Cleaning Wood Furniture

Dust wood furniture regularly. Terry towels and old table napkins make ideal cleaning rags. When you polish, you are polishing the old finish, not the wood itself. Clean out grime with mild soap and water and fine sandpaper. Make a small two-inch diameter cloth bun filled with cotton wool tied up at the top. Then, wearing kitchen or surgical gloves, dip the cloth bun in a saucer containing French polish and rub the wood along the grains. When dry, give it a second coat. French polish is best for areas often touched, like the backs or hand-rests of chairs. But for cabinets and doors you could instead brush on a polyurethane finish after mild sandpapering.