"Cleaning" old furniture

[Mike Holbrook]

I purchased some old furniture I am working on restoring. I have made a few posts here and on the Finishing forum about the project. I have unearthed a whole new educational experience in wood finsihing.

A topic I am having issues with though isn't actually finishing exactly. I thought I would post about it here as I know many Neanders restore old tools and some posters use a good deal of old wood. The topic is not a normal topic on the finishing forum.

I am cleaning up some old wood that has gray/green/black gunk on it. It is hard to photograph as it appears more as a cast over the wood or deeper color. I thought I was looking at some mildew that would wipe off relatively easily. I tried cleaning a section with Murphy's oil soap and another section with a solution I read about, a small amount of vinegar in water. Although both rags accumulated significant amounts of gray/green/black gunk the wood surfaces still look about the same. Next I will put a few drops of bleach on an invisible area to see if it lightens up which I understand would be an indication that I killed live mildew.

I realize there is "natural" aging which is sometimes referred to as "patina". I know that there are those who might feel this "patina" should be left or even encouraged. I was reading the book I just bought on finishing by Bob Flexner "Understanding Wood Finishing". Bob, interestingly, credits the TV show "Antiques Road Show" with an unprecedented amount of destruction of antique furniture. From Bob's point of view the TV show has made way to many people afraid of destroying a "priceless" antique. People are afraid to protect old wood from the ravages of mildew and water for fear of reducing some perceived commercial antique value.

I have high hopes that my fellow woodworkers will understand where I am coming from. I have no interest in preserving commercial antique value. I want to use my new/old furniture not relegate it to museum status. I appreciate the old wood and craftsmanship. My way to honor this old furniture is to keep it in use, doing everything I can to keep it as functional as possible for as long as possible. I don't want to subject my personal belongings to an "antique" environment resplendent in a patina composed of dirt & mildew though.

Any advice anyone might have about restoring these wood surfaces while retaining the aged look and feel are appreciated, particularly in regard to removing more of the "patina", much of which I am inclined to think of as dirt, mildew and water stains/damage that may be at or in the wood's surface.

[Joe Tilson]

Mike,
I restore old pieces from time to time and never worried about "patina" at all, especially if the piece was mine. I have scraped the finish off of varnished pieces and painted them with milk paint for some or used shellac and alcohol to refinish some. I to am interested in how to clean up a piece I have now, and will be watching this thread with great interest.
Joe

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Step 1: Determine the existing finish. That makes a huge difference on what I would do to clean it up. The last old piece I dealt with used a tung-oil finish, so, I hit it with tung-oil and steel wool. For shellac, I would use something totally different.

[Mike Holbrook]

Andrew, thanks for the reply. I am slow responding because I just got a copy of Bob Flexner's book "Understanding Wood Finishing" which I have been searching through for answers. I have a desk and a file cabinet. The file cabinet is the piece with significant mildew/dirt/patena. The finish on the two pieces looks and may very well be different. I tested the desk finish with alcohol, which had no effect, not shellac. I am in the process of doing more testing based on what I am learning.

The desk is probably older and actually I think in better shape overall. The file cabinet has more screws and moving parts that may need repair which complicates things. The file cabinet also has the cleaning issues. I want to use the file cabinet as more of a dresser to stack clothes in so I would like to have the surfaces in good condition, cleaned and finished with some harder finish probably a "wipping finish" like Waterlox..

I think the desk has some newer hard finish with a satin sheen on it. It looks like someone painted the finish on the desk as there are drips on the inside of the drawers and carcass. Not sure about the file cabinets finish yet, but I am doing some testing.

Joe, I like the finish and appearance on both of these pieces so I am hesitant to strip it off and start over, although I am not so big on the "patina" on the file cabinet. So far my study of Flexner's book has me thinking in terms of what he calls a wipping finish, once I figure out how to remove/kill whatever is on the inside of the file cabinet. I think wipping finishes can he added or built up which may allow me to supplement the existing finishes vs removing them. The least invasive way to handle these pieces is what I heard from a poster on the Finishing Forum, apply wax and leave them alone. My only problem with that method is I suspect there is mildew growing inside the file cabinet which I would like to get rid of and prevent from reestablishing itself. It is my understanding that wax provides very minimal protection from things like mildew. I think some sort of hard finish might protect these pieces better from decay and make them better places to store personal items.

[Allan Speers]

Mike,
I restore old pieces from time to time and never worried about "patina" at all, especially if the piece was mine. I have scraped the finish off of varnished pieces and painted them with milk paint for some or used shellac and alcohol to refinish some. I to am interested in how to clean up a piece I have now, and will be watching this thread with great interest.
Joe

I agree with Joe.

I had a few of my Grandfather's hammers & such that had gotten very rusty. After I coated / cleaned the heads with Naval Jelly, I realized that the stuff had gotten onto the top parts of the shafts and sort of "bleached" them to a light hickory. (I suspect naval jelly would also kill any mold, etc)

So, I purposely did the entire shafts with the jelly. Then I used a dye followed by a few coats of garnett shellac. Now they look just as old as before, except nicer.

I'll add my own patina over time by using them.

[Allan Speers]

BTW -

If anyone ever does have actual mold to deal with, the best stuff I've ever used is "Sporicidin." It's what hospitals use, and AFAIK it's the only commercial stuff that independent tests have proven to actually kill mold completely. Bleach doesn't work, it only knocks out what's on the surface.

This same company also makes a mold CLEANER, I forget the name, and it does a surprisingly good job of making the black stuff disappear, on some surfaces. (not all.)

[Mike Holbrook]

Interesting Allen. I put a few drops of bleach on what I thought was mildew on the wood in the file cabinet, because that is what Bob's book suggested. When I came back later I didn't think it did anything. However, when I rubbed the surface with a damp towel whatever it was came right off leaving what looks like clean wood to me.

From what I have read I think this may mean the file cabinet was finished with Linseed oil, either BLO or linseed in combination with varnish. Apparently mildew loves linseed oil. Although the bleach seemed to lift the gunk off the surface the wood below still looks like it may have finish/oil in it without the staining. I guess it is possible that the Murphy's Soap or Vinegar solution I used before just took a while to work but I think the bleach did it.

I will search for the Sporicidin Allan.