Readers ask: What Is The Best Furniture Polish For Antiques?

How do you care for antique wood furniture?

Basic maintenance of antique wooden furniture includes regular dusting with a soft brush. Try to avoid wet cleaning your antique, especially if the wood is unfinished. If you must wet clean, use a mild detergent diluted in distilled water and gently dab the furniture. Pat the cleaned areas dry with distilled water.

What is the best finish for antique furniture?

Film finishes offer better protection because they leave a thicker film on the surface of the wood, which protects against water and scratches. Varnish and water base are common film finishes. Most of the better 18th century furniture and almost all of the 19th century furniture is finished with shellac or varnish.

How do you polish antique wood furniture?

Polishing, Cleaning, and Dusting Put a small amount of polish on a soft cloth and rub the piece until the wax on the cloth shines, This will burnish the surface and evaporate any solvent. Then polish with a clean duster. If possible, apply the wax at night to allow it to nourish the wood and polish the following day.

What is the best furniture polish?

The Best Furniture Polishes to Make Every Surface Shine

• Best Oil: Pledge Restore & Shine. Pledge.
• Best Aerosol: Guardsman Anytime Clean & Polish.
• Best Wax: Howard Feed-N-Wax Wood Polish.
• Best Wipe: Weiman Furniture Wipes.
• Best Duster: Twinkle Dust and Shine Cloth.
• Best Scratch Solution: Weiman Repair Kit.

Can I use Murphy’s Oil Soap on antique furniture?

Never use vegetable oils because they eventually turn rancid. I would NOT use Murphy’s Oil soap on antique furniture.

Should you oil antique furniture?

Avoid Oils on Wood Many antique pieces, however, were originally stained rather than painted.

How do you restore the finish on antique furniture?

The correct method is to rub boiled linseed oil into the wood using a clean lint free cloth. Rub in oil very vigorously until the wood looks replenished and won’t soak up any more linseed oil. With your cloth rub off the excess oil and leave the piece of antique furniture to dry over night.

Is it better to sand or strip furniture?

It’s almost always better to strip than to sand. To begin with, except in cases where the old finish is flaking off, it’s a lot more work to sand than to strip using a paint-and-varnish remover. Stripping is messy, which is probably the reason many people chose to sand instead.

What can I use instead of polyurethane?

Linseed Oil Linseed oil is another commonly used natural alternative to polyurethane. People use linseed oil to treat their wood. It can help it to look better while also increasing the overall durability of the wood. This is a non-toxic product that you will be able to use without hesitation.

Can you use pledge on antique furniture?

The NUMBER ONE RULE is NEVER use Pledge or other spray furniture cleaning products on your antique furniture. They leave an oily residue–even the ones containing lemon oil. It’s not the shine you need to preserve but the patina. This happens when you use a spray cleaner like Pledge.

What is the best oil for wood furniture?

5 of the Best Oil Finishes for Wood Furniture

• Linseed Oil. Linseed oil, also known as flaxseed oil, is one of the most popular wood finishes in the world.
• Tung Oil. Tung oil is a plant-based oil used as a wood finish.
• Mineral Oil. Mineral oil is a broadly used term to describe a clear, odorless oil.
• Walnut Oil.
• Danish Oil.

What’s the best way to clean old wood furniture?

You’ll usually want to avoid cleaning wood with water as well. However, sticky spots may need to be treated with soap and water. To do this, dip a lint-free cloth in mild soap or detergent dissolved in water, wring the cloth nearly dry, and wipe the area. Rinse and immediately dry with a clean, soft cloth.

Does pledge ruin wood?

Pledge, which contains silicone, will not harm or otherwise damage wood or clear coats. However, it does present real problems if you ever need to have touch up repairs or refinishing done to the item. Silicone creates a very slick surface tension, which repels any product applied over it.

Should you use furniture polish on wood?

If you have new furniture, Leruth says, you should put away furniture polish, oils and waxes for good–especially if the products contain alcohol or lemon oil. Furniture polish contains water, while waxes contain naphtha, and both can raise a wood veneer over time, Hodges said.

What home remedy cleans wood furniture?

You can also make a simple polish by mixing 1 cup of olive oil with 1/4 cup white vinegar. Pour it on a soft cloth and work it into the wood, wiping with the grain. Buff till shiny. Knowing how to clean wood furniture will help you keep your possessions looking lovely, longer.