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Removing accumulated wax / polish

What methods / products are suggested for removing accumulated wax / polish from furniture? Item in question is an early 60s console stereo cabinet, believe the finish to be lacquer.

Thanks.

Doug

Reply to
Doug
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I would say mineral spirits first. Followed by a soapy mix after the mineral spirits are gone.

you might need to repeat a few times. Mineral spirits should melt the wax away, the soapy mix to carry it all off.

Reply to
woodchucker

Naptha (lighter fluid)

Reply to
dadiOH

Same as My immediate thought, IIRC Briwax is loaded with something like lighter fluid to soften it.

BUT would naphtha bother lacquer?

Reply to
Leon

Pure naptha should not bother either laquer or varnish. If it has toluene added you could have a problem. Coleman fuel works well - but OUTSIDE - well vented, and no source of spark/ignition. High humidity to eliminate static discharge??

Reply to
clare

Goooood to know, thanks!

Reply to
Leon

-------------------------------------------------- Method is a non hydrocarbon cleaner that eats kitchen grease and wax.

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Comes in a spray bottle.

I got one at Target.

Lew

Reply to
Lew Hodgett

I love hydrocarbons!

Reply to
G. Ross

So do I. I burn a couple of gallons as an offering to the God of freedom every day.

Reply to
krw

Coleman fuel goes WHOMP! really well. Ah, the memories...

Reply to
Dave Balderstone

What methods / products are suggested for removing accumulated wax / polish from furniture? Item in question is an early 60s console stereo cabinet, believe the finish to be lacquer.

Thanks.

Doug

Reply to
Doug

---------------------------------------------- Guess it depends on what the person you hire to repair the damaged spots first wants to use.

Lew

Reply to
Lew Hodgett

How about using a fret saw to aid in this repair?

Doug, why don't you try the repair on a piece of furniture that you don't care about. Maybe pick up something at Goodwill, if necessary?

Reply to
Bill

Indeed the preferred soil/dirt and polish furniture wax remover. Often the polish is the problem to begin with when you see accumulation of gunk in d etails, corners, inside corners, etc.

Cheap polish/furniture wax is loaded with all kinds of silicones, waxes, an d resins. Amazingly, it sticks well to surfaces while offering little prot ection. And of course the worst are the ones that claim to "nourish" the w ood... how do you nourish a piece of material that is sealed?

I would go with naptha over anything else as it is tried and true. Get a h andful of paper towels before you start and go to the dollar store and get the multi pack of cheap tooth brushes to use when cleaning. While you are there get some toothpicks, and if a pair of rubber gloves to wear. You are set! Do your cleaning in a place and it should be a f airly easy task.

Robert

Reply to
nailshooter41

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions - naphtha it is!

Please excuse my delayed reply. After several days of trying to find out why my initial message header would not download - along with all replies - tried a suggestion provided by Arthur T. posted on alt.usenet.offline-reader.forte-agent, to turn off filters and sample a range of headers that would cover the date range that was missing. Although I had checked all filters several times - once turned off several new headers downloaded. Good news, however do not know what filter blocked my message.

Now for the rest of the story - I had previously solicited input from the group regarding recommendations for repair of impact damage to the top of a 60s vintage stereo cabinet. The near unanimous guidance was hire a pro furniture repair person.

Was contacted by a gentleman that has a large collection of vintage Magnavox stereos and TVs. He strongly suggested not attempting to refinish the cabinet as the likelihood of a desirable matching result would be slim to none.

He suggested the following - as has been his practice with his collection:

**********
  1. Be sure the cabinet is clean.
  2. Use a Mohawk touch-up pen that is the same color as your finish...these pens look just like a magic-marker and come in Maple, Cherry, Mahogany, etc., etc.
  3. Light scratches will virtually disappear with the Mohawk pen, and deep scratches can be filled with the correct colored furniture stick...which is like a big crayon...you rub it perpendicular to the scratch and it fills it...excess is removed by GENTLY going over the area with 0000 or even 00000 steel wool
  4. Get the correct-finish color HOWARD's "restore a finish" liquid...comes in a can. Use
0000/00000 steel wool with the HOWARD's product applied and go over the entire cabinet with the grain...always moving the steel wool gently (i.e. very little pressure). The Howard's product is NOT a harsh chemical that dries like a lacquer, instead, it's very gentle and "feeds" the wood and wipes off easily and does NO harm to the original finish.
  1. Wipe off the entire cabinet with a clean cloth towel/cloth.
  2. Repeat as necessary if the cabinet still has a bad spot or two.

Unless you really are experienced, DO NOT:

  1. Sand or remove the original finish
  2. Spray or brush any lacquer or other permanent (i.e. those that dry like paint) restoration chemicals...you will very likely ruin the cabinet beyond the repair of anyone but a real expert.
*************

Although the large impact damage cannot be properly addressed with the Mohawk Fil-Stik, I wanted to try it out on the smaller nicks / dings.

