Unsecure chicken perches

[patsylabrador]

I've suffered from bouts of day long sneezing for years and one of my sons is the same and we couldn't figure out why. Then I started to associate commercial furniture polishes with the sneezing. I found this 'recipe' which is lovely and the sneezing for both of us has virtually stopped. Put some olive oil in a jar with some orange essential oil and some spices, I use allspice berries, star anise and a cinnamon stick. It smells gorgeous, the wood looks great especially when I rub it in well and if it gets on my hands it's good for them.

I'm going to try a different essential oil for each season. Any other similar tips? Apart from anything else it smells so much nicer than manufactured products.

I've used it for about 6 months on all sorts of surfaces with no ill effects.

[xScrunchee]

Sounds lovely

And what a relief that your sneezing has almost stopped

[bluekarin]

Thats a lovely idea. I have used a mix of olive oil and lemon juice. The wood had an amazing deep shine and smelt gorgeous. Only thing is you need to shake it, and it doesn't last very long, so only make a small amount at a time.

[Alis girls]

what percentage to what please? sorry to be so precise

[patsylabrador]

Sorry, I've only ever just bunged in what I fancy and topped it up as i go along. The same lot has lasted all 6 months - a bit like Trigger's broom.

[majorbloodnock]

OK, a few technical notes here.

 

Firstly, any oil will soak well into bare wood or through a porous finish, so is a good protector. However, olive oil isn't too quick to dry out, so you do run the risk of staining clothing that comes into contact with the furniture. The classic oil finish is linseed - raw for the harder finish or boiled for quicker drying - and this can also be infused with different smells to good effect. Even so, many commercial polishes are products to produce a shine and have little to do with protecting the wood, so even olive oil is a marked step up from them for any furniture you wish to preserve.

 

Secondly, any oil combined with an acid (like the aforementioned olive oil/lemon juice combination) is actually a restorer rather than a protective coating. The acid tends to cut through dirt, transferring it to the cloth, whilst the oil nourishes the wood as it's exposed. There are other slightly more complex recipes for restorers, but they all follow the same basic principle.

 

Personally, for any furniture I care about enough to maintain, I use either beeswax or danish oil, both of which give a very pleasant "antique furniture" smell anyway, precisely because they're traditional finishes. However, I do know there are various other oils, some scented, which are commercially available for fine furniture. Here's a a supplier of lemon oil, for instance

[Space Chick]

I have used a mix of olive oil and lemon juice.

 

Sounds like salad dressing to me

 

OK, a few technical notes here.

 

Firstly, any oil will soak well into bare wood or through a porous finish, so is a good protector. However, olive oil isn't too quick to dry out, so you do run the risk of staining clothing that comes into contact with the furniture. The classic oil finish is linseed - raw for the harder finish or boiled for quicker drying - and this can also be infused with different smells to good effect. Even so, many commercial polishes are products to produce a shine and have little to do with protecting the wood, so even olive oil is a marked step up from them for any furniture you wish to preserve.

 

Secondly, any oil combined with an acid (like the aforementioned olive oil/lemon juice combination) is actually a restorer rather than a protective coating. The acid tends to cut through dirt, transferring it to the cloth, whilst the oil nourishes the wood as it's exposed. There are other slightly more complex recipes for restorers, but they all follow the same basic principle.

 

Personally, for any furniture I care about enough to maintain, I use either beeswax or danish oil, both of which give a very pleasant "antique furniture" smell anyway, precisely because they're traditional finishes. However, I do know there are various other oils, some scented, which are commercially available for fine furniture. Here's a a supplier of lemon oil, for instance

 

Major, your depth of knowledge never ceases to amaze me

[Cooks]

yes I'd like to have Major on hand as my phone a friend if I was on Who Wants to be a Millionairre

[Alis girls]

I know amazing - not Ask Jeeves its Ask Major Major can I be impertinent and ask your age? You will probably say no. I see you as between 50- 70 well dressed and sporting a tache. In reality you are probably 30 clean shaven and dressed in designer jeans I apologise for being nosey but we all have ideas of how people look.

[Space Chick]

I know the Major has an 8 year old son from another thread, so in my head he instantly went from in his 60's in a tweed jacket to around 40 and dressed like a Geography teacher

[Cooks]

it is funny how we picture people...

[majorbloodnock]

I know amazing - not Ask Jeeves its Ask Major Major can I be impertinent and ask your age? You will probably say no. I see you as between 50- 70 well dressed and sporting a tache. In reality you are probably 30 clean shaven and dressed in designer jeans I apologise for being nosey but we all have ideas of how people look.

 

Well, since it's no secret that, as Space Chick pointed out, I've two children, the oldest of which is 8, it's not revealing much more to say that I'm in my 40s. I do have a 'tache, but only since I have the beard to go with it.

