On Sun, 07 May 2006 11:04:57 +0100, Tim S wrote:

Tim S wrote:


I thought I'd give the bookshelf a buff up before putting it upstairs, so
I bought some carnauba/beeswax and tried some out on top. Shined up nicely
by hand, except for one area, where there seems to be a surface deposit of
something hard that looks like bloom. I can scratch this off with my nail.

So I think I should clean it up with something before attempting to
polish. Not much wrong with the item, no deep scratches or stains - so I
don't really want to strip it completely.


SWMBO reckons it's soot - I think she might be right... Vinegar didn't touch
it so I'm off the carefully experiment with white spirit on an
inconspicuous bit...

Cheers

Tim

If ordinary soap and water doesn't work, why not try sugar soap?
It'll take the shine off for sure but that may not be a bad thing if
you intend to re-wax the piece. Sugar soap, depending on the strength
of the solution, might tend to remove any desirable patina (dirt) too.
Another alternative is a very light rub over the area of unwanted
bloom with extra-fine wire wool dipped in oil to lubricate the
process. This will have more of a tendency to produce a distinct patch
than sugar soap would.
--
Regards,
Mike Halmarack

Drop the (EGG) to email me.