Furniture and Furnishings - Tacky Finish

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johnam
11-28-05, 10:07 AM
We have a china closet and 2 curio cabinets and all three have the same problem. Some of the finish in the interior of the cabinets has become tacky over the years. They all are original factory finishes, located in different rooms, different manufacturers and purchased at different times. Any thoughts on why this has happened? Thanks.


Annette
11-28-05, 12:36 PM
is/are there smokers in the house? is it nicotine?

or grease from a lot of fry cooking??

does the stickiness come off with any type of cleaning?

johnam
11-28-05, 02:04 PM
Annette, no smokers, very little frying (cabinets not near kitchen) and we haven't tried any type of cleaning. What would you suggest to use for cleaning? Interestingly, most of the tacky surfaces are on top of shelves (not the entire surface) and on the bottom of the door rabbet where the glass sits and held in with rubber moldings.


Annette
11-28-05, 02:10 PM
maybe the sticky stuff is the residue of the cleaning/dusting product that's been used? like too much Pledge maybe? not wiped off thoroughly enough, layer after layer, over the years???

i really can't imagine what it is......

try Murphy's oil soap. :thumbup:

slickshift
11-28-05, 07:52 PM
Ozium, Febreze, Febreze Air, Lysol, pretty much any spray like that will affect some finished wood surfaces and make them tacky
And it doesn't take much either, once a week will do it
A nice dousing would easily creep through the spaces around the cabinet doors

In the same vein I suspect scented candles, plug-ins, and what not would also have that effect if used regularly

Try the Murphy's and post up the results

twelvepole
11-30-05, 09:21 PM
Older furniture finishes were shellac. Shellac becomes sticky when humidity is high. Murphy's Oil soap is often recommended for cleaning furniture. If finish remains sticky after cleaning, then it's likely that the finish can not be saved because it has been chemically altered.

johnam
12-01-05, 12:55 PM
TO ALL...........I took my wife's word for this so I inspected it myself. One china closet had the tacky finish on the wood shelves (not old enough to be shellac). The other two had the tacky finish around the glass rabbet next to the rubber that holds the glass in. I now think that the rubber possibly has caused a chemical reaction with the finish. Possible?

slickshift
12-01-05, 01:10 PM
Well, there are types of rubber that can affect certain wood finishes
You don't see it very often, but it happens
It's also possible for the adhesive holding the rubber on to have leached onto the finish