Furniture and Furnishings - What & How to Wax Fine Furniture?

Once again the search engine did not like it that my search term had less than 4 letters, so if this has been addressed in another thread, I apologize.

We've never had "fine" furniture before so taking care of what we had was no problem. Spritz with the Pledge, and give it a swipe ;). But now we have actually acquired a couple of decent pieces, and I have no idea how to take care of them! It seems I've read somewhere lately that the Pledge/dry cloth treatment is a no-no as it can scratch the finish. Am I supposed to wax these things (a sofa table and a cocktail table) then? Will just the "Johnson's Paste Wax" which seems to be the most readily available do the job adequately, or is there some other product that is preferable? And then what's the best way to apply it and polish it out? (Good old fashioned elbow grease?)

Thanks for any light you can shed on this mysterious subject for me!

Hi Cindy,

Your search engine first. Use Google.com - best rated by TechTV, and if you use IE you can even download a google toolbar to use.
Not sure if this question has come up here before or not.

The furniture polish issue comes out of my book by Bob Flexner:
The two most damaging elements to a finish are physical abuse and LIGHT. Shield fine furniture from direct sunlight.

Waxes and liquid polishes both perform five functions: add shine, provide scratch resistance, aid in picking up dust, clean away dirt, add scent to a room(?), I guess. Wax doesn't evaporate. Liquid polishes evaporate in a short period of time. Wax can simply be swirled/rubbed on similar to a car application, and then buffed off by hand. Doesn't take much elbow grease. Wax is okay but you don't want to wax every week, when all you need to do is dust.
Most liquid polishes are a petroleum distillate and will dissolve any previous wax application.

So, the choice is yours. He suggests spraying a clean soft cloth with polish to remove the dust from furniture instead of just moving it around. A milky white spray polish(water emulsified) has the ability to remove both grease and sticky kid's fingerprints. Silicon oil based polishes also provide good protection for fine furniture.

Here's a good one for you. Our formal cherry Queen Ann furniture gets the sprays. My hand-made walnut pieces in the fam room get the wax, go figure.
fred

What?? you mean look somewhere else besides doityourself.com?? :D I didn't even think of that, I just came to the "source." It's the DIY search engine that doesn't like anything less than 4 letters, like "ivy" or "wax" or "oil." You're right though, Google is great. Used to be a confirmed Alta-Vista user but Google is tons faster and picks up a lot that AV misses.

Good info on the waxing. I'll take it to heart.

Hey, the QA furniture is just money, but you know exactly what went into the making of the walnut pieces, and aren't going to take *any* chances that something will mess up all that work! :D

Followup: Found a pretty good article at this link: "Wax the Perfect Protection?" (http://www.woodfinishsupply.com/MagWaxArticle.html) The article was originally published in Wood Magazine in June of 1989. Clears up some of the mystery!

Cindy,
A very good article, from my second most-favorite subscription mag.
I like Mother's Carnauba cleaner wax, use it on the furniture and my bench tools. It doesn't mention either on the can but says it's good on clear finishes - the lacquer on your furniture.

fred

PS - I use google all the time, no way can I remember all I've 'tried' to absorb. Not enough RAM.

The last very good furniture I bought came with instructions to damp dust using 1 tablespoon vinegar in 1 quart of water. If the rag leaves water on the wood, the rag is too wet. Dry dusting results in dust particles scratching the wood. Always dust with a light touch, moving rag in direction of wood grain. Avoid feather dusters as a broken feather can scratch the wood.

The popular spray polishes like Pledge contain silicone which can build up and soften and dull finishes over time. Paste waxes can buildup if you wax too frequently. They do however offer some protection to furniture. Some curators recommend no wax. Many antique collectors recommend Guardsman. You can go to www.guardsman.com to find out more about this product.

Do not use synthetic wax products that contain chemicals and cause build-up.
I highly recommend "Howard Feed n' Wax" for fine furniture. It is composed of natural beeswax, carnuba wax and orange oil. This product moisturizes the wood and enhances the natural grain and prevents any further drying without any adverse effects.
We recommend this to our clients to maintain their valuable antiques. ( I use it myself ) You can get it at most home and hardware stores.
For "in between" waxings use of a cleaning/dusting product such as Endust is just fine.
For a source near you contact:
Howard Products in Paso Robles, CA.
805-227-1000