I got the best matching Fil-Stik and tried it out - color match was near perfect. Problem was when I went to wipe the excess with either a soft cloth or 0000 steel wool, all material was removed - even that in the depression.

The store manager where I purchased the Fil-Stik was quite knowledgeable about the use / application of this item and suggested that excess wax / polish was likely preventing good adhesion.

He also provided contact information for a pro furniture repair guy for the large impact damage. He commented these guys can take the worst scratch, gouge, etc. and make it appear as if it was never there. Just what I need!

Look forward to trying the Fil-Stik again after cleaning with naphtha and better results.

Being able to fix dings, scratches big / small, and other damage is a worthwhile endeavor

- will find a piece that if / when botched up is of no consequence to practice on with shellac / burn in sticks.

Thanks again to all for the benefit of your collective experiences!

Doug

Bill wrote:

Reply to
Doug

Robert,

Thank you for your comments - always appreciate the benefit of your experience.

Went to the local box store for the naphtha - brand carried is Klean Strip VM&P naphtha. Following note was in the instructions for use: 'Do not use as a general purpose cleaner.'

Is there another variety / brand of naphtha preferred for use as a cleaner?

Suspect the cautionary note is legal CYA.

Thanks!

Doug

" snipped-for-privacy@aol.com" wrote:

Reply to
Doug

p VM&P naphtha.

purpose cleaner.'

Doug - a one in a million chance I am here! I don't get to this group much so good for both of us.

The naptha you have found is Varnish Maker's and Painter's Naptha. It is n ot known for its purity, but rather for the fact that it will thin varnish and paint successfully. It allows a very wide spectrum of ingredients and mixtures of the same to hit the lowest common denominator of simply being a ble to thin an oil based product.

Naptha has the "not to be used as a cleaner" warning posted in it as there were several different solutions of naptha used for decades as dry cleaning fluids. So when you took your dress suit to the cleaners, they used napth a or a solution with naptha in it to clean it, along with other non washabl e clothes. Find that out, it was a short cut for many to clean their non w ashables themselves with a small can of naptha (my Dad kept "Energine" arou nd when I was a kid) to hit spots and possible stains. Naptha was widely u sed as a utility cleaner in the manufacturing and industrial community as w ell. There are too many other cleaners that do the job better and safer th ese days for those applications.

But naptha still has its place. Go to a real paint store (not Home Depot, Lowe's, etc.) like Sherwin Williams or Benjamin Moore and get some real, fi rst brew naptha. Most naptha is recycled cleaning agents from heavy indust ry and is a mix of all kinds of stuff (as most thinners are). This isn't i llegal as "naptha" is simply a trade name, not an exact product. However, the stuff you get at the paint store will be minimally blended, so there wi ll be much less chance of that product reacting with anything that might be left behind on your furniture.

Reply to
nailshooter41

Robert,

My lucky day you were reading rec.woodworking! Is there another newsgroup where you more frequently post? Your detailed guidance / instructions have been invaluable to me in several instances and greatly appreciated.

Was curious as to what VM&P meant - now I know. I too recall Energine - nasty smelling stuff my mom used for the same purpose as did your dad.

The VM&P MSDS identifies the main ingredient (95-100%) as petroleum ether. Only recollection I have of ether is that in gaseous form it burns exceedingly rapidly.

Will check the local Sherwin Williams or Benjamin Moore stores to get the 'good stuff' and start cleaning.

Thanks again and best wishes to you and your family for a safe, healthy, and very Merry Christmas!

Doug

" snipped-for-privacy@aol.com" wrote:

Reply to
Doug

Robert,

I will continue to look for your most helpful / informative posts, however frequent they appear.

Recall some time ago a regular poster in rec.woodworking suggested you write a book on finishing - I understood the suggestion to be absolutely serious.

If you do - please let me know - I will certainly buy it.

As you note there is a large volume of misinformation disseminated via the Internet - just the way it is unfortunately. That being the case - is most rewarding to find the real deal from folks that know from their personal experiences - as you do.

While finishing may not be rocket science - use the wrong mix of products, improper preparation, not suited for the material in question - and as someone reminded me once - its' back to the belt sander!

It is most ironic that the more one knows about a subject, the more you know you don't know.

BIG Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and experience!

Doug

" snipped-for-privacy@aol.com" wrote:

Reply to
Doug

That was me, and I'm ghost writing it. ;)

Just kidding, but I have saved all of Roberts posts on finishing, since

2007 when that remark was made, in a folder on my hard drive just waiting for the opportunity for Robert to write that book.

... IOW, Wobbit, most of the work is already done, but you still too esspensive. ;)

Reply to
Swingman

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