Furniture stores used to have craftmen on call who could be sent out to customer's home to touch up any furniture that received finish damage when being delivered. I'd start there an find out if someone who provides those services is located in your area. Fixing the damage will involve skills, time and a house call. It's going to cost $$$.

Mobile Furniture Finish & Touch-Up CraftsmenProfessional furniture restoration specialists, often operating mobile repair units or working as independent wood artisans, regularly make house calls to resolve furniture finish issues like water rings, scratches, heat marks, gouges, and localized finish deterioration. Taking care of these fixes inside your home prevents the risk of transit damage to delicate or antique pieces.

Depending on the specific scope of the damage, on-site services generally range from simple touch-ups to more extensive spot-refinishing.

On-Site Specialized Services

• Precision Touch-Ups & Color Matching: Mobile craftsmen carry commercial-grade toners, burn-in sticks, and pigments to match your furniture's exact wood grain and stain color seamlessly.
• Blemish Elimination: They can lift water rings, erase heat marks, blend surface scratches, and patch deep gouges without having to strip down the entire piece. [1, 2]
• Sheen Restoration: Technicians utilize specialized rubbing compounds, waxes, and topcoat sprays to restore the uniform satin, semi-gloss, or high-gloss sheen of the surrounding finish.

Typical Finish Repair Price ExpectationsWhile exact pricing depends heavily on the wood type and damage severity, common on-site structural and cosmetic repairs broadly break down into these estimated price tiers:

• Minor Scratches, Scuffs, and Light Dents: $25 – $130
• Color Matching & Stain Restoration: $130 – $400
• Full Structural Refinishing (Overhauls usually require shop transit): $150 – $800+

From the photo, that looks like a fairly large area of finish loss, not just a white ring. I would not judge the $1,500 quote from price alone: ask the shop whether it plans a local color/finish repair or to refinish the entire top, whether the top is solid wood or veneer, and whether pickup, delivery and a finish warranty are included. Those details could explain both the cost and the 4–6 weeks.

Before committing, get a second written assessment from an independent furniture refinisher who can see the tabletop in person. A mobile touch-up might be less disruptive, but ask what the repair would look like in daylight and whether the sheen would match across the whole top. I would avoid trying solvent, sanding, or a DIY stain until the finish and construction are identified; a bad patch can make a professional repair harder.

This appears tp be a very big change in the color tone of the wood veneer. It appears bleached. If the finish was dissolved and the wood affected, I don't think anyone can bring the affected area back to a match. I'd work with PB to get a new top.

This is what tablecloths are for. A plastic one if you're using something like acetone, an attractive cloth one for a damaged table. Etsy has many oval tablecloths and Pottery Barn has table throws and runners. Either will cost well under $1.5K. Or style the table with something big on the spot.

Vail Ski Haus · More Info

Eclectic White, Gray + Red Dining Room with Modern Light Fixture, Oval Dining Ta · More Info

The price for refinishing doesn't look unreasonable. The finishers would have to strip the table, probably restain the whole thing and then refinish it. It does not look like it can be retouched with good results.

You could get a product like Olde English and retouch it, which would make the stain less apparent (test the color of the product on the underside of the table), but not make the table look like new. Your best bet is probably getting a new top for it. In my area, finding a woodworker to make one with a higher quality wood would probably be less than $1500. YMMV.

Years ago, my daughter’s friend got nail polish remover on my kitchen table and it dissolved the finish. I spent about what you are being quoted because they had to strip the finish off of the rest of the top and then refinish it. It did take quite a bit of time to complete all of the steps and not rush things, but the job they did was wonderful.
The suggestion above to look into just replacing the top is a good one, and it may be less expensive that the refinishing job.
( it is so aggravating!)

From a furniture maker's perspective, the first thing to determine is whether your tabletop is solid wood or veneer over a substrate — you can usually tell by checking the edge: if the grain pattern wraps continuously over the edge, it's solid wood; if there's a thin seam or a different grain on the edge, it's veneer. That distinction matters a great deal here. Solid wood can be sanded down and refinished almost like new, which is why it's so forgiving. Veneer is only a thin layer, so aggressive sanding can burn right through it, and chemical damage like this often reaches through the veneer itself. If it is veneer, the realistic options are professional color blending and touch-up, re-veneering the top, or replacing the top. Before committing to a full strip and refinish, I'd suggest having a furniture restorer see it in person — they can assess the damage in seconds and tell you which route makes sense. Either way, don't wait too long, since moisture can creep into exposed areas and cause swelling that's harder to fix.

Yes, it can be restored, but a spot fix usually will not disappear. Acetone softens or strips lacquer and many other clear coats, so that patch is bare or dulled wood next to intact finish. Blending only the damaged area often leaves a different sheen and color, which is why a refinisher quotes the whole top.

A full refinish means stripping or sanding the top, repairing any raised grain, then staining and recoating so it matches edge to edge. On a dining table that is a few days of shop time, plus cure time before it can go back into use. $1,500 and 4–6 weeks is high for a small top, but not unusual if the table is large, the finish has to be matched, and they are storing it while it cures. Ask what is included: full strip, stain match, number of coats, and whether the base is touched. A second quote from a furniture refinisher is worth it before you commit.

Do not try to “polish it out” with more acetone or a hardware-store touch-up marker. That usually spreads the damage.

We do carpentry and interior finish work in New Westminster, BC. New Westminster Handyman, 604-200-6490, https://www.newwestminsterhandyman.ca/

1 source

This looks like an extendible round table. All are imported from Vietnam or Undia. So the idea of a new top is unlikely. New on BF seems the better option to consider. Maybe make an offer in store on a display piece.

This needs to be fully stripped and refinished. If it’s veneer, you will need to be careful not to over sand it. You can do this yourself, but it’s a big messy job and there is a learning curve.

I hope the "someone" has learned their lesson and is contrite.