Always a lot of talk about how to finish a project. But how to polish it comes next. I've got projects I've made,bought and the wood doors and trim itself. 

 

My wife buys guardsmen wood cleaner, polish but I'm looking for something a little more homemade. Anything you gents would recommend for Hazel?

 

I would rather make a spray than use an aerosol. Thx...

For a polish, good old JPW works. For cleaning everything, including wood, the wife uses Fantastic, or a half cup of vinegar mixed with equal amt of water.  I just cleaned a banister with the vinegar and water. Works great. 

Vinegar cleans. It's after that I'm looking into. Looking for a homemade spray wax...

 

I use Johnsons paste wax on some of the things I made but looking for something inbetween to wax it with..

Surely there are more paticipants in house chores on the site.....

 

You could try this Old World Bees Wax spray

22 hours ago, BillyJack said:

Surely there are more paticipants in house chores on the site.....

Not me, my wife prefers her way.  Doesn't seem to like my method, G.I. treatment clean everything.  

I have used Milsek.  It is thin and may be thin enough to put in a spray bottle.  There is plenty of video on YouTube for homemade furniture polish.  Seems olive oil and vinegar are the main ingredients.

36 minutes ago, HandyDan said:

I have used Milsek.  It is thin and may be thin enough to put in a spray bottle.  There is plenty of video on YouTube for homemade furniture polish.  Seems olive oil and vinegar are the main ingredients.

I see the olive oil but confused with the vinegar.  Vinegar flashes off and is again a cleaner. Unless it's in the mix for sanitary reasons....

Jack, did you get a chance to look at that Old world Beeswax stuff?

Gene I'm looking for a home remedy. There must be a homemade to replace the store bought....

 

I usually just use Johnson paste wax on furniture when I want to protect it. It's the after that I'm looking into....

 

The finisher where I use to work knows but he's not there anymore and dont have his number...thx

Edited January 15, 20206 yr by BillyJack

I do some polish work sometimes, but I just use old Pledge.  That's all the training that I have.  Oops! Forgot to use Old English, but I think that is a cleaner.  I guess I just not domesticated enough.  

There's a lot of recipes on the internet. I'll look for awhile and see if I find one worth sharing..Gene I'll take a look at the beeswax...is it a paste or liquid?

15 hours ago, BillyJack said:

I see the olive oil but confused with the vinegar

 

Milsek and most other brands are a polish and cleaning solution.

 

Agree, Milsek is a great thing for polishing...

On 1/15/2020 at 9:54 PM, FlGatorwood said:

I do some polish work sometimes, but I just use old Pledge.  That's all the training that I have.  Oops! Forgot to use Old English, but I think that is a cleaner.  I guess I just not domesticated enough.  

Warning Pledge has silicone in it.  Do not use it or anyohter cleaner or polish with silicone.

I've used a lot of Guardsman and it's recommended by a number of high-end furniture manufacturers.   It's an oil-water emulsion -- the water cleans off dirt and water-based stains (food, beverage, etc.) and the oil stays behind and adds a bit of sheen until it evaporates away.   I have usually told people once a month for infrequently used furniture and perhaps weekly on a dining table with kids.   Otherwise, simply a dry dust cloth or a damp cloth to clean off daily spills.

To us guys, Pledge is pure evil.   The silicone oil is like herpes -- once you have it, you have it forever.   Touch up repair is a bear and so is stripping and refinishing because it will cause fish eyes.   Shellac will seal it in, but then you might need to top coat with the finish of choice.  I also find Pledge leaves a lot of smudging and fingerprints.   Hate it.  I used to be able to tell a table that had been Pledged even while stripping it.

 

Disclaimer: for a number of years I was a Guardsman Furniture Pro franchisee and later did not renew but continued to do work for them.

For about 60 years, it was advertised and those of us unknowing were always happy with the results.  So, time for an upgrade.  Now, I know I can't undo what we've done for years, but we know now to not do it again.  Thanks for educating me.  I had no idea.  

Forgot to say that Guardsman comes in three forms, aerosol, pump, and concentrate.   This is in decreasing cost per unit.   The concentrate is diluted 4:1 in water (up to 10:1 according to my techies at Guardsman).  It is an emulsion polish meaning it contains an emulsion of oil and water.   The water is good for cleaning ordinary soils (food, dirt, handprints, etc.) and the oil stays behind and leaves a bit of a sheen for a few weeks.  If you want a "homemade" version, get a pump sprayer or yorker bottle (like a mustard bottle) and mix up your own.

For really dirty stuff I've encountered (kitchen cabinets, smoke from tobacco or fires) I used a wipe they made.  I remember one job restoring an antique piece that the lady said she'd cleaned 6 times with Murphy's Oil Soap and could not get it clean.  One of the wipes would last about 2' before it came up black.   While no longer made, it had the same ingredient in Formula 409.

One thing NOT to use is an old recipe of linseed oil and vinegar (sometimes with turpentine or wax added).   A conservator at Smithsonian write an article about how it had been used for years, but the results over time were disastrous -- creating a sticky, gooey, crackled mess that could not be removed by other than stripping and refinishing.  Search this document for "vinegar"
 

or read: 
Donald C. Williams
Senior Furniture Conservator, Conservation Analytical
Laboratory at the Smithsonian Institution

Drying oils, such as linseed, tung, or walnut oil, are a different matter altogether. These materials solidify, or "dry" through a process of chemical reaction with the air called oxidation. The drying process polymerizes the oil, making it increasingly intractable with time and more difficult to remove with cleaners or solvents. This is fine if oil is employed as the finish, but not good if it is used as a polish. By itself, having a polish which is difficult to remove would be irritating but not insurmountable. Unfortunately, this is not the whole story. As drying oils age, they tend to become yellow or brown. Also, drying oils are chromogenic (they become colored) in the presence of acids. In this instance the oil adopts the dark, muddy brown/black opaque appearance so prevalent in antique furniture. Traditionally, cleaning/polishing concoctions were comprised of linseed oil, turpentine, beeswax, and vinegar (acetic acid). This cleaning/polishing method, used widely even in the museum field until recently, was and is a disaster waiting to happen. The results of this approach are readily apparent to even the casual observer; a thick incrustation of chocolate colored goo which is neither hard enough to be durable nor soft enough to wipe off easily. Thus, due to the polymerization of the oil as it dries and the reaction of the oil with acetic acid, the furniture is left with an unsightly coating which is very difficult to remove without damaging the surface of the object.