Cleaning solutions needed:
Solution One--4parts white venegar, 4parts boiled linseed oil, 4parts mineral spirits, 1part denatured alcohol and 3-4 drops of household ammonia.

Solution Two--4parts mineral spirits, 1part boiled linseed oil

Stept 1-- with a course lint free cloth(blue jeans is good) charge the cloth with Solution one and rub in a circular motion, turning a recharging the rag with solution one. Replace rag as it gets dirty. Continue until the whole is cleaned. Hard to clean areas use 0000steel wool with the solution. The final wipe down should be with the grain of the wood. This finish will be cloudy and dry looking at this point.

Step 2--with a lint free cloth charged with Solution Two rub in a circular motion turning rag and recharging with solution two. Replace rag as it gets dirty. Continue until the whole is cleaned and the finish is not cloudy and dry lookeing. Finish by wiping the whole with only minaral spirits.

Step 3-- Apply a good coat of wax( such as a tinted briwax or any of the antique paste waxes that can be found in antique stores) according to the directions on the can. Apply thinly and buff like crazy to a nice clean shine. The looks of the piece can be maintained by waxing once a year and regular dusting and buff to shine. Nothing else needs to be done. I do not recommend endust or pledge. No need for lemon oil or anything.

This is the accepted method of proff antique restorers. After you can say I did not refinish the piece I restored the finish. Happy cleaning Glenn

Thanks so much for the information! I'm going to try this!

Thanks so much for posting your "recipe" and technique Glenn. I have a very old and dirty treadle I purchased and I intend to restore it and use it - so this is a great help. I am sure the vintage machine shop followers will find this useful too.

Oh wow, thanks Glenn. I have black windsor chairs with fruit prints on the back of chair top. Could they be cleaned with the same method. They seem to be soiled ... like a sticky grime. I have tried cleaning it off but it still seems stickyish.

Silly question...I have bookmarked your other tute on applying a shellac finish...which is preferred? The cabinet I intend to restore is pretty rough...the person I bought it from has attempted to sand the top...and the drawers etc are grimy and fairly dry looking. Also, the cast iron base is looking a bit brown and rusty...is it ok just to clean it up and maybe respray black?...your advice would be appreciated. Oh...here's a link to the pic.
http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-68784-1.htm

Thanks Glenn, as soon as the pollen dies down here in the pines, and I can get back to a ventilated area, I'll give it a try.

Thanks! I have a couple of oooold pieces that need it.

Glenn,
What would you use to clean what looks to be a faux leather-like rectangle on the sideboard of the cabinet? I haven't taken pictures yet, but will try if you have no idea what I am trying to describe (and not doing a very good job either!)
Off to bed now - 4:30 am comes early so I'll check in tomorrow night.
Thanks,
Cindy Lou Who

thanks for the info. I'm going to try it on my antique treadle.

Thanks so very much Glenn, maybe this summer I'll be able to take a look around and see if I can find a good sized cabinet, now that I know how to clean it up.

would that faux leather be just a build up of old varnish, etc.? Old finishes can look like that if the piece isn't cleaned between applications of varnish or shellac?

very happy you said REsTOREd....people think they need to strip it down and refinish it...so sad...the natural patina is always so much nicer to look at!

Thank you!!! You must have been reading my mind. Seeing all the restored machines has inspired me to "revive" the finish on my grandmother's treadle machine. It still work beautifully.

I had no idea where to look for this information and I knew I didn't want to "strip" off the original finish.

Will this work on an old oak treadle cabinet that is from 1882? The finish is blistered and comes off as you rub your fingers on it. so I have taken the finish off and lightly sanded it.It's so pretty now. do I just wax it now or do I put some kind of shelack on it?Thanks in advance for any help Mary

Yes, they can be cleaned with this method. Just don't rub to hard over the painted fruit. This should solve the sticky problems. Just apply a coat of wax as per instructions to protect the chairs. Have fun cleaning. Glenn

If it is not leather, try a foam cleaner(fabric spot cleaner) or you can take dish soap and a little water and sponge. Dip the sponge in the soap mixture and massage several times until the sponge is very foaming but not dripping wet and rub lightly. The only problem with the old faux leather is they are sometimes not color fast so if you see a lot of color on the sponge stop. So test a small spot first. If it bleeds on the sponge, take corn starch and sprinkle thickly covering the whole thing and let set for several days then vacuum off. I really could use a good picture. If it turns out to be real leather I have a potion for that two. Glenn

I could be what we call aligatored finish. The shellac could be grazed and crinkly from extreme heat. If this is the case after cleaning the piece, take a rag with denatured alcohol and rub the spot and if the finish soften continue until the area is smooth again. Now you must to the whole side by rubbing with alcohol to blend the area together. If this meets your approval apply a very thin coat of shellac to the area then rub down the side with oooosteel wool and paste wax to take the new look off.

