How to Care for Wood Furniture

It doesn't matter if your wood furniture was built today or is a family heirloom, keeping it looking beautiful doesn't take much time or effort. Wood funriture is not only beautiful but durable when cared for properly.   First, try not to place it too closely to a heater vent as the dry heat could cause the wood to split or warp.

If your furninture piece is made from several high quality plies of wood, such as a nicely veneered piece of furniture,  you will not need to worry about this too much. But if your furniture is made from a solid piece of wood, you should be especially careful about where you place it.

Dusting

Did you know that approximately one-third of the cost of wooden furniture has to do with the process used to color and seal the finish?  You'll want to protect that finish, and the first step is to dust it regularly.  Even a small amount of dust can actually create small scratches in the finish which eventually expose the wood, making it vulnerable to further damage.  Remedy this by Using a soft cloth, slightly dampened to help trap the dust instead of sending it airborne just to land right back on your furniture.  Avoid the multi-purpose cleaners – these weren't made for the finish on fine furniture, but for more durable surfaces like plastic and enameling.  Using one of the new treated wipes to dust your furniture is a benefit since they're designed to collect the dust rather than pushing them off the wood and back into the air again.

Polish

Should you use an Oil or wax based polish?  Putting a little oil polish on a rag and giving the furniture a quick once-over is fast, but you'll wind up needing to dust twice as often.  Oils attract dust rather than repelling it, so while the furniture will sparkle and look wonderful right after it's been polished, it will quickly look dusty again and some of that dust will mix in with the oil, making the furniture increasingly difficult to clean and easier to scratch.  Oil does however help the finish – not the wood – of your furniture.  Over time, finishes tend to lose moisture and "evaporate" from the wood, causing cracks and crumbles in the finish.  However, this process happens over a very long time and chances are that normal day-to-day use of the furniture will wear more of the finish off the piece than what will "evaporate" from the finish drying out. Instead, you're better off using a wax to help protect the wood itself and to help minimize dust rather than being overly concerned with the moisture level in the finish.

Liquid waxes are a little better than oils in that they will create a surface coating on the wood that will help the dust slide off the furniture instead of sticking to it, but the protection doesn't last as long as a paste wax.

I think the best protection for your wood furniture is a good paste wax, one with less paraffin and more carnauba wax.  These waxes are quite hard – it's a good idea to scrape out a small amount (think a ball the size of a quarter) put it in the cloth you're going to use and then begin kneading it back and forth for a few minutes until it's soft enough to work with.  Begin waxing the furniture, using small circular motions and really rub it into the surface of the wood.  And remember, the harder the wax is, the more it will protect your furniture.  Be sure to take breaks regularly if working on a larger piece of furniture – waxing is hard work and in order to do a good job, you want to make sure you're fresh while you're doing it.

Once you've applied a good coat of wax, it should last for about one year to two years depending on how much you use that piece of furniture on a daily basis.  If, after five to ten years, the finish appears cloudy or as if it might be darker, rub the wood down with mineral oil to strip off all the old applications of wax and then apply a fresh coat of wax. Some refinishers and purists will swear by mineral spirits instead of mineral oil, however, mineral spirits can be very dangerous to use so be sure to read the directions and warnings carefully first.

If you use furniture oil instead of wax, you'll also see the finish begin to darken in a few years.  Unfortunately, the oil actually rubs dirt and grime into the wood finish and there's no way to strip that off the wood without completely stripping the finish off as well.

If you're looking for a duller coat or an antique "glow" on your wood, try beeswax instead of a carnauba wax.

Repairing Small Scratches

In veneered and solid wood furniture, the fix is pretty easy: just find a wax stick at the local hardware store that most closely matches the color of your wood.  Simply "color" in the scratch and you're done.  The wax will help protect the wood from the elements and the color should hide the scratch as well.  Go ahead and re-wax this area of the furniture again, but make sure that the wax stick covered in the scratch and didn't just put a light bit of color over the exposed wood.  The trick is to make sure the colored wax is applied heavily enough to match the depth of the scratch and create a flat surface again.  Now when you wax this area of your furniture, the plain wax shouldn't be able to build up in the scratch (and create a white mark).  If you're looking for a perfect cover-up, it may take some time and practice to be able to both wax the area and cover the scratch.

By following these simple steps your wood furniture should be looking beautiful to welcome your grandchildens grandchilden and every piece can be an heirloom!