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Well, the story goes like this: one of my daughter's was polishing her nails, and "inadvertently" put the nail polish remover soaked cotton ball on the wooden table, and it stayed there till she finished her nails. Of course it made a mess of the finish... I tried a matching shoe polish which did not help. Any ideas on how to bring the finish back, Minwax maybe, I've never used that product so I don't know if it requires sanding, which I don't want to do. The area is about 2"x2".

A restorer might be able to tell you.
I don't know how you'd be able to repair only a 2x2" area and not have it noticeable.
Call or go to local paint store. A person there might be able to tell you how to sand (what grit number) and can show you how to use MinWax.
MinWax is easy to use; a small bit on a cloth; wipe. Apply; wipe. Reapply a small amount. I always wipe off each application as soon as it's applied. It may take several applications. All dependents upon item being stained.
100 grip would possibly remove the damage. I've used that to remove stain when I've had to restain in a different color stain (the project was changed by someone).
I'd seek the experts. Our local Spencer Paints was a great help.
You might have to do the entire top. So don't be surprised. It's easy. Get a remover; apply; wait; scrap. Apply stain. It's really easy.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: M-ma,

The only way to fix it is to have it refinished. I spilled nail polish remover on my DM's end table. I immediately cleaned up the spill but the finish was already damaged. Our neighbors were antique dealers so if there was any easy fix other than refinishing the table they would have let us know.

Acetone dissolves lacquer finishes in a few seconds. If this is a clear lacquer finish (color of stain is the same on damaged and undamaged area) you may be able possibly to disguise it with some aerosol lacquer spray of the same sheen/gloss. (I have done this in the past, and though damage may still be visible, it really helps hide it)

I would take some paper (brown grocery sack can work) and cut an area just a bit larger than the mar. Then following directions on the spray lacquer, lightly spray across the area, not too much at a pass. Lift the paper and check your results.

Some lacquers are a stain/lacquer combination and the color may be lighter and it may not match, but at least you could still refinish the top if needed.