Wood and veneer care

Søren Mexico — Mon, 13 Jan 2014 19:45:32 GMT

Current revision posted to <Members Own Technical Pages> by Søren Mexico on 13/01/2014 19:45:32

I start cleaning with Isopropyl alcohol, depending on how dirty (layers of Pledge, wax or lacquered with something) at times I use acetone for the first cleaning, careful acetone may damage plastics and loosen glues.

Then sand the wood with 200 grain sand paper or this (these hand pads I find better than sandpaper, they dont run full, and you can use them over and over again) I sand until small scratches and marks disappear and the surfaces has the same color over all, deep damages can be repaired with a mix of wood glue and sanding dust.

Mix the dust with glue until you have a heavy paste, clean the damage with a cutter and acetone, press the paste into the scratch/hole, level off wit a knife or spatula. This only for smaller deep scratches, if bigger, you will have to cut out the damaged veneer and glue in a new piece of veneer fitting the grain and cut out.

When the repaired areas are dry, sand again with 200 grain or hand pad, if you want a finer finish, sand with 400 grain, Clean off dust with a brush and then with Iso alcohol or a rag moistened with water, let dry. Now soak the wood with Boiled linseed oil (also known as Danish Oil), after half an hour, wipe off excess, let dry for 12 hours, sand lightly with hand pad or 400 grain, clean off dust, soak with oil, 1/2 hour, wipe off excess, let dry 12 hours, polish with lint free rag, done. After a couple of years, sand light, clean, soak, wipe off excess, let dry, polish, and it looks like new again.

The Linseed oil stinks, so do this outside or in the garage.

For sanding, use a sanding block or a piece of wood that fits in your hand, wrapped with sanding paper or hand pad. Do NOT use machine, the veneer is very thin on some some items.

Always sand until all darker areas are gone, and an even light brown color is reached, the wood will turn darker and the grain be more accented after oiling.

Daily (weekly) cleaning with rag moistened with soapy water. Use no furniture sprays or cleaners.