OldTools Archive
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276375 | John M. Johnston <jmjhnstn@m...> | 2022‑10‑05 | Cleaning old oak |
Gentles, I need to clean (NOT refinish) a 1920s oak barrister's bookcase. It’s been indoors all its life and is just dark and dingy. Suggestions for cleaning?? Thank you. John M. Johnston “P.S. If you do not receive this, of course it must have been miscarried; therefore I beg you to write and let me know.” - Sir Boyle Roche, M.P. |
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276376 | gtgrouch@r... | 2022‑10‑05 | Re: Cleaning old oak |
I used to use Gojo in the blue container. Haven't done it for years though, and I'm not sure if they changed the formulation. If the finish is shellac, there is always wiping it with alcohol. Sounds like fun, Gary Katsanis Albion New York, USA -----------------------------------------From: "John M. Johnston" To: "Old Tools" Cc: Sent: Wednesday October 5 2022 1:41:41PM Subject: [oldtools] Cleaning old oak Gentles, I need to clean (NOT refinish) a 1920s oak barrister's bookcase. It’s been indoors all its life and is just dark and dingy. Suggestions for cleaning?? Thank you. John M. Johnston “P.S. If you do not receive this, of course it must have been miscarried; therefore I beg you to write and let me know.” - Sir Boyle Roche, M.P. Links: ------ [1] https://groups.io/g/oldtools/unsub |
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276378 | Kevin Foley <kevin.foley.135@g...> | 2022‑10‑05 | Re: Cleaning old oak |
John, It’s not made to be a cleaner but Howard’s Feed - n - Wax has orange oil and (I think) some VOCs. I find that a rub down of the surface with a cloth fairly wet with the stuff will release considerable dirt. Like most things test on a small piece but I haven't found it to harm finishes. It’s at HD. Barrister’s Bookcases. The most loved and reviled furniture in my office building. I’m on the pro side. I’ve got three stacks in my office. Kevin |
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276379 | Kirk Eppler | 2022‑10‑05 | Re: Cleaning old oak |
I use Murphy's oil soap for cleaning anything considered fine furniture. If that doesn't do it, and it still looks dingy, I might step up to Paint Thinner, Simple Green (don';t let it stand too long at first), or Krud Kutter, depending on how gross it is. Krud Kutter worked fine on a tool box with all kinds of foulness on top of it, not sure I'd try it on something nice as my first attempt. See before and after here https://kirkhmb.smugmug.com/Woodworking/Tool-Chest-Two-Drawer/i-89nCbPw https://kirkhmb.smugmug.com/Woodworking/Tool-Chest-Two-Drawer/i-JmsFjG9 Kirk in Half Moon Bay, Ca On Wed, Oct 5, 2022 at 10:41 AM John M. Johnston |
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276380 | Claudio DeLorenzi <claudio@d...> | 2022‑10‑05 | Re: Cleaning old oak |
The museum waxes (like Renaissance Wax) are gentle cleaners and reversible protective layers at the same time. Even “Furniture Conservator’s Wax” works to clean general indoor grime (mature adult indoor grime, not frat house) Cheers from Waterloo Claudio On Wed, Oct 5, 2022 at 2:24 PM Kirk Eppler via groups.io |
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276381 | scottg <scottg@s...> | 2022‑10‑05 | Re: Cleaning old oak |
Well everybody already mentioned my tricks. Waterless hand cleaner (with no grit in it) or Murphys to start. Then alcohol. Then paint thinner. Then steel wool with paint thinner. Depending on if its working. hahahah If you have to "cut" it a little to get the look you want, and its flat, it can be polished back out. Pumice and water followed by rottenstone and oil. Good wax last of course. There is only so far I am willing to go before the shellac/varnish/lacquer brush gets loose. yours scott -- ******************************* Scott Grandstaff Box 409 Happy Camp, Ca 96039 scottg@s... http://www.snowcrest.net/kitty/sgrandstaff/ http://www.snowcrest.net/kitty/hpages/index.html |
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276382 | Richard Wilson <yorkshireman@y...> | 2022‑10‑05 | Re: Cleaning old oak |
Lots of good notions already. Here’s my two penn’orth. First All dirt is not equal. Second All substrate is not equal. So you need to do some careful observation of what you’re dealing with. Is the existing finish sound? - are there cracks? will finish flake off if you apply pressure? What is the finish? - shellac? oil/wax? polyurethane? What dirt is there? is it ingrained, or surface. Has the original colour darkened? What colour do you want it to be? Oak is open grained, and almost impossible to bring back to original light colour without leaving the pores black. On a dirty item such as I imagine this to be, I would start with old fashioned soap and water. Not exactly wet, but a damp cloth to remove the dust and dirt, immediately followed by a dry cloth to ensure it dries at once. You may repeat, at a suitable interval. and clean the interior