If you have wood furniture that’s looking dull, don’t rush to a refinisher; revive the shine with paste wax. Wax is a more durable coating than liquid furniture polish and it won’t attract dust as many polishes do. Wax will fill and hide very fine scratches, but it won’t hide dents or deeper scratches.
1. Clean the wood using a soft cloth dampened with mineral spirits to remove grime as well as residue left by furniture polishes. Open windows for ventilation. When the mineral spirits dries, buff off any residue with a dry cloth. Touch up scratches with a fine-tip marker before you wax. Visit an art supply store to find a wide array of browns.
2. Wrap a walnut-sized ball of wax in a cloth. As you rub with the ball, wax will ooze through the rag. Rub on the wax in a circular pattern. Apply only enough wax to form a thin gloss—a heavy coat just leaves you with more wax to buff off later. If you haven’t used wax before and you’re working on a large piece of furniture, wax and then buff small areas no more than 3 x 3 ft.
3. Don’t wait for the wax to dry completely and form a haze the way you would with car wax. Fully dried furniture wax is very hard to buff smooth. Wait only until the wax partially dries and begins to look dull (typically 15 to 30 minutes). Then rub the surface with a cotton cloth to remove the excess wax. The rag should glide smoothly over the wax with only a little elbow grease. Turn and refold the cloth frequently to expose clean cloth.
If you’ve waited too long and can’t rub out the swirls of wax, simply apply more wax, then wait and wipe again (solvent in the second coat of wax will soften the first coat).
4. A wax finish doesn’t require any special care; simply dust with a dry or damp cloth. A wax coating will last months or even years depending on how heavily the furniture is used. When the finish again looks worn, scuffed or dirty, just clean and rewax. Don’t worry about wax buildup. Each new wax job dissolves and removes much of the previous coat.
