The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California
The Care Of Wood Work In The Home
Surface dirt which will not yield to soap and water will often disappear completely when rubbed with a cloth damped by a mixture of equal quantities of vinegar and water, or alternatively paraffin and soapy water. Paraffin and soapy water are best used from a bottle, as they separate on standing and must be shaken frequently. Both the last-mentioned mixtures can be used with safety on french-polished surfaces; they leave smears, but these remove with furniture wax.
No. 0 wire wool used gently is excellent for removing grime, dirty marks, or pieces of grit caked on, but extreme care should be exercised to avoid damage, if there is polish or patination. The process can be made even more gentle by first waxing the surface before rubbing with the wire wool.
White marks caused by hot plates or spilt hot water can be removed by wiping over with a pad of cotton-wool dipped in linseed oil. Do not leave the oil on too long or the 'marks' will be darker than the surrounding surface. Finish off with furniture wax to remove smears, and restore the polish. Another method of removing dry heat marks is to rub them gently with a soft cloth lightly moistened with liquid metal polish and then apply furniture wax. Alternatively, cover the mark with cold cigarette ash, rub well in, wipe off the powder and then wax as before.
Stripping
THERE is little to choose between the vandalism which paints over polished woodwork and that which strips fine old contemporary polychrome, in order to apply the latest fashionable finish decreed by the interior decorator. The normal repainting of old, plain surfaces is not included in this stricture, but there is at present an awful mania for removing original gilding in order to obtain 'limed oak' effects, and for removing finely patinated surfaces and bleaching them.
Nevertheless, removal of dirt sometimes shows that other operations are necessary before waxing. Your latest purchase may at some time have received the misguided attention of some 'beautifier' who has provided a cheerful but unsuited painted or varnished surface, perhaps further embellished with brush marks, brush hairs and grit. We recently bought a very fine 'apple' tea caddy which had been amateurishly coated with green and red paint and just begged for stripping. There are several excellent proprietary strippers on the market which will remove paint or varnish without damaging your skin or nails to the same extent as caustic soda does, when used in sufficient strength to remove old paint. Proprietary strippers are applied with a brush, left for a time to soften the paint or varnish and wiped off with a cloth. Repeated applications may be necessary with old or thickly coated paint or varnish. When you get near the bare wood, only apply the stripper sufficiently to convert the coating into a paste.