if necessary. Now go back to your findings on the finish. It is possible to bring back old shellac finishes, up to a point, but it takes time, and old shellac can be very hard, needing long times to soften and allow the surface to be controlled. If you are fortunate to have an old oil finish, then move on from water to alcohol, or something like Liberon cleaner - based on all manner of probably hazardous stuff, it cleans off old wax and dirt, and leaves a surface ready for refinishing. - just looked it up, and they seem to call it 'Liberon Wax and Polish Remover’ nowadays. I like it because it is so simple, and doesn’t damage old finishes, if they’re sound. Another simple re-finish is to pad on a few layers of shellac. again, it needs a sound base, and a cracked finish is tricky to bring back, but it delivers a deep rich finish which can take a wax surface to adjust the sheen. Oh yes - find an unseen corner first and try out whatever you are planning to do where you can afford to make a wrong decision. Let us know how you get on.. Richard Wilson Yorkshireman Galoot > On 5 Oct 2022, at 17:09, John M. Johnston |
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276383 | Don Schwartz <dks@t...> | 2022‑10‑05 | Re: Cleaning old oak |
On 2022-10-05 1:41 p.m., scottg wrote: > Well everybody already mentioned my tricks. > Waterless hand cleaner (with no grit in it) or Murphys to start. > Then alcohol. Then paint thinner. Then steel wool with paint thinner. > Depending on if its working. hahahah > > If you have to "cut" it a little to get the look you want, and its > flat, it can be polished back out. Pumice and water followed by > rottenstone and oil. > Good wax last of course. > > There is only so far I am willing to go before the > shellac/varnish/lacquer brush gets loose. > yours scott > > Hmmm. I'm reluctant to be disagreeing with Scott, but I wouldn't be jumping to alcohol so quick, in case it's a shellac finish. After Murphy's and lukewarm water, I'd move to varsol or similar petroleum product. Paint thinner or turps if you have it. Start with a soft cloth. For heavier grime, switch to a finer grade of burlap. Then steel wool as needed. If all that fails, try some alcohol in a spot where it won't be too obvious if it dissolves your finish. Apparently if you're expert with a card scraper, you can remove a lot of grime, without a hook on the edge. I'm not that confident of my scraping skill. FWIW Don -- Chuck the king - DS It's a Humpty Dumpty world - Ry Cooder |
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276384 | Phil E. <pedgerton66@g...> | 2022‑10‑05 | Re: Cleaning old oak |
I'd refer folks to Tom Johnston on You-tube. He lives in Maine but used to have a big repair and refinishing shop in New York. He is a good teacher for all the old furniture rehab stuff. Phil E. |
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276385 | Mark van Roojen <mvr1@e...> | 2022‑10‑06 | Re: Cleaning old oak |
> > > *Re: Cleaning old oak* > From: Claudio DeLorenzi ( > claudio@d...?subject=Re:%20Cleaning%20old%20oak ) > Date: Wed, 05 Oct 2022 14:11:28 CDT > > The museum waxes (like Renaissance Wax) are gentle cleaners and reversible > > protective layers at the same time. Even �Furniture Conservator�s Wax� > works to clean general indoor grime (mature adult indoor grime, not frat > house) > Cheers from Waterloo > Claudio Along similar lines I was going to suggest starting with a tack cloth just to take off surface dust and grit and then seeing what I had and working from there. FWIW - Mark Mark van Roojen Department of Philosophy University of Nebraska - Lincoln Pound Hall 315D Lincoln, NE 68588-0321 (402) 472-2425 (office will take messages) Home: POB 83836 Lincoln, NE 68501-3836 (402) 438-3724 (h) Webpage: www.mvr1.com ( http://www.mvr1.com/ ) |
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276406 | Darrell <larchmont479@g...> | 2022‑10‑07 | Re: Cleaning old oak |
> On Wed, Oct 5, 2022 at 10:41 AM John M. Johnston |
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276407 | Joe Sullivan <joe@j...> | 2022‑10‑07 | Re: Cleaning old oak |
SNIP Hmmm. I'm reluctant to be disagreeing with Scott, but I wouldn't be jumping to alcohol so quick, in case it's a shellac finish. After Murphy's and lukewarm water, I'd move to varsol or similar petroleum product. Paint thinner or turps if you have it. Start with a soft cloth. END Snip Yes, I have five of them full of books and ALL have shellac finishes. J |
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276411 | cowtown_eric <ecoyle@t...> | 2022‑10‑09 | Re: Cleaning old oak |
I would like to see pictures before I give my two bits of suggestion. Eric |
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276414 | gary allan may | 2022‑10‑10 | Re: Cleaning old oak |
Saddle soap. Or mild dish-soap and water. Wipe with a towel if it gets actually wet. Bob's yer uncle. John M. Johnston |
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