Recipe 8 of 100 · The Country Cleans Mix Book
DIY Wood Cleaner and Conditioner for a Dull Dining Table
Olive Oil and Vinegar
Dining table looking dull and dry before company comes? Shake 1/2 cup olive oil and 1/4 cup white vinegar in a jar, plus a little lemon juice for smell. Put a nickel size amount on a soft cloth, never on the wood, wipe with the grain, wait 5 minutes and buff hard until nothing transfers to your finger. Sealed wood only, not waxed or antique pieces.
What it fixesDull, dry looking dining tables, dressers and sealed wood furniture that needs cleaning and conditioning in one pass.
You need
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice, optional, for smell only
- 8 oz jar with a lid
- 2 soft cotton cloths
Mix it
- Pour the olive oil and vinegar into the jar.
- Add the lemon juice if you want it to smell like something other than salad.
- Cap it and shake for 20 seconds. It separates while it sits, so shake it again right before every use.
Use it
- Shake, then put a nickel sized amount on the first cloth. Never pour it directly onto the furniture, that gives you dark saturated spots.
- Wipe with the grain across one section at a time, working the mix in with moderate pressure.
- Wait 5 minutes for the oil to sink in.
- Buff hard with the dry second cloth until nothing transfers to your fingertip. If it feels tacky, you used too much, so buff longer.
Dale's noteThe vinegar lifts the light grime and the oil fills the micro scratches that make a finish look dull. Mix it in small batches because olive oil eventually goes rancid, and a jar this size is about two months of use.
Don'tDo not use this on waxed or antique wood. The vinegar cuts straight through a wax finish and leaves streaky bare patches, so use the Beeswax Reviver for anything old or waxed.
This is 1 of 100 mixes in the Mix Book
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