Wood cleaning & advice, please!

[Dave Jennings]

Hi everyone,

I have an old family piece which I've stored in my warehouse for the last 12 months whilst I was having various rooms in the house done up - it's a HUGE piece, so easier to have it out the way!

I carefully wrapped it in shrinkwrap to seal it, and keep the dust out. I opened it up today and somehow the shrinkwrap has ripped and a considerable level of dust and general crap has formed on the top section.

What's the best way to clean this off - it isn't wiping off cleanly, it feels more "waxy" almost - so it'll need a little effort to bring it back. Any special type of cleaner to use, or just a damp cloth and then protect it with something?

Also, I have a wooden chest of drawers and the wooden runners cause the drawer to judder and drag terribly when you use them. Tried vaseline on them but that didn't help much - what else should I try to free these off?

Thanks in advance.

Regards,

Dave.

[Andy Dingley]

Bad idea, especially over summer. You can get plasticisers leaking out from the wrapping and either damaging the finish, or even bonding to it.

If you have to do this, a layer of cheap cotton over the wood will save a lot of trouble.

A summer's heat has probably soaked it into old wax polishes. Some sort of solvent will be needed to clean off the polish. Plain old white spirit will probably do the job, but test an insignificant bit first to check for finish stability. Don't use meths - there's quite possibly some shellac on there that you'ld like to preserve. If you have trouble with oiliness afterwards, then isopropanol can be used to clean that, but don;t use it excessively, or you'll risk the finishes again.

Probably worn runners. Any cabinetmaker could sort it, usually by adding a new slip on each side or underneath the drawer - sometimes inside the cabinet instead.

As a runner lubricant, beeswax is quite good.

-- Smert' spamionam

[Dave Jennings]

Hi Andy,

Thanks for your advice - yup, in hindsight, not the smartest way I could have done it!

Thanks again - I'll give that a whirl.

Dave.