Go Back  Quiltingboard Forums >
  • General Chit-Chat (non-quilting talk)
  • vinegar, linseed oil, & turp >
  • vinegar, linseed oil, & turp

  • vinegar, linseed oil, & turp

    Thread Tools
     
    Old 07-01-2011, 03:36 PM
      #1  
    Senior Member
    Thread Starter
     
    Mona Lisa 2011's Avatar
     
    Join Date: Apr 2011
    Posts: 347
    Default

    I have heard this mixture is great for cleaning antique furniture and kitchen cabinets. Ok how do you use it? Does it remove shellac or varnish?
    Mona Lisa 2011 is offline  
    Old 07-01-2011, 04:06 PM
      #2  
    Super Member
     
    Join Date: May 2009
    Location: Merced, CA
    Posts: 4,188
    Default

    Here's one that is very good. I put it in another area here. I had others comment on how good it was.
    =======================================
    I have been going through a lot of papers, decluttering.

    I found one that I had printed out in 2005, from one of the DIY internet sites. It was about stripping pieces of antiques.
    --------------------------------------------------------------
    Quote==Don't you dare strip that table, no matter how grimy and gunked-up it may look. collectors prize antiques with the original finish!! Reveal the treasure hiding underneath with this Free FORMULA FOR FURNITURE JIKCE.

    1 part white vinegar
    1 part boiled linseed oil (Don't use raw) Buy from store.
    1 part turpentine (from your paint or hardware store)

    Combine all 3 ingredients in a jar with a tight lid and shake like crazy. Then rub it into the furniture with a piece of 0000-grade steel wool. Wipe off with soft cloth. Years of grime melt away, leaving you with a smooth, beautiful surface.
    =======================================
    I don't remember using this, I think it was about the time my husband had another stroke so I stuck all my papers in a file drawer and forgot them till now.
    Ramona Byrd is offline  
    Old 07-01-2011, 04:47 PM
      #3  
    Super Member
     
    Join Date: Dec 2010
    Posts: 1,232
    Default

    No, please don't use this. DH's business is furniture repair and restoration.

    Instead, DH recommends washing with Dawn dish washing liquid and water, and then wiping the piece down with mineral spirits.

    This excerpt is pretty technical. It's written by Donald C. Williams
    Senior Furniture Conservator, ConservationAnalytical
    Laboratory at the Smithsonian Institution

    Drying oils, such as linseed, tung, or walnut oil, are a different matter altogether. These materials solidify, or "dry" through a process of chemical reaction with the air called oxidation. The drying process polymerizes the oil, making it increasingly intractable with time and more difficult to remove with cleaners or solvents. This is fine if oil is employed as the finish, but not good if it is used as a polish. By itself, having a polish which is difficult to remove would be irritating but not insurmountable. Unfortunately, this is not the whole story. As drying oils age, they tend to become yellow or brown. Also, drying oils are chromogenic (they become colored) in the presence of acids. In this instance the oil adopts the dark, muddy brown/black opaque appearance so prevalent in antique furniture. Traditionally, cleaning/polishing concoctions were comprised of linseed oil, turpentine, beeswax, and vinegar (acetic acid). This cleaning/polishing method, used widely even in the museum field until recently, was and is a disaster waiting to happen. The results of this approach are readily apparent to even the casual observer; a thick incrustation of chocolate colored goo which is neither hard enough to be durable nor soft enough to wipe off easily. Thus, due to the polymerization of the oil as it dries and the reaction of the oil with acetic acid, the furniture is left with an unsightly coating which is very difficult to remove without damaging the surface of the object.
    quilt1950 is offline  
    Old 07-01-2011, 05:02 PM
      #4  
    Google Goddess
     
    Join Date: May 2009
    Location: Central Indiana (USA)
    Posts: 30,181
    Default

    thanks for the information


    Originally Posted by quilt1950
    No, please don't use this. DH's business is furniture repair and restoration.

    Instead, DH recommends washing with Dawn dish washing liquid and water, and then wiping the piece down with mineral spirits.

