Furniture polish

[LarryEA]

Has anyone used furniture polish on their scroll work?

I have a few little bird houses with no finish and thought

of buying a can of Old English  to put on a finish

Edited March 15, 2022 by LarryEA

[jollyred]

Haven't use furniture polish, but I have used floor finish on projects.  If I remember right, Steve Good also uses a floor finish on his projects, which is where I got the idea.  The polish is not a finish, but an oil that gives a shine to a finished surface.  The floor finish is an actual finish, and several applications will give a sheen to a project.  Plus, it is made to be walked on, so it has to be tough.

Tom

[Bill WIlson]

I guess my question would be, what advantages does the furniture polish offer, over other products?

I believe furniture polish is intended to clean and brighten up wood surfaces, but the effects are generally temporary.  Furniture polish contains some mineral oil, some mineral spirits, some fragrance and a bunch of chemicals with names I can't spell or pronounce, much less understand.  For something like you intend, it may work OK, but I would be skeptical that it offers any lasting advantages over other products.

Woodworkers notoriously are always looking for alternative finishing methods and products.  I can't say I've ever heard of anyone recommending furniture polish as a finish.  I have read several recommendations to avoid using furniture polish on already finished furniture because the silicone, most of them contain, will make it very difficult, if not impossible to ever refinish the piece, should the need arise.  That, in and of itself, tells me that there are better products to use, that are designed for the intended purpose.

Now, all that said, for what you want to use it for, there is probably no harm in giving it a try to see what happens.  At worst, you may not be able to apply a film finish over the polish, should you not like the results.

[dgman]

It is never advisable to use products that are not designed as a finish as a finish. Orange oil, lemon oil, furniture polish even mineral oil are not designed as finishes. Mineral oil is sometimes used to treat cutting boards and utensils, but never really cures, and the other mentioned above never cure either. Why chose a product that is not designed as a finish? Use a real finish product.

[LarryEA]

4 hours ago, Bill WIlson said:

I guess my question would be, what advantages does the furniture polish offer, over other products?

I believe furniture polish is intended to clean and brighten up wood surfaces, but the effects are generally temporary.  Furniture polish contains some mineral oil, some mineral spirits, some fragrance and a bunch of chemicals with names I can't spell or pronounce, much less understand.  For something like you intend, it may work OK, but I would be skeptical that it offers any lasting advantages over other products.

Woodworkers notoriously are always looking for alternative finishing methods and products.  I can't say I've ever heard of anyone recommending furniture polish as a finish.  I have read several recommendations to avoid using furniture polish on already finished furniture because the silicone, most of them contain, will make it very difficult, if not impossible to ever refinish the piece, should the need arise.  That, in and of itself, tells me that there are better products to use, that are designed for the intended purpose.

Now, all that said, for what you want to use it for, there is probably no harm in giving it a try to see what happens.  At worst, you may not be able to apply a film finish over the polish, should you not like the results.

Bill, all I want to do is brighten up. Dont want to buy more spray lacquer.

I scrolled for 30 years and have used all the finishes. I have health problems and don't want to do the typical finishes

[LarryEA]

3 hours ago, dgman said:

It is never advisable to use products that are not designed as a finish as a finish. Orange oil, lemon oil, furniture polish even mineral oil are not designed as finishes. Mineral oil is sometimes used to treat cutting boards and utensils, but never really cures, and the other mentioned above never cure either. Why chose a product that is not designed as a finish? Use a real finish product.

Thanks Dan. I posted without thought.

 Might still try something diff than 'ye old finishes' like

Shellac, lacquer, BLO, etc

[new2woodwrk]

I've been using the Beall Wood buff system on some of my bandsaw box projects. It's quite an amazing system and a very nice finish as well