On Thu, 4 Mar 2010 20:47:29 -0800 (PST), the infamous
" scrawled the following:


.... she asked if I knew of a good way to clean or brighten up the paneling in her
kitchen and dining room. ....

.... it has darkened considerably over the years. *Because of waxing, cooking, or cigarette smoke I've no
idea. *I suspect all of the above, and maybe more.

The only thing I can think of offhand is TSP.

I would not use TSP - it, essentially, dissolves oils.

First, try the least aggressive method. I recommend Murphy's Oil Soap:

http://www.colgate.com/MurphyOilSoap...iginal-formula

We've been using this for a long time.

MOS is what I used to clean my 1939 naughty pine in the old house. It
lightened it considerably, probably by removing half the old oxidized
finish, all the dust, and a thick film of tobacco smoke. I resealed it
with blonde shellac after a week of drying.

--
An author spends months writing a book, and maybe puts his
heart's blood into it, and then it lies about unread till
the reader has nothing else in the world to do.
-- W. Somerset Maugham, The Razor's Edge, 1943