The shellac should be applied to the entire side to blend.

Bless you, Glenn! This was just what I was looking for!

Thanks I have just found a potentially beautiful old wood dining table and I have lots of other old things that need spruced up I wanted to find a natural way so as not to harm the original finishes These are on my to-do list if we ever get spring to drop in for more than a day so I can do it outside

quote=Cindy Lou Who]Glenn,
What would you use to clean what looks to be a faux leather-like rectangle on the sideboard of the cabinet? .......Thanks,
Cindy Lou Who[/quote]

If it is not leather, try a foam cleaner(fabric spot cleaner) or you can take dish soap and a little water and sponge. Dip the sponge in the soap mixture and massage several times until the sponge is very foaming but not dripping wet and rub lightly. The only problem with the old faux leather is they are sometimes not color fast so if you see a lot of color on the sponge stop. So test a small spot first. If it bleeds on the sponge, take corn starch and sprinkle thickly covering the whole thing and let set for several days then vacuum off. I really could use a good picture. If it turns out to be real leather I have a potion for that two. Glenn[/quote]

Pictures on my agenda for this weekend - it definitely isn't just old crazed or built up finish - actually set into the wood.
I'll see if I have any foam fabric cleaner stashed, too.
Thanks for your help again Glenn!
Cindy

Thanks for the information Glenn, I have an old Singer Treadle that my Dad got on a trade in for a washing machine or dryer years ago, it had been sitting in their attic for many years and has a bit of water damage, water marks mostly, would this technique work to remove or hide the water marks?
I was thinking about totally re-doing it, sanding etc, cause to me the antique monetary value isn't really important, but if this will work I will definately give it a shot before I sand it all down and re-stain it. Thanks so much.

Oh and one more question, how what should I do about the rust castors that don't move anymore, is there a way to restore them?

Thanks for sharing this useful info.

Where can I purchase mineral spirits and denatured alcohol? Are mineral spirits and mineral oil the same thing?
Thanks Glenn, I'm going to give this method a try.

Thanks so much for posting this information.

I do have a question for you. Another posting asked about what to do with the treadle that was dusted and rusted, would you be so kind as to give your answer as a posting here? It would help any others reading now and in the future who are searching how to restore their treadle machines and cabinets.

Thanks so much.

Pam M

You can buy the denatured alcohol and the mineral spritis from Lowes or home depot. Any hard ware store will have them.

you can clean them and sand them and repaint them. Or you can clean them and oil them down and they should look good. I usually have them sand blasted and then repaint them.

you can clean them and sand them and repaint them. Or you can clean them and oil them down and they should look good. I usually have them sand blasted and then repaint them.

Wanted to bring this one back up too!! :)

Glenn is my idol when it comes to woodwork!

A lot of good information! Thanks so much. I will give it a shot.

This looks fantastic - I've seen all the other ingredients before, but what is and where do you get "boiled linseed oil?"

Yes, me too. I will have a lot of woodworking to do this summer.

Any hardware store that sells paint should have boiled linseed oil.

I found it at Wal-Mart.

When you say "3-4 drops" of household ammonia how much of the other ingredients are you making up? Thanks!

With nice weather here, it's time to start the Redeye cabinet. Thank you for sharing your expertise.

Thanks for this recipe Glenn. My DH bought me the ingredients today and I am hoping to start cleaning up a sewing machine case tomorrow.

For those in the UK who may be interested:-
Mineral Spirits = White Spirits; and denatured alcohol = methylated spirits.

Clare

This is great information. We have an old hutch that we dug out of an old barn and gave it to my daughter, after cleaning it up, however, apparently mice had gotten into the drawers, and my daughter is allergic to rodents. (Apparently the dander from the mice have gotten into the wood over the years. The insides of the drawers are unfinished. Wonder if your method, maybe solution one, would work for cleaning the drawers, or do you or anyone else know of any other solution for getting rid of the allergens left from the mice. The hutch is beautiful, but unuseable the way it is.

Thank you so much for this information. We are in the midst of winter here in Saskatchewan, but I can't wait for spring for anothe reason now.

amh

I have seen this before, slightly variated though. But, good info which I need soon, thanks for the update.