect you want. The car polishes are pastes and they come in different grades. If you think this is still too abrasive you can use jewelers rouge, which is in silver polish--Wrights Silver polish is a paste which should produce a fairly high polish.
