Hi all,
I've just bought two rather nice wooden items from the YMCA Furniture Warehouse in Tunbridge Wells - a small bedside cupboard and a bookshelf with cupboards at the bottom.
I am pretty ignorant when it comes to wood...
Although both items are in a similar style, dark with carved features, the bedside is predominantly ply and the bookshelf is mostly solid wood.
AFAICS the bedside is varnished - feels hard and smooth, no real "stickiness" if running a finger over it.
The bookshelf has a different feel - a sort of slight sticky/squeaky feeling if running a finger over it. Could this mean that it's original finish was wax or wax on oil?
Anyway, onto the real question:
I thought I'd give the bookshelf a buff up before putting it upstairs, so I bought some carnauba/beeswax and tried some out on top. Shined up nicely by hand, except for one area, where there seems to be a surface deposit of something hard that looks like bloom. I can scratch this off with my nail.
So I think I should clean it up with something before attempting to polish. Not much wrong with the item, no deep scratches or stains - so I don't really want to strip it completely.
What would be best - warm soapy water, a wipe with white spirit or something else?
Ta muchly,
Tim