Restore The Beauty Of Your Antique Wood Furniture

Articlesnatch 5-7-10

Here's something Great-Grandma got wrong. Imagine that your great-

grandmother owned a lovely mahogany buffet. She treated that buffet like it was

a member of the family; she dusted it every day and waxed it twice a year.

Great-Grandmother would turn over in her grave if she knew that all that waxing

and dusting was responsible for the dirty, dingy finish that is now on the buffet.

Wax and Dirt Build Up On Antiques

The only way to remove wax from furniture is with a chemical remover. Every

time you wax your furniture, the new wax blends in with the old wax, and as you

polish you just move it all around. Every time the piece is dusted, some of the

dust is picked up by the dust cloth, and some of it is rubbed into the accumulated

wax. Over time, the finish begins to lose its shine and become dingy looking.

The once-beautiful buffet becomes covered with a layer of dirt and wax.

To Restore the Shine, Remove the Dirty Wax

The secret to restoring the glow to antique furniture is to clean off the old dirt and

wax without damaging the underlying finish. You'll find that with a little patience

and a few supplies from the local hardware store that cleaning off the old dirty

wax is easy. Simply re-waxing the furniture or applying furniture polish will only

add to the problem; if you want the antique to glow, you must remove the old wax

and dirt. Of course, this cleaning technique assumes that the furnitures finish is

still intact; a finish with significant chipping and peeling should be refinished.

Assembling Your Supplies

Choosing the correct solvent is crucial; you need a solvent that will remove the

wax but is safe for the lacquer, shellac, and varnish finsihes found on antiques.

Mineral spirits is the correct solvent for wax; it will lift off the dirty wax without

hurting the antiques finish. Next, you will need 0000 (four-ought) grade steel

wool; other grades are too coarse. In the refinishing trade, 0000 steel wool is

known as a polishing pad; the longer you rub a finish with it, the shinier the finish

gets. You should also have Q-tips, absorbent rags, some rubber gloves, good

ventilation, and a bucket of water or a sink. For the final polishing, you will use a

burnishing cream. Burnishing cream is a cream polish that contains a very mild

abrasive. Burnishing cream can be purchased online or at some fine furniture

stores.

How To Remove the Waxy Buildup

Begin by pouring about a half-cup of mineral spirits directly onto the furnitures

top. Take your steel wool pad and spread the mineral spirits over about a two-

foot square area. Always rub in a straight line in the direction of the wood grain;

rubbing across the grain will create visible scratches. As you press down on the

steel wool, you will loosen and lift the dirty wax. Continue this procedure over the

entire piece of furniture, using as much mineral spirits as is needed to keep the

surface wet.

The drying time for mineral spirits is about 45 minutes. As the solvent dries, you

will notice a dirty grayish film forming over the furniture. This film is the loosened,

dirty wax that you have lifted from the surface. When the solvent has thoroughly

dried, use a damp rag to wipe up the dried wax. Clean the rag often. Use Q-

tips to get into corners and grooves.

Repeat the above procedure with mineral spirits and clean steel wool until no

more waxy dirt dries on the surface. When the furniture is free of wax and dirt,

apply the burnishing cream with a soft cloth, and rub until you are satisfied with

the shine.

Ongoing Maintenance

To keep your antique furniture beautiful, polish it once a year with a good quality

cream polish. If the finish is significantly worn and you have a few bare spots,

treat the bare spots with a light coat of paste wax to protect the wood. Dust

regularly. Never use spray polishes, dusting sprays, treated dusting cloths, or

any product that touts its ability to make your furniture shine. Chances are those

products contain silicone, and polishing your furniture with silicone is like

spraying it with WD-40 lubricant. Proper care will keep your antique furniture

looking beautiful for future generations.