Wood furniture polishes and wood furniture care

s6000422.thumbnail Wood furniture polishes and wood furniture care

We carry two main brands of wax polish for furniture. Both are hard wax polishes.

  1. Golden Rooster is domestic brand which seems to be partnered with Kiwi. While this works fine, there is chemical smell to the wax which I personally find undesirable. It relatively inexpensive.
  2. Harrell’s Traditional Wax Furniture Polish contains beeswax and is a bit more expensive but is an imported brand which has been around for over 75 years. It is a well known brand and many professional restorers prefer this wax. Its available in 5 colors (Antique – Khaki – Colorless – Red Mahogany – Georgian Mahogany) though we may not always have all colors in stock.
cp1.thumbnail Wood furniture polishes and wood furniture care
Golden Rooster (domestic brand which seems to be partnered with Kiwi).		 Wood furniture polishes and wood furniture care
Harrell’s Traditional Wax Polish

A bit about wax polishes

Furniture waxes are generally grouped according to their origin with the main three types being:

  1. Animal based: Beeswax is a very common componant of furniture waxes though is typically combined with other waxes to avoid what is know as fingerprinting. (Pure bees wax fingerprints easily due to its low melting temperature). Lac wax and Lanolin are also sometimes used.
  2. Read the rest of this entry »

Useful Tips and Hints for cleaning and repairing antiques

The antique advertiser.com website has a great page of tips called Antique Alchemy which have been compiled from various reader feedback and other web sources.  Its a great little resource which I though I might reprint for you here. As they mentioned on their page – these tips are all use at your own risk!


ACCUTRON ALABASTER / ALUMINUM / BOOKS / BOTTLES / BRASS / BRONZE / CANDLES / CARVINGS

CHINA & PORCELAIN /CLOCKS / COPPER &BRASS / CRYSTAL & GLASSWARE  / DOLLS & TEDDY BEARS / FURNITURE & WOOD PRODUCTS / GOLD /GRANITEWARE /  HORN / IRON & STEEL / IVORY / JEWELRY / LEATHER / LAMPS / LINENS, /  NEEDLEWORK & TEXTILES / MAGAZINES / MARBLE / STEEL / MIRRORS / MISCELLANEOUS / NEWSPAPERS & MAGAZINES / NICKELWARE / PAINTINGS / PAPER /  PENS & PENCILS / PEWTER / PHONOGRAPH RECORDS / PHOTOGRAPHS / POTTERY /  PRINTS / SILVER / SOAPSTONE / STATUARY & CARVINGS / TEXTILES /TINWARE / TORTOISESHELL / VARNISHING & PAINTING / WOODENWARE

ALABASTER

Don’t soak alabaster in water, and never use an acid to clean it. Use a sponge dipped in soapand water, squeezing the sponge well before wiping the piece.

ALUMINUM

The inside of pots which have been darkened by alkaline foods may be brightened by boilingin them one quart of water to which two teaspoons of cream of tartar have been added. Boil 10minutes. (Cream of tartar may be purchased at most food stores in the spice section.)Lime deposits from hard water may be removed by boiling a solution of equal amounts of water and vinegar in the pot and allowing this mixture to remain in the pot overnight. Then polish the inside surface with a steel-wool soap pad, wash, rinse, and dry. To brighten and remove discoloration, polish aluminum with steel- wool soap pads, rubbing
in one direction only. Spun aluminum pieces should be rubbed in the direction of the surface lines.

BOOKSIf you value your books, don’t crowd your bookshelves. The bindings may break apart from thepressure if you jam them too tightly together and you may also scratch the covers whenremoving and replacing books. Also, always store books upright; leaning them strains the  bindings. Use bookends on partially filled shelves to keep them erect. Books too tall for the shelves can be laid flat.Mildew can often be removed from a book cover by carefully using Baby Wipes. Use lanolin to clean leather bound-books then treat the book with a leather restorer using a clean, soft cloth. Another suggestion for leather covers that have become old is to apply a coat of a mixture containing 6 parts castor oil and 4 parts alcohol. Let the book stand one day, then apply pure castor oil to the cover. To destroy mildew fungi in the pages of a book apply powdered sulfur. 
 

 BOTTLES

If you have old perfume bottles that are cloudy from hard water minerals,drop adenture-cleaning tablet in, fill with water and let the fizzing action clean it. The insides of bottles can sometimes be cleaned by swirling lead shot or sand around in the water-filled bottle.To deodorize jars or bottles, pour a solution of water and dry mustard into them, then let them stand for several hours.

BRASS

(See Copper and Brass)

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Wood Finishing Articles & Information

Here is some great collection of articles I found on wood finish supply.com’s website about lacquers & wood finishing. Its quite technical and really intended for woodworkers and the like but if thats you, then this is a good resource.

Here is a sample of some of the articals:

  • The Atanomy of A Wood Finish
    These 3 basic finish steps apply to all finishes from the most basic wax or oil finish
    to high-tec coatings and even painting the exterior of a house or a room wall.
  • COLOR THEORY for the Woodworker & Furniture Finisher
    Mixing Stains or Dyes & Color Computer Instructions.
  • Glossary of Finishing Terms
    Woodfinishing Lingo

    • Read the rest of this entry »

The specialists guide to Chinese antiques is Stephen Fry proof thanks to caching by WP Super Cache