Cleaning Restoring woodwork

[iheartmaytag]

A few months ago someone posted a recipe for cleaning/restoring woodwork. I am ready to tackle the task of cleaning the Mahagony woodwork in my house, but now can't find the post.

Thank you muchly.

Would anyone recommend Murphy's Oil Soap? This is what a co-worker suggested.

Also--one of the rooms that isn't carpeted the former owner's dog puddled and it was allowed to sit. Consequently I have dark spots on the hardwood floors, any suggestions to clean or lightening these without a total sanding and refinish?

 

[58limited]

Unfortunately, the urine stains will probably require replacement of the affected wood. I had to do this in my 60 year old house. In an old house, new wood will be lighter than the old wood, you can pull up old wood in closets or other spaces not usually seen to replace the bad spots out in the open. Use the new wood in the closets.

 

[alr2903]

was it the thread where they restored the sewing machine cabinet? i remember the concoction had denatured alcohol in it.

 

[classiccaprice]

I started that thread...

It works great, if you follow the directions. I've used it on majority of the furniture in the house and the kitchen cabinets. It refreshes things nicely (though use the "those who dare" version. Just make sure you get it off quickly.

http://www.needlebar.org/main/restoration/index3.html

 

[oldhouseman]

What exactly

is the woodwork (doors, chair rail, mantel..)and what is the current finish?

You can clean it down with denatured alcahol if you're not going to sand it. Be sure to have the room well vented -open doors and windows and have plenty of fresh air. It can be a long cleaning down process depending on the current finish. I would use very fine steel wool or a cotton rag if it does not have a finish over the stain.

Mix turpentine with boiled linseed oil (3 parts turpentine to 1 part linseed oil) and to add a little color mix a small amount of desired color stain. Wipe it on with a cotton rag, let dry. Repeat until you get the desired tone. You can leave it like this for a mellow look and repeat treatment once a year or if you want a finish on I would recommend a french polish for a bright sleek high shine finish.

The french polish has a mix of shellac and denatured alcahol. Send an email if you want any more information.

Will (classiccaprice) was working on a mahogany cabinet last year. How did that project turn out Will?

The floor will depend on the overall finish you are looking for. I'm hand sanding mine and will not put a finish of any kind on but that's only because of the age of the house and in the late 18th century they didn't finish floors and gave them a good scrubbing with lye soap which is what I'm doing.

 

[classiccaprice]

Hey Greg,

I haven't had the time this school year to refinish the tv cabinet, between late August and early June my life is taken over by school. I plan on getting back to it this summer, if house repairs permit. I tried the elixer on the cabinet, and it did improve the finish, however it was too far gone. I did use the same elixer on my coffee, end tables, and an old mantle clock... Which had a similar finish in better condition. They all cleaned up nicely. The clock looks like I refinished it.

The elixer has worked well for me, but It's all in what you are looking for.

I'll keep you updated on tv progress.

 

[iheartmaytag]

Update

Yes the thread I was thinking about was the sewing machine cabinet. This was the mixture I was looking for.

I did, in absense of this information, bought some Murphy's Oil Soap and washed down the woodwork. This would be the doors, door facing, mantal, chair rails and baseboards. What a beautiful job!! it cleaned up so nice and the grain just popped out, I am so impresed at what a good job the Murphy's did with so little effort.

My next thing I want to do is remove where the former owners dribbled and swiped paint on this beauitful woodwork. Any ideas of how to safely clean white gloss paint off? It isn't covered, just splotches.

The bedroom, "potty floor" is a different story. I haven't attempted it at this time, it has the dark circles where "Farley" pottied and it was either on a carpet that soaked through, or on the floor itself. In any case it has darkend circles. The Murphy's website suggest using hydrogen peroxide and dabbing to attempt to lighten the spots. I may try this first. I currently have an area rug covering most of it, so it doesn't look too bad.

Thank you to all that responded. To give some more information. The house was built in 1935, the height of the (the first) depression. My house is an Airplane Bungalow. Which is a bungalow layout with a bonus or upstairs loft room. The public areas has dark mahagony woodwork, and the private family areas are painted pine. I understand that these houses were usually owned by professionals that used the loft as an office, hence the eight windows. Often they had a servant which accounts for the butler's pantery between the kitchen and formal dining room. The house has all of it's original woodwork save for the front door, which was matched very well in the update. Exterior was covered in vinyl in 1993 and redone in 2006 by the former owners (in blue). We are trying to get the historical society to allow an exception, but currently they are saying that since it was sided it is no longer authentic. They allow the exception for replacement windows, but currently our house is not allowed on the register because of the siding. A historical designation will give me access to some grant money as well as a reduction in taxes in our area. It also allows a committee to tell you what to do with your house, so I don't care that much about the designation, but do want it to stay as close to original as possible.

P.S. the original Kitchen cabinets floor to celing are still in place and in fair condition. They are painted pine, currently blue. The two ladies that owned the house prior to us liked blue. Lots and lots of blue