Bookmark the Antique Web in your Favorites File for easy reference
Another highly advertised product, The _______ Solution, claims to be a mixture of beeswax, lemon oil and a specially designed mineral base oil. It then claims that the product is a "...true wood feeder that is fed into the wood during application". The last time I looked the wood in my antique furniture had been basically dead for some time and no longer required feeding of any sort. What it needs is protection from too much or too little atmospheric moisture and that is accomplished by a surface finish. But commercial products are not the only perpetrators of myths about oil on furniture. The literature and the Internet are full of home recipes for furniture polish. One online guru states that while the traditional recipe for a good polish calls for 1/4 cup of linseed or vegetable oil and a few drops of vinegar, she prefers the opposite, 1/4 cup of vinegar and a few drops of oil since in warm weather the oil may get rancid (!!) She then states "The vinegar pulls the dirt out of the wood and the few drops of oil lubricates the wood so that it doesn't dry out." Lubricates the wood? Was it squeaking? No amount of oil will keep wood from drying out when the relative humidity is below 30%. Another "expert" on a vegetarian food page suggests a furniture polish/dust remover made of 1/2 cup lemon juice and 1/2 cup olive oil. Maybe she should stick to cooking because she sure doesn't know anything about furniture polish or finishes. The problem with oil, any kind of oil applied to finished surface, is what happens next. There are basically two kinds of oil, drying and non-drying. The non-drying is the least harmful initially since it doesn't undergo a chemical reaction. The most common non-drying oils are lemon oil, orange oil and mineral oil. These oils have a very slow evaporation rate and remain on the surface in a microscopically thin semi liquid state for days, even weeks after application. As a result they produce a surface that smears easily and also accumulates every particle of dust, pollen and pollution that passes its way. The build up eventually must be removed. Drying oils such as tung oil or linseed oil are especially harmful since they actually undergo a chemical change as they dry and attempt to bond chemically with the surface. As they become hard through oxidation they become difficult to remove and over time the accumulation of layers of dried oil forms a shell over the old finish and eventually turns dark, obscuring the original surface. The simple fact is that unless the original finish of a piece of furniture was an oil finish, then oil has no place on a piece of furniture. Think of the finish on your furniture as the finish on your car. They are both coatings designed to protect the basic structure underneath, steel or wood. They are designed not to allow moisture or dirt or grease to touch the primary surface. You don't oil the paint on your car. Neither should you oil the finish on your furniture. Use a good paste wax and apply a light coat, buffing when dry and then dust gently between semi-annual waxings. Its that simple.
Visit Fred's website at www.furnituredetective.com. His book "HOW TO BE A FURNITURE DETECTIVE" is available for $18.95 plus $3.00 S&H (U.S.). Send check or money order for $21.95 to Fred Taylor, PO Box 215, Crystal River, FL 34423. Fred and Gail Taylor's DVD "IDENTIFICATION OF OLDER & ANTIQUE FURNITURE", $17.00 + $3.00 S&H (U.S.) and a bound compilation of the first 60 columns of "COMMON SENSE ANTIQUES by Fred Taylor" ($25.00 + $3.00 S&H (U.S.) are also available at the same address. For more information call (800)387-6377, fax (352)563-2916, or e-mail info@furnituredetective.com.
|
Online since 1999
|
Designated trademarks and brands are the property of their
respective owners. Use of this
Website constitutes acceptance of the AntiqueWeb.com Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
1997 2010 AntiqueWeb.com. Times Publishing, LLC All Rights Reserved