How to Clean Wooden Antiques

Before you even think about cleaning or altering an antique in any way, you need to have it properly appraised. While being appraised, ask the antique appraiser if cleaning the piece will alter its value.

Purchase a good quality wood furniture cleaner. Clean your wooden antique with this cleanser in order to remove the majority of the dirt from the piece. Your antique appraiser is your best source for recommendations on wood cleaners if you are super concerned with this choice.

Using a cotton ball, gently rub a bit of nail polish remover in an area of the antique that is not super visible. If the cotton ball is clean and there still appears to be off coloring of the wood that looks like built up dirt, your antique likely has been treated with polyurethane. In this case, you will need to purchase some paint and varnish remover to clean the antique. If the cotton ball was dirty, it was treated with shellac and will require a furniture refinisher. Again, your antique appraiser may already know the answer to this question and therefor, save you a step in this process.

After all the dirt, grime and old finishes have been removed, go over your wooden antique with tung oil. This will both make your antique look great and hydrate the piece in a healthy way. Rub the tung oil on in circular motions and repeat if your antique looks too dry once its been applied. Tung oil will need to be reapplied every few months. Best to mark this on your calendar to preserve the life of your antique.