Welcome to the first blog in March series, guiding you through cleaning, reviving and sympathetically restoring wooden antique furniture at home.
In our experience 90% of restoration is effectively cleaning and reviving in a few simple steps, with a couple of products.
In many cases more damage is done by customers being overzealous with solvents, sanding and cleaning products, causing damage which requires a specialist to restore, which can be very costly.
In this blog, we are going to go through some easy ways that we recommend cleaning wooden antique furniture, and some key products (under £20) that would be worth investing in, that will maintain your precious pieces for years to come.
Antique furniture cleaning methods we advise to avoid
Before we get started on what we suggest, in terms of cleaning antiques, we need to address the advice that is currently on the internet. Before writing this piece, we took time to examine the current published results and were shocked. No wonder we have customers coming to us with ruined pieces!
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Do not use alcohols or anti-bacterial sprays - on any finished wooden surfaces. Even with modern varnishes and hard wax oils, the solvent breaks down the binders in the finish, leaving a sticky residue that is impossible to get rid of. The result is ten times worse when these sprays are used on traditional finishes such as waxes or french polishes. Alcohol is the solvent in french polish, so it will literally strip it off. French polishing is an art form that not many can do well. Re-finishing it will be expensive.
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Never take bicarbonate of soda to antiques. You probably don’t know what the finish is and the bicarbonate of soda is reactive. Chances are you’re going to make a mess!
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Avoid using vinegar or any other acidic products. Like the bicarbonate of soda, the vinegar could leave a nasty white stain that is hard to remove or dissolve the surface.
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Avoid anything rough or abrasive! Finishes and colour can be delicate and any abrasive, even fine steel wool can remove finishes and patina. Patina takes decades or centuries to build and seconds to destroy. Certainly DO NOT SAND!
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Furniture Cleaners, Revivers or Wax and Polish Removers. Now, you're probably thinking: "you sell these, don't you!?". We do indeed, but for general upkeep and cleaning, these products are too aggressive, and will strip too much of the existing finish. We'll go into more detail on how to use these in our light restoration blog.
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If you can help it, keep moisture away from the surface in general. Water, if left on the surface, will leave white or black rings depending on how deep the moisture gets. White rings can be dealt with relatively easily, but dark marks require complete, specialist, restoration - read our blog on How to Remove Water Marks.
Always test any restoration action on area that is out view, first
Something you’ll get bored of us reiterating is how important it is to try everything on an inconspicuous area first. Old wooden surfaces react very differently depending on lots of factors. These include the previous finishes, the variety of wood and the condition of the wood. It’s also important to see if the method you’re planning to use gives the outcome you personally want.
Working with antiques is not an exact science. Restorers are like artists that play with tones and formulas to get the desired outcome. The beauty is in the eye of the beholder!
Where to start when cleaning antiques
The best place to start when you come across an antique needing love is a furniture wax polish. These are usually combinations of beeswax, carnauba wax with either white spirit or turpentine (derived from pine tree sap) used to soften the wax, make it movable and help it nourish the wood surface. Wax polishes are easy to apply, and are harmless to the piece (as long as you don’t put too much on at once!).
If the wooden antique is very dusty or dirty, we recommend using a very lightly damp cloth - so it barely leaves a residue and then immediately follow with a dry. If there is grease or food residue, if you have to, mix a small drop of mild dish soap into a container of water and use that on the cloth.
For cleaning harder to budge dirt or grease
Ideally, I would recommend buying and using Vulpex Soap instead of the dish soap. Vulpex liquid soap is a concentrate that can be mixed 1:10 with water or 1:20 with white spirit for tougher applications. What’s different about it? It has a very neutral pH, it’s non-corrosive and is germicidal. Vulpex soap is a staple of top museums, conservators and restorers as it gently cleans without damaging even the most delicate or reactive surfaces.
Once mixed with water in a container, lightly moisten the cloth, cleaning the dirty surface. Then rinse in clean water, ring out as much as possible, re-wipe the surface and follow with the cotton towel.
Allow the surface to dry for a few hours. Then apply a furniture wax polish.
Wax polishes for general maintenance
Using a clear wax is great for general maintenance, adding a touch of warmth to the colour of wood. For darker oak, walnut or mahogany antiques, it might be best to use a darker tone of wax as clear wax can dry white in open grain or crevices.
See in the image below how the old clear furniture wax has dried white in the antique oak grain and joints.
The easiest way to restore antique furniture
Wax polishes can absolutely transform a piece from looking like it has been neglected for decades to freshly restored in a couple of applications.
Applying a medium brown or medium oak wax is a cheat code to restoring shabby looking dark furniture. A couple of buffed-off applications immediately lifts the sheen, adds depth to the colour and colours scratches, worn areas and scuffs.
Types of Wax Polish
There are so many different types and brands of waxes so I’m going to quickly categorise them for you. Manufacturers such as Liberon, Fiddes, Mylands and W.S.Jenkins (Harrell's) have been making these waxes for over a 100 years.
White spirit based polishes such as Liberon Black Bison, Fiddes Supreme, Mylands Wax Polish or Harrell’s Traditional Wax Polish are best for general maintenance of wood with an existing, well built finish.
Turpentine based waxes are usually advertised as Pure Beeswax pastes and are more oily. These are brilliant for reviving really thirsty looking grain that is faded, dry and looks like there is hardly any finish on the wood. They hydrate the wood grain and revive the colour. These are also very effective on leather.
Briwax Original is in a category of its own. It has a particularly fast evaporating solvent called Toluene, which allows you to build a hard, high gloss finish almost immediately when burnished (rubbed into the grain) vigorously. Some of you may know, Toluene isn’t very good for your health - it’s very old school, and will probably be banned very soon, so use it in a well ventilated area and with a mask. Briwax Medium Brown is the business when it comes to fast transformations of tired furniture! We always have a tin around at home.
How we recommend polishing brass handles
If you have brass handles, we recommend buffing with the lightly used wax rag. Brasso can make them look unnaturally blingy and remove built up patina! We encourage subtlety, particularly with the older (150+ year old pieces).
Conclusion
In conclusion, we recommend the least invasive, least aggressive cleaning possible. Moisture is best to keep to a minimum and avoid acids, alcohols and abrasives. Using a clear wax polish (Liberon Black Bison Paste Wax is the most pleasant smelling) is perfect and will clean the wood as you buff. A light polish can be done every couple of weeks as part of a cleaning routine. Often I don’t even add more wax to my polishing/waxing cotton rag as over the years after a while it becomes impregnated with the wax and most of the time it’s almost like dusting.
If you have any questions, we enjoy talking to you! Email photos and questions to info@restorate.co.uk.
Stay tuned for our blog next week, where we tackle the next step of reviving antiques.