    This excerpt is pretty technical. It's written by Donald C. Williams
    Senior Furniture Conservator, ConservationAnalytical
    Laboratory at the Smithsonian Institution

    Drying oils, such as linseed, tung, or walnut oil, are a different matter altogether. These materials solidify, or "dry" through a process of chemical reaction with the air called oxidation. The drying process polymerizes the oil, making it increasingly intractable with time and more difficult to remove with cleaners or solvents. This is fine if oil is employed as the finish, but not good if it is used as a polish. By itself, having a polish which is difficult to remove would be irritating but not insurmountable. Unfortunately, this is not the whole story. As drying oils age, they tend to become yellow or brown. Also, drying oils are chromogenic (they become colored) in the presence of acids. In this instance the oil adopts the dark, muddy brown/black opaque appearance so prevalent in antique furniture. Traditionally, cleaning/polishing concoctions were comprised of linseed oil, turpentine, beeswax, and vinegar (acetic acid). This cleaning/polishing method, used widely even in the museum field until recently, was and is a disaster waiting to happen. The results of this approach are readily apparent to even the casual observer; a thick incrustation of chocolate colored goo which is neither hard enough to be durable nor soft enough to wipe off easily. Thus, due to the polymerization of the oil as it dries and the reaction of the oil with acetic acid, the furniture is left with an unsightly coating which is very difficult to remove without damaging the surface of the object.
    craftybear is offline  
    Old 07-01-2011, 06:43 PM
      #5  
    Senior Member
    Thread Starter
     
    Mona Lisa 2011's Avatar
     
    Join Date: Apr 2011
    Posts: 347
    Default

    Originally Posted by quilt1950
    No, please don't use this. DH's business is furniture repair and restoration.

    Instead, DH recommends washing with Dawn dish washing liquid and water, and then wiping the piece down with mineral spirits.

    This excerpt is pretty technical. It's written by Donald C. Williams
    Senior Furniture Conservator, ConservationAnalytical
    Laboratory at the Smithsonian Institution

    Drying oils, such as linseed, tung, or walnut oil, are a different matter altogether. These materials solidify, or "dry" through a process of chemical reaction with the air called oxidation. The drying process polymerizes the oil, making it increasingly intractable with time and more difficult to remove with cleaners or solvents. This is fine if oil is employed as the finish, but not good if it is used as a polish. By itself, having a polish which is difficult to remove would be irritating but not insurmountable. Unfortunately, this is not the whole story. As drying oils age, they tend to become yellow or brown. Also, drying oils are chromogenic (they become colored) in the presence of acids. In this instance the oil adopts the dark, muddy brown/black opaque appearance so prevalent in antique furniture. Traditionally, cleaning/polishing concoctions were comprised of linseed oil, turpentine, beeswax, and vinegar (acetic acid). This cleaning/polishing method, used widely even in the museum field until recently, was and is a disaster waiting to happen. The results of this approach are readily apparent to even the casual observer; a thick incrustation of chocolate colored goo which is neither hard enough to be durable nor soft enough to wipe off easily. Thus, due to the polymerization of the oil as it dries and the reaction of the oil with acetic acid, the furniture is left with an unsightly coating which is very difficult to remove without damaging the surface of the object.
    How do they remove grimy and gunked-up stuff from old wood and kitchen cabinets? I have heard liquid gold is the worst stuff you can use. Winter smoke and grease is really stickly stuff to remove.........
    Mona Lisa 2011 is offline  
    Related Topics
    Thread
    Thread Starter
    Forum
    Replies
    Last Post
    Irishrose2
    For Vintage & Antique Machine Enthusiasts
    8
    06-19-2018 06:10 AM
    donnai
    Main
    4
    08-20-2013 03:41 PM
    LovinMySoldier
    Main
    13
    04-04-2013 06:42 PM
    peggyrose
    Introduce Yourself
    14
    11-07-2010 05:40 AM
    EmsMom
    Main
    4
    10-05-2010 07:24 AM

    Posting Rules
    You may not post new threads
    You may not post replies
    You may not post attachments
    You may not edit your posts

    BB code is On
    Smilies are On
    [IMG] code is On
    HTML code is On
    Trackbacks are Off
    Pingbacks are Off
    Refbacks are Off



    FREE Quilting Newsletter