Expert: Eileen Cronk - 5/26/2008

Question
HI. We bought a 200year old small antique, wooden door of an ancient synagogue, with brass motives on it , from Morocco. After a few months of seeing this thing in the corner of my living room, I decided to clean it with a damp cloth and try to polish the brass with an oil, needless to say that i have ruined it, or it seems like it, the very dusty cedar wood door is now darker and the brass trimming a bit lighter, only the oil has cause a few stains on the wood.  HELP, my husband is furious at me, is there anyway I can repair this by maybe applying proper cleaning to the wood and to the brass that would make this antiques still as valuable and worthy as it was before my impulsive urge to clean it.   Would appreciate your help.
Thks

Answer
Hi Valerie
Nice to hear from you.
I am so sorry you are in this mess..makes you feel kind of sick I know. I've messed things up too. We all make mistakes.
This question is a dilemma. Its hard to imagine that a damp cloth would do this to cedar.
All it should have done is remove the surface dirt.
This would have been the first step I took with this door.
One thing I must know before any help is offered.
Does this door currently have any finish on it or is it bare wood?
And is it 100% confirmed this is cedar.
Cedar is different than other woods in that it has shiny grain areas and dull areas. Thats the way cedar is.
It could be possible that all you did by cleaning with a damp cloth is reveal these areas.
Even after a finish is applied these areas can be quite pronounced.
And do not worry at all that you have damaged the brass with the oil.
You haven't in any way. The brass will tarnish again and be like it was.
If I was sure there was a good finish on this door I would tell you to slightly dampen a rag with a bit of mineral spirits and rub the oil off of the brass but at this point I don't want you getting mineral spirits on the door accidentally..although I cannot imagine it doing any harm but lets wait and see if there is finish first.
I gather from your words you want to absolutely retain the look as is of this old door. So once again I will say that what you did is what I would have done and thats remove the dirt with a damp cloth.
Please get back to me.
Kind Regards
Eileen