Furniture Care Knowledge

Remember

Keep antique furniture away form direct sunlight and form such agents of extreme climatic change as heaters and air conditioners. Make sure fresh air can circulate as dampness breeds borer.

Maintain drawer runners by lubricating occasionally.

Using dark Natural Beeswax Furniture Polish will stain white scratches, which look bad. Dark or blackened scratches marks we call character.

Painted finished, bronzes and other metals will all be better preserved and look better with the Natural Beeswax Furniture Polish treatment.

Clean lacquered brass architectural hardware with Natural Beeswax Furniture Polish to help preserve the lacquer.

Natural Beeswax Furniture Polish can be used as a full and final wood finish. It has been used successfully on wooden floors.

Preserve woodworking tools with Natural Beeswax Furniture Polish.

Care of Antiques and Old Furniture

Antiques by definition are objects over 100 years old. Any object which has survived 100 years is in theory the subject of appreciation by virture of the quality of craft, materials and the care that previous guardians have bestowed upon it. The quality of care is fundamental to the current state of an antique piece.

Patina is the word used to describe the finish an object presents in terms of luster. A good patina is very desirable and the best reflection of the history of an antique.

Patina has come about through the knowledge of correct care. The major promoter of patina is touch. The act of polishing without a wax merely rubs away existing finishes and for this reason waxes have been used as the medium for the care of furniture.

Natural Beeswax Furniture Polish is a strictly traditional furniture polish. Beeswax creates a shine which no technology has been able to reproduce.

Furniture polishing is an acquired skill. Not at all difficult, but none the less it requires patience and an understanding that a traditional process is being performed. The reward for patience is satisfaction gained through positive results.

Waxing a Piece in Good Order

After dusting, apply Natural Beeswax Furniture Polish sparingly to a small area at a time in a circular motion making sure to avoid buildup. Use a soft lint – free cloth to buff with the grain a short time later (5 mins), the wax may need a day or tow to fully set, until them a wipe-over will remove finger marks.

Waxing twice a year should be adequate. Between times, dusting and light buffing will promote perfect patina maintenance.

Wax Buildups

A build up pf old wax gives dull finish due to dust which has collected. This can be especially noticed in corners, around carving, chare rungs etc. to some extent the polish will dissolve and clean up the old wax.

Antiques and Old Furniture in not such Good Condition

Neglected furniture used always to be stripped and refinished. Now an original patina is always saved if possible. Revivers have always been part of a restorer’s stock in trade.

Shellac

Shellac will be the basis of the polish (lacquer, French polish) on your antique furniture, thus, after reviving a poor finish, a fresh coat of shellac can make a great difference. The pulling technique involves wiping shellac with a pad of cotton formed into a triangular shape.

Country Furniture

Beeswax and country furniture have always had a strong relationship. pines, fruitwoods, elms, which are light coloured woods, develop rich characteristics when a full beeswax patina matures.

New contry style furniture made from recycled Oregon and Baltic pine is currently sold widely and of all the furniture made today, stands the best chance of becoming tomorrow’s antiques. It is generally very well made, but for practical reasons is usually sprayed with a polyurethane which is virtual plastic seal.

A coat of beeswax polish won’t have much effect towards improving the look, unless the polyurethane is first cutback with fine steel wool.

Where we say twice a year waxing for good condition antiques, with new or freshly restored furniture, too much waxing is not enough. In effect patina can be forced and created!

The Old Look

Distressing is the term used to describe putting a “beat up” look into furniture, reproducing the trials of a century in a creative burst of controlled violence. This is for new furniture only, not for antiques! The theory is to break the polyurethane “seal” so that the wood takes a stain. An excellent stain is Black Japan diluted in turpentine. Paint this over the distressed furniture and clean off with fine steel wool dipped in Natural Beeswax Furniture Polish. The stain will lift off the polyurethane but be retained in corners and where the wood has been exposed.