Help! Horribly scratched laminate/fireplace clear coat

[thelifter]

I live in a rental and it's been raining very hard the last few days, so I set some plants in front of the fireplace with newspaper under.
When I took off the plants today, the coat on top of the laminate (I think), looked white with residue, so I scratched some off. Turns out it was the clear coat.

Now I have a huge round spot with clear coat missing. Not really even sure what the fireplace is made of. Is there some way I can spray on another clear coat or buff it?


It looks horrible. If this is not a DIY then do how much do you think it would cost to fix/replace?

Looking at it closely, it looks like some stone with sealant, but I can't figure out what type the original sealant is. Would I have to sand off the entire thing and recoat or just go over the bad parts?

[Greg]

It could be almost anything, but is likely a poorly-adhered shellac or polyurethane to react as it did to the moisture from the pot bottoms.  I would try a little solvent, different solvents, to see what affects it which will help you narrow what it is down. 

If the surface is relatively smooth, a bit of elbow grease and a razor blade, as you would use for cleaning paint off glass, might do the trick.  But you could probably clear coat the bad spot only once you totally remove any loose stuff around the edges of the spot.  If the new and old finishes aren't compatible, you may experience some wrinkling and lifting.

Good luck.

[Kaspian]

You'd have to sand the entire base area (if a solvent doesn't remove it).  Not so it's clean and perfectly even, but so that a new layer of paint would stick properly.  It looks like thick metal to me?  Not stone?  If it's metal a fix would probably me easy--just sand it down (or obviously plain water can take it off if you just leave a wet rag on top long enough), tape off the top area and the area around with dropcloths/newspapers, use an etching spray primer, then use a couple of coats of a flat black appliance epoxy spray.

But if you're renting and you're not comfortable with doing something like that, you're probably best off telling your landlord before trying anything. 

[paddedhat]

I'm not sure if I'm seeing this correctly, but it sure looks like a piece of polyurethane coated slate on the floor, in front of your zero clearance fireplace. If so, relax, this won't be too hard. The first task is to feather the edges of the damaged area. You might want to do this with 3/0 or 4/0 steel wool. Just sand enough to blend the edges in, around the damaged area. Now vacuum the area and give it a quick wipe with a tack cloth. The next step is to lightly brush a coat of water based polyurethane into the damaged section. It really doesn't matter what finish is down now, water based poly will typically be compatible with most existing finishes. Give the area a few coats and see how you did?  If it still is noticeable, don't sweat. Take the 4/0 steel wool, and give the whole area a good rub down. How does it look now? It may be just fine. If not, recoat the whole area with poly, and you should be good.  Easy fix. A good paint store will have the advice and all the stuff, and water based poly is pretty harmless and easy to use. Good luck.