 

As far as knowledge is concerned, though, this particular area is not too surprising when I explain that one of my great loves is working with wood. Most of the furniture I've built to date has been for storing our many books, so finishes that can leech back out of the wood are of little use to me. However, I detest all "woodcare" products that do little for the wood itself, and a love of any traditional methods for bringing out the true beauty that wood can have.

[Tutti Frutti]

I detest all "woodcare" products that do little for the wood itself, and a love of any traditional methods for bringing out the true beauty that wood can have.

 

Oh WOW! I pop on here and stumble upon this thread.

 

Major, I'm sorry to ask but may I please pick your brains? I bought a beautiful, old sheesham cabinet on Ebay but it has ring/heat marks on the top. I'm not worried (just covered them up with trinkets!) but it would be nice to do it justice. Should I sand it down and wax/oil/polish it - what would you recommend? I have no idea what it's treated with at the moment - it's not polished to a shine, but the colour of the wood does shine through. We gave this piece a second lease of life and it's well used and loved here... and if it goes wrong, I'd just put a few more trinkets on it

 

I have absolutely NO IDEA what to do which makes me so sad, as my Uncle (carpenter all his life) said he'd take a look but he passed away soon after we bought it

 

Anyway, I digress. Thank you.

 

Please don't feel obliged to reply!

[majorbloodnock]

It depends quite a lot on what finish it's got. However, if it looks like a stain from a coffee cup or similar, it may be possible to use a steam iron, ironing a folded cloth over the stain to gently draw out the stain.

 

Is it possible to post some good quality pictures of the surface? Particularly really close up ones to see if we can identify the finish first?

[Tutti Frutti]

Patsy, I am so sorry to hijack your post glad you've found a solution (in more ways than one!)... we've lived in pine woodlands for some years now and it plays havoc with my ears so I sympathise...

 

Major, I removed the trinkets and took a good look at the surface. Some of it can be flaked off with my nail Don't know if that helps you?

 

I'll upload some photos in a moment.

 

THANK YOU so much

[ubereglu]

That's really interesting.

 

One of my sister's friends had a similar problem, it then went away when her cat died...You can guess what caused that can't you!

[Tutti Frutti]

Is it possible to post some good quality pictures of the surface? Particularly really close up ones to see if we can identify the finish first?

 

On a new thread here

http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=58028&p=866247#p866247

 

Thank you!

[Cate in NZ]

I used to make my own furniture polish from a recipe that Kate (Mrs Frugal) posted ages ago...from the book Sloe Gin & beeswax if I remember rightly . The main ingredient was beeswax which I gently melted & combined with lavender oil & I can't remember what else now....but it was brilliant stuff & a fraction of the price of commercial furniture polish.

I wasn't able to bring any over here because of strict import laws on bee products, and I've not yet found a source of beeswax over here. Note to self.....get looking for some

[Alis girls]

i didnt realise till we got to airport in Uk you werent s'pose to bring bee products back having 2 yrs ago put a jar of honey from a Cyrpiot convent shop in our case. I kept stum as I didnt want to end up in prison. I dont think its a well knwon fact and dont remember seeing any signs in Cyrpus airport about it.

Major - you see I was totally wrong about you - wise and in your 40's a mere youngster was right about the tache though. Your tips on furniture esp wooden are excellent - I tend to use beeswax polish when I can from UK.

[..lay a little egg for me]

I used to make my own furniture polish from a recipe that Kate (Mrs Frugal) posted ages ago...from the book Sloe Gin & beeswax if I remember rightly . The main ingredient was beeswax which I gently melted & combined with lavender oil & I can't remember what else now....but it was brilliant stuff & a fraction of the price of commercial furniture polish.

I wasn't able to bring any over here because of strict import laws on bee products, and I've not yet found a source of beeswax over here. Note to self.....get looking for some

 

I can see a problem with that recipe right away...how to prevent the sloe gin accidentally ending up inside the furniture polisher [i.e., the human bean] and not in the polish itself!!

 

I saw NZ beeswax for sale over here the other day, so there must be a source near you somewhere. All those manuka honey exporters must end up with plenty of beeswax!

[bluekarin]

I love old fashioned beeswax polish too. I used to work in a furniture restorers as an upholsterer, and sometimes helped out waxing the furniture with beeswax for the pale furniture or Briwax for darker stuff. We used to let it dry on the wood, and then use an electric buffer, or even for those lovely fiddly bits, by hand. Mighty hard work but well worth it, specially if the item was an antique.

 

Anyhoo, linky dink for beeswax

 

http://www.axminster.co.uk/product.asp?pf_id=21585&src=froogle

 

ps, I am rather partial to sloe gin nomnomnom, rather it in my glass than in a polish