French Polishing and Bespoke Furniture
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 .
The first step to restoring old wood furniture is to give it a good cleaning with an orange or lemon-oil cleaner. Don’t waste your time with furniture polish, go straight for the good stuff: Murphy’s Oil Soap. Spray or wipe on, let it sit for ten to fifteen minutes and then wipe off.
When you see shiny wood , it’s likely that the wood’s shine is caused by a coat of polyurethane on it. You can take virtually any piece of wood and add a DIY shiny wood finish using polyurethane. The process is not difficult but it is time consuming and takes a lot of hard work to get a smooth, flat, shiny finish.
General Care. To maintain the finish, mild dish soap or a damp cloth is recommended for cleaning up after spills, just as you would clean woodwork. Cleaners such as Pledge and Murphy’s Oil Soap are not recommended because they leave a dull residue on the finish.
Mix the ingredients: You’ll need 2 parts vinegar, 2 parts olive oil, and 1 part lemon juice.
Try mixing a weak solution of water and dish washing soap. Dip a soft cloth in the solution, wring it out and wipe the entire piece. You want a damp cloth, not a wet one. Don’t saturate the wood , and rinse your cloth often.
Clean lacquer with a damp cloth, buffing it dry with a dry cloth shine it. For very dull finishes, apply one coat of liquid wax according to manufacturer directions. Antique dining tables may be finished with wax; if this is the case, apply a fresh coat of paste wax to the table after you clean it.
Mix 1 cup Olive Oil and 1/2 cup white vinegar . Pour this home made polish on a soft piece of cloth and gently rub it on the furniture in circular motion. If the wood looks dry, let the mix set on the surface and then pour some more polish on the cloth and rub the dull surface to shiny one.
Buff the Table . Buff the surface with a clean cloth, moving it in circles over the entire surface. Buff until the entire surface of the table takes on a uniform shine with no dull spots. Shine a bright light at a low angle over the table to highlight areas that need more buffing .
Recipe I—Vinegar and Lemon Juice As the name indicates, this recipe has only two ingredients: white vinegar and lemon juice. Combine equal parts of both in a bowl or spray bottle. To use it, use a clean cloth to rub a small amount of the polish into your furniture , then wipe dry with another cloth.
Apply a small amount of lemon oil, mineral oil or baby oil to the dried surface as a lubricant. Sand the oily surface, applying light pressure with only your fingertips, in the direction of the wood’s grain. Once the finish is smooth, wipe off the oil with a clean cloth.
Sand the bare wood as needed to smooth it and remove the old finish . Fill the grain with an oil-or water-based wood grain filler. Spray one coat of lacquer. Apply one more coat of varnish. Allow the varnish or lacquer to dry for one day, then level- sand with 400-grit sandpaper to remove bumps and imperfections.
Mix water and dish soap in a bucket and use this solution to sponge down the entire piece of furniture . Do not soak the wood ; this is a common mistake. Instead, brush the sponge lightly over the surface and don’t let the liquid linger for long. Dry thoroughly.
For heavy cleaning, dilute 1/2 cup Murphy ® oil soap per gallon. Clean with well wrung-out mop, and mop any excess water. No rinsing required.
Compared to the more significant job of refinishing hardwood , applying a wood floor restorer is much easier. In light of potential spills or stains, however, don’t forget to maintain the cleanliness of the floor with a natural cleaner like Murphy ® Oil Soap on a regular basis.