What to do? Betrayed by Sophia...

[John Kasaian]

...Loren!
Well, the Sophia Loren of loupes anyway---a 6x Tilting Silvestri in it's little black ditty bag which I stored on top of the 'dorff in a GI surplus cooler. The black exterior coating on the bag came off on the 'dorff and I'm having a deuce of a time getting it off the mahogany. It's like a stain. When I discovered the issue it was sticky. I used spray furniture polish (some Target branded Pledge-oid stuff and the first thing at hand) on a paper towel and got the sticky off (the camera, not the ditty bag,) but the black stains remain.
Any suggestions short of sanding and refinishing?

[Mark Sawyer]

If it's penetrated through the finish and into the wood, you're screwed. Perhaps a lightly abrasive polish/wax like Mother's could clean and polish off a little bit of whatever finish coat is on there?

[Johnny LaRue]

I say use it to your advantage. Tell other photographers that it's a prototype, or that it's a "speed" coating that actually makes the camera work faster!

[John Kasaian]

So far, I found that I can scrape quite a bit of it off with my thumb nail, which is puzzling because it doesn't look or feel like a thumb nail scrape-able gooey deposit.
I'll keep at it and see what happens.
And I'll toss Sophia's ditty bag.

[Mark Sawyer]

Don't try any solvents, because they might help the stain to penetrate further into the finish.

[Jerry Bodine]

If it doesn't clean up put a bandaid over it so you won't have to look at it.

[Jac@stafford.net]

What you wrote about scraping it off. There is a very handy wood working hand-tool that has a straight edge you can draw across the length of a piece of wood to shave a tiny bit at a time - and make or keep it to its original shape. Google wood scrapers and choose the simple hand-held blade type. They are a joy to use, and relatively inexpensive.

[John Kasaian]

Thanks for the advice! My talented thumb nail did the trick, at long last, so the 'dorff is now good to go.
Right now I'm working on obtaining a Crown Royal ditty bag to house the Sophia Lauren of loupes

[Mark Sawyer]

Right now I'm working on obtaining a Crown Royal ditty bag to house the Sophia Lauren of loupes

Oh, the sacrifices we make for Art...

[Jim Jones]

Why spend money on manufactured wood scrapers when a scrap of broken window glass is sharper and works better. Wood workers have been using this for centuries.