Expert: Greg Scholl - 4/19/2011

Question
The company that cleans our house recently used a product that seems to have damaged our lacquered furniture.  They and we are stuck as to what to do.  The product was used in excess (the furniture was actually wet on top several hours after the house was cleaned).  Those areas where lamps and planters had been replaced after cleaning had a hazing appearance.  The areas without anything on them had a water-marked appearance (like small droplets of water and streaks had dried on the surface).  According to the cleaners, the product used contained isoparaffinic solvent, mineral spirits, and mineral oil.  They then used a degreaser to attempt to remove the product and I have tried Formsby's wood cleaner for the same purpose.  After these cleanings, the entire surface remains hazing.  Do I need to do further cleaning?  Should I follow-up with a paste wax?

Answer
Hi Ginny, it sounds like you've probably gotten off the mineral oil residue, but the surface may have been damaged a bit...if the lacquer is in overall good shape, you can polish the luster back into it with some rubbing compound, but be warned, this is pretty labor intensive. I like 3M's liquid compounds like "Perfect-it", and the "One Step Cleaner Wax". The latter product is a fine rubbing compound and wax in one...and I would start there to see what results it gives, before moving to the Perfect-it...you may not need that, and it's more aggressive. Make a pad of flannel or Polo (t-shirt) material, about the size of a deck of cards, by folding a larger piece of material into several layers. Shake the liquid compound well, and apply several quarter sized dollops to an area about 12" wide and proceed to rub with moderate pressure in overlapping strokes, as far towards the center of the surface as you can comfortably reach. Rub briskly, overlapping you're strokes by the width of the pad until the compound get's sticky and hard to rub anymore. At that point take a separate clean cloth and wipe off the compund and evaluate the surface. You should be able to see immediately if it's giving you the results you want. You'll need to work your way acroos one side and then do the other side, again rubbing towards the center, overlapping all the way until the surface is evenly polished. To us, "polish" is a verb, not something that comes in a can...and if you decide to polish out your tables, you will have a new understanding of the word as well. It will take some practice, and elbow grease to do this properly, and if it seems too daunting, you could call in a Pro restorer to evaluate it with you. Hope this helps a little- post back- regards- Greg


http://www.amazon.com/3M-One-Step-Cleaner-Wax/dp/B0009KKTLG/ref=sr_1_5?s=automot...

http://www.amazon.com/3M-Perfect-Liquid-Rubbing-Compound/dp/B0009KNP58/ref=pd_sb...