A bit about waxes & wood furniture polishes
Lets talk about wood furniture polishes! Wax is an ideal finish for antique and country style furniture, where the timber needs feeding and waxes and wax resin mixtures have long been used as adhesives and fill materials. Beeswax in particular has been know to have been used as a polish as far back as 200 years ago by Egyptian craftsmen. Wax is one of the easiest of the finishes to repair and is achieved by simply re-waxing the affected area. Wax is also often used over polish, varnish, or oil finishes to create an extra barrier for protection against damage from water, heat, and alcohol.
In general waxing performs two main functions.
- moisturizes and adds to the patinas of the wood
- adds a protective and sweet-smelling finish.
During the times when we have had a brick and mortar ship we generally would carry two main brands of wood furniture polishes for furniture. Both are hard wax polishes.
- Golden Rooster is domestic brand which seems to be partnered with Kiwi. While this works fine, I would only recommend this if you are in China and cannot get Harrell’s.
- 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.
- If you cannot get Harrell’s then I will recommend few other brand here which one can buy on Amazon:
Wood Furniture Polishes - Buy here on Amazon
Be forewarned
One thing to be aware of is if your furniture items is a “raw” wood (meaning no finish) then all kinds of waxes and wood furniture polishes will temporarily discolor the wood. However this is not permeant and will fake back with time nor is it generally anything to be worried about. If you are concerned, do a small sample test first in an inconspicuous area.
Types of Wood Furniture Polishes& waxes
Furniture waxes and wood furniture polishes are generally grouped according to their origin with the main three types being:
- Animal based: Beeswax is a very common component 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.
- Plant based: Carnauba wax is a yellowish hard vegetable wax and together with beeswax is one of the two most important waxes used in woodworking. It is non toxic and harmless to use and is derived from a the leaves of a Brazilian Palm tree. It can be applied onto bare wood or preferably onto wood already protected by a finish. Because it is significantly harder, it provides a higher polish when buffed though also requires additional labor for the same reason.
- Mineral based. These occur as byproducts in the process of plant decomposition towards eventually becoming coal. Paraffin waxes are mineral waxes made from paraffin oil and are normally soft clear white waxes used usually in combination with other waxes to produce a soft polish for use on furniture and flooring.
Wood Furniture Polishes - Buy here on Amazon
How to wax your Antique furniture
- Dust first and make sure the furniture is free of any grease or oil.
- You will need to use either “0000 steel wool” (make sure it is oil free) or a soft cloth to apply the wax with.
- Scoup out a small bit of wax on the cloth or steel wool or alterately spread some wax across the surface of the cloth or rag.
- Spread evenly across the surface of the wood in either a circular motion, or with the grain of the wood.
- Wait 10 to 30 minutes to allow the wax to dry before buffing it with a separate cloth.
Some tips on waxing and polishing antique furniture:
- Soft cloths like flannel, cotton are best – always remember to make sure the cloth is clean and free of any gritty dust which may cause scratches. The softer the material used to buff, the higher the gloss.
- Allow the wax to dry before you buff it – otherwise you are just spreading around the wax rather then polishing it.
- Floor wax tends to be softer then furniture wax which is harder to provide more protection.
- To bring out the best coloration, select a polish appropriate for the color of wood.
- One tip for those with the extra time, is to make your own furniture polish from a mixture of beeswax and turpentine. Generally you will need about a pound of beeswax which must be chipped or shaved into small pieces with either a chisel, cheese grater or a utility knife. Add the chipped pieces into a jar (must have a lid) and fill with about half as much of the wax worth of turpentine. Let it site in a sunny spot (to melt the wax) and once soft, mix thoroughly into an even paste. Apply while still warm and liquid. You may need to gently scrape away excess wax the next day using a piece of stiff cardboard before hand-buffing the piece with a clean, soft cloth.
- The amount of optical saturation of wax increase when applied hot as opposed to being applied cold thus effecting the clarity or cloudiness of the application.
- For a new peice which has not be waxed before, put down two or three fairly light, successive coats at four- to eight-hour intervals. If the item is exceptionally dry, apply an additional second coat after the first coat after 12 to 24 hours. The extra time allows the wood to soak in the wax.
More on waxing and wood furniture care:
- For a closer more in depth look at waxes, check out the book: Conservation of Furniture By Shayne Rivers, Nick Umney
- This article called WAX THE PERFECT PROTECTION for FURNITURE? also is quite good.
- Article on Furniture care from woodworking magazine.
2 Responses
Found you through the AsiaExpat site in HK. Great blog you’ve got, full of expertise and ideas.
i have a chinese lacquered coffee table with mother-of-pearl inlaid. its been covered with glass for protection. its now very smeary ,cloudy with a few stains (although i don,t know how they got there) do i need to get in a french polisher or do you please have any tips how i might clean it and what with.
thankyou, carole