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Furniture Polish
It is necessary to polish wooden furniture once a year. But it is
often difficult to decide what type of polish to use on wooden
furniture. The chief concern is whether the polish you use will
damage the wooden furniture. Most often the manufacturers do not
reveal the chemical ingredients of polishes. And these ingredients
are changed without notice. These ingredients may damage wooden
furniture. Polishes are available in the market in three forms,
aerosol or spray, liquid and semisolid. Given below in a brief
description of each type and its advantages and disadvantages.
Spray Polishes or Aerosols
- Though they are the handiest polishes they
are the most damaging. They damage wooden furniture as they have
silicone oils and other contaminants as their ingredients.
- Some sprays damage varnishes and lacquers.
Liquid Polishes
- These are easy to use as well. They are
available in two types emulsion polishes and oil type polishes.
- Emulsion polishes are waxes, oils and
organic solvents in a water solution so that it can be applied
easily on the furniture.
- Emulsion polishes clean extremely well and
leaves a nice shine on the wooden surface. But this effect lasts
only till the liquid dries.
- Oil polishes come in two types nondrying
oils and drying oils. Oil polishes can be used as the final finish.
- Nondrying oils like paraffin, lemon oil and
mineral are less harmful than drying oils. Some oils remain on the
surface it has been used. As a result dust and other contaminants
stick to the wet oil surface.
- Drying oils like linseed oil and walnut oil
dry on the wooden surface by oxidation. This is a chemical reaction
and over a period of time is difficult to remove.
Semisolid Polishes
- These polishes are the best as the damage
done to the wooden surface is minimum.
- They are commercially known as "Paste Waxes"
and are very stable and do not cause problems like the other type of
waxes.
- Furniture conservators and other furniture
experts use paste waxes.
- Applying this polish involves a lot of
physical labor. Buffing wax is a strenuous job and better the
quality of wax, greater the amount of buffing required. The extra
effort is worth it as it is beneficial to the furniture.
- As this polish is stable and durable it
needs to be applied infrequently. Wax polish areas that are used
very often once or twice a year and areas like the legs of tables
and
chairs, cabinets etc can be polished once in three
or four years.
- Wax should not be applied frequently as
there will be a build up of wax that will look unattractive on a
wooden surface.
Though it is easy to use liquid polishes they damage the furniture.
It is better to make the extra effort and apply wax on the
furniture, as it will benefit the wood.
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