The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-06-12

lights and shadows. fine fur>
niture is an absolute joy to those on
the alert for wood effects. On the other
hand. to the eye of the careful observer
it may become a constant annoyance.
and this from nothing else than pure
neglect. Furniture. however well de-
signed and made. however valuable
from association, is ruined in appear
ance by dirt. scratches. stains, Ink
marks, white water marks and the like
Every one knows or ought to know
that these are remediable defects But
not every one knows how to cure them.
All can learn, however, and am going
to give in this story the results of my
own and other peoples experience In
keeping good furniture in condition
and restoring to beauty that which han
been neglected.
Surprising the furniture to be sound
and clean, as things go, the ordinary
maids idea of cleaning is to "give a
good rub up OF to use some kind of
polishing paste or liquid. After this
treatment the furniture will look
bright for awhile unless one should
peer into the corners and find the
white dust hiding in crevices and por-
tons of holdings or carved work
All rubbing and polishing are labor in
the wrong place unless the first proc
ess Of cleaning has been thoroughly
carried out There are many ways of
doing this. Some housekeepers use
cold tea, vinegar and water in equal
parts Either application is good, al
though my preference is for the cold
tea. which seems to cleanse more eff
fectually than anything else. What
ever is used, it must not be swabbed
all the niapa nf fI1rn
ships deck were being treated to its
morning bath, but with soft clean
cloths, dampened with the tea or what
ever is u~ed, and then rubbed all over
the surface and dried carefully at once.
The crevices and crannies are best
reached by tiny pad of cotton on the
end of an orange stick or an old PEN
holder. If there is much dirt to van
quish, it means very hard work, much
rubbing, much renewing of the tea
water Thus free the article from
dirt and greasiness and subsequent pol
fishing will be an easier task and the
final result very great satisfaction.
Slight scratches may be removed by
being anointed with linseed oil (boiled)
at night and then rubbed next day
with linseed oil and turpentine in
equal proportions. II they are very
deep they require professional treat
ment.
When the surface has not been
scratched, but bruised or indented, the
bruised part can be dampened with
warm water first, and then a pad of
! brown paper folded many times, so
| that it conducts heat only slowly to
| the wood below. is laid on the part to
i be restored, the paper being soaked
thoroughly in warm water before ap-
plication- Now comes the critical part
| of the operation. for an iron, warm,
| but decidedly not hot, must be held
over the damp paper. The pressure
must not be hard. but the iron should
/ be kept in position until all moisture
| has been evaporated. If this is done
directly a bruise is observed. one ap-
| plication is almost sure to raise the
| surface of the wood up again, but old
| bruises require several treatments.
Immediate removal of ink stains is the
obvious first aid to the injured wood,
| but there are stains of this nature that
are never detected until they have at
| tanned a good old age, and then they
need careful management. A small
quantity of inter applied with a cam
| els hair brush will remove very OBJ
stinate and hardened ink stains. Six
drops of the inter to a teaspoonful of
water is sufficient. applied until the
ink has dissolved and disappeared.
Then rub the place with a damp cloth
and polish with soft buster.
| Worms in wood are almost impossi-
| BILE. to cure, but they may be kept down
by the use of paraffin applied to the
holes by a small brush. Badly worm
eaten furniture should be drenched
with paraff1n out of doors. Still. this is
dangerous process, and the best
method, after all, is to get It treated
by professional OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
that or get rid of it
| To restore very badly neglected fur
niture, especially of the inlay variety,
| the first process is to remove all the
polish with methylated spirit. Next
rub with fine sandpaper until the
original wood is reached. I have an
old bureau that for years inhabited
/ the attic and looked in it's disgraced
state as if it were ornamentec with dim
black scrolls. After it was treated
with methylated spirit and sandpaper
/ the lovely old tints of satin inlay wern
found. and when polishing was done
the ramshackle looking inhabitant of
the lumber room came down to be adj
mired and loved in a place OF honor,
| but it involved much hard work. The
polishing was done by wiping the
whole surface with boiled linseed oil
in which a little mastic varnish had
been dissolved each night and rubbing
it in and polishing it off each day for
long time. Doubtless a professional
man would have done it in shorter
time and by some occult method of
his own, but no shop polished bureau
t could have made the owner pur with
satisfaction as did this restored dere-
lict, and L can only end this story by
| advising owners of similarly neglected
treasures to go and do likewise.
DAPHNE DEAN.