Cleaning wooden Chess set

[Wylie Wilde]

Hello,

I have an old wooden chess set (circa 1940s). I think its made out of pine or boxwood.

Its unpainted and the white wooden chess pieces are a bit black from use- fingermark stains.

I thought of cleaning it up a little. What should I use? Warm soap and water?

I also though of rubbing beeswax onto the box to give it a bit of shine and to preserve it. Is that a good idea?

Cheers,

Wylie

[Tom Banes]

Wylie:

Suggest you try a bit of alcohol before the soap and water. Paper towel, a bit of rubbing alcohol from the local pharmacy (chemist, if you like), and rub the dirty parts. I can't reccomend beeswax, per se, as carnuba is a lot harder and better protection. Any quality floor wax will gloss it up and protect.

Regards.

[cselby]

Think about taking it to an antique dealer to see if it's worth anything before you mess with it.

I watched a segment of Antiques Roadshow where a woman had a large cabinet the she had refinished. Original finish (cracked varnish)

300,000 $. Refinished value - only 30,000 $.

pete

[Andy]

I'd suggest alcohol for cleaning also, but TEST FIRST ON A HIDDEN AREA!!! If your chess pieces are finished with shellac, the alcohol will soften the shellac and could potentially remove the finish. I'll second the recommendation for carnauba wax - I just finished a toy/puzzle with orange oil/carnauba wax blend and it buffed out very nicely. Good luck, Andy

[Wylie Wilde]

Hello,

I don't think its varnished at all. Just plain I think. I'll go and use alcohol but I'll just try it on one piece first.

Cheers,

Yau-ming

[Tom Banes]

Andy's absolutely right! Test on the bottom of a piece first! While shellac seems unlikely as a finish for something meant to be handled a lot, you never know. Shoulda thought of that when I initially replied.

An alternative to carnauba is one of the micro-crystalline waxes (I use Renaissance). They are easy to apply and buff and seem impervious to handling.

Regards.