Expert: Eileen Cronk - 5/22/2009

Question
QUESTION: My mother passed along her queen anne cherry formal dining set to me some 19 years ago.  I remember her using pledge weekly for my entire childhood. (the 1970's)  Well some 12 years ago we moved and put the table into storage for about 6 months.  It came out with the finish disturbed...  texture from the cloth in the surface of the table and a white film over areas.  The storage unit was not climate controlled.  So it remained covered in our garage for the last 12 years (we had no formal dining room).  Well now that we do, I need advice on the best way to restore the finish without completely sanding and refinishing.  Extensive attempts with cleaning products... wood oil, preen, water stain cherry stain have failed... though the dirt which came off was somewhat green, there is no raised texture of mold. Can the wax buildup discolor due to climatic issues? and can this happen below the surface.  Also the chairs have a grimy buildup... what is the best way to deal with that?

Thank you in advance,
Marci

ANSWER: Hi Marci
Nice to hear from you.
Apparently Pledge is the very worse thing that we can apply to our furniture because it contains silicone which can damage a finish.
It appears this is what has happened to your table.
Make one last attempt to fix the top.
Get a can of mineral spirits and a box of fine steel wool pads (not SOS).
Dip the wool in the spirits and give the table a good scrub.
Try to work with the grain when possible.
Dry with clean rags as you go.
Then a paste waxing.
This may help the table but for absolute sure will make the chairs look like new.
Good Luck
Write any time.
Eileen

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you, I will give that a try..... But what exactly is mineral spirits and where would I get it?

Answer
Hi again Marci
Mineral spirits is referred to by several names.
Paint thinner and varsol are what we call it here in Canada.
Its a petroleum based product and we use it to clean our brushes after using oil based paint.
You are really going to be amazed at the dirt this takes off of your furniture.
Its available in every hardware store or paint store in North America..really LOL. Costs about $3.00 a quart here. Get a quart as you'll need it for the table and all the chairs.
Best of luck with this.
Regards
Eileen