Waxes and Polishes

Furniture Cream

2 oz (55g) beeswax
10 floz (300ml) real turpentine
2 oz (55g) soap flakes
7 floz (200ml) rosemary/lavender/lemon balm/peppermint infusion (hot)

Mix beeswax and turpentine together in a bowl and melt over a pan filled with simmering water. Dissolve the soapflakes in the hot herbal infusion. Let both mixtures cool a little, then stir together to make a thick milky mixture. Pour into a screw top jar/bottle. It will thicken to a cream as it cools. Use the polish sparingly to give a long lasting finish and a soft cloth to bring out the sheen. Note that you can use just hot water instead of the infusion - it merely smells nicer with a herbal infusion. Also, some herbs, such as rosemary, sage, thyme, cloves, cinnamon and peppermint, have germ-killing properties. Try experimenting with different herbs.

"Take tansy, mint and balm; first sweep the room, then strew the herbs on the floor, and with a long hard brush rub them well over the boards till you have scrubbed the floor clean. When the boards are quite dry, sweep off the greens and with a dry rubbing brush, dry rub them well, and they will look like mahogony, of a fine brown, and never want other washing. This gives a sweet smell to the room ... You may use fennel or any sweet herbs that are green, or what you can get; but tansy, mint, balm and fennel are the best."

~ Servant Directory, Hannah Glasse, 1780 ~

2 tblsp olive oil
4 of vinegar
3 of essence of turpentine.

Mix the ingredients together thoroughly. Apply it with a cloth, or brush for those tricky corners, and finish off with a clean, dry cloth. Tip: Apply a little paraffin wax to the cloth while dusting to make the sheen last longer.

Methods for restoring gilt:
1. Whip the white of an egg until stiff and then add 1-2 drops of bleach. Apply sparingly, then wipe with a soft, dry, clean cloth.
2. Use a cloth dampened with wine vinegar. Then finish with a soft, clean, dry cloth.
Make sure neither mixture touches unprotected oil paintings.