I was once told that a good solution to clean up old furniture was mineral spirits, linseed oil and something else; Does anyone know of this combo and what the third ingredient might be? Thanks.
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One such formula includes vinegar. It's a bad, bad idea and blamed by museum curators for a lot of the dark, damaged finishes that they see. Don't use it.
To clean old furniture, first clean gently with water with just a bit of Murphy's Oil Soap. Don't soak anything or leave it wet.
Then use naptha or mineral spirits to clean off oily dirt including old wax.
Steve, Thst was it- the vinegar. I will heed ur warning. Thanks.
Actually it is water. An old book gives this formula, and I have used it often with good results.
A tablespoon or two EACH of BLO and mineral spirits in a very hot quart of water. Use it for washing furniture. Buff dry.
It still isn't a good idea, with water or with vinegar (both formulae appear in older books) because the BLO ends up in a thin film on the surface, where it darkens and collects dirt. Once upon a time even used in museums but modern museum conservators now realize (since about sometime in the 70s I think) that the mix contributes over the long term to dark encrusted finishes that can't be removed without damage to the original finish. BLO should only go over bare wood, or wood which has only received similar oil treatment.
Use a little soap with water and separately use mineral spirits to first clean the watersoluable dirt and then go after the oily and waxy dirt build up. Mineral spirits won't cut cured BLO however.
MINERAL SPIRITS PARAFIN MELTED LINSEED OIL
WATERPROOFS WOOD
Read the bottom of page 14 and following page. https://www.si.edu/mci/downloads/taking_care/mcifurniturecare.pdf
I once had to clean the grime off a large number of old spiral carved stair spindles to be used in a spiral stair I was building. They had been in an old warehouse in Nashville, and were really grimy. The antique dealers around here were selling a pricey product called Cotton Cleanser, which turned out to be repackaged GoJo hand cleaner that mechanics use. It cleans and de-grimes the wood without changing the finish, and has a little lanolin in it that adds a bit of luster to the existing finish. There is no noticeable water in it. Don't get the kind that has pumice in it!! Try it on a small, inconspicuous area first.
Harvey
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