How do I preserve an old hardwood School desk without re-finishing it ?

I have over 17 years in woodworking, finishing and refinishing experience. Personally, I use my antiques, I could care less about 18th century being worth blah, blah… It’s nice to know that, “yes that ugly black mahogany table is worth 15K.. But ya know what… It’s ugly. “ If you want to keep it for a museum piece then I REALLY suggest contacting ANY museum and asking them about what is best. They will be glad to answer. As for ME.. I use beeswax for preservation. JUST like the museums. Car polish is NOT a substitute. Other waxes can either leave the piece white in colour or yellow. What actually happens with wax is that when applied it actually softens the OLD wax and never builds up. This is NOT like spray waxes. This is hand applied stuff.. do a small area etc.. BE CAREFUL. Wax can strip old finishes become gummy because of water based finishes, dirt, buildup of cheep polishes, etc…. Who knows what care your piece had prior so adding a “finish” like tung oil etc is possibly asking for trouble. Usually the piece is cleaned with mild soap and then a finish is applied. NO, NO, NO!!! Why should you NOT do this. The water based finish JUST might go bye, bye. UNLESS you are a pro. DO NOT use a wood cleaner. They can be stripers just as easy. I’ve used wood cleaning solutions to strip old finishes. Non toxic and lemony fresh. (Just joking about the lemony fresh)

Since I can’t SEE the piece. Really. Call a museum and ask if they can take 10 minutes of their time to help ya. They might even let ya bring the desk there and take a look at for ya.

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Antique Childrens School Desk

Don't use a polish, use an oil.

You can buy some boiled linseed oil or tung oil at your local hardware store, both of which do a very good job.

-Tung oil needs 2 or 3 days to soak in and dry

-Boiled linseed takes 1 day (make sure it's boiled, unboiled will take a week to dry)

You apply both the same way - use a cotton rag and rub it on, wait ten minutes and do it again, repeat. (You can sand lightly between coats for a better finish, but you don't have too)

Linseed will take about 3-4 coats, tung 5-6 coats.

Or you can just buy some Old English at the grocery store.

-This will need more frequent applications but dries in about 1 hour.

Before applying anything you must first find out what finish is on it now

To test for Varnish, know this, there is No solvent that will dissolve varnish. Various solvents can destroy it but cannot dissolve it. Put a bit of lacquer thinner or paint remover on a hidden piece of the surface. If it’s varnish it will become crinkled and cracked. But when you try and brush or wipe it off, it will not come off. To fix the damage on a varnished piece sand down the piece and refinish.

To test for Lacquer, Applying lacquer thinner to a hidden part of the piece. Use a clean cloth, wrapped around your finger, dip it into the thinner, and rub it on. If it begins to smooth out underneath your finger, then the finish is made of lacquer. The thinner regenerates the lacquer. (It re-liquefies). The thinner will evaporate leaving a smoother surface.

To test for Shellac, Use denatured alcohol or wood alcohol. Use the same clean cloth wrapped on your finger used to for the lacquer test, dip it in the alcohol and begin to rub the surface. If the finish starts dissolve, then you are dealing with lacquer. Sometimes lacquer will dissolve using paint thinner. So, if it does, and you don’t also test using denatured alcohol, you will not know if you are dealing with shellac or lacquer.

If it is wax, I use Bri-wax on non lacquered pieces. It is made especially for woodworking.

Old English is a very good polish for antiques and such. I have had an Antique shop and I always found this was the best to keep old wood looking great.

IN ORDER TO PRESERVE THE INTEGRITY OF THE DESK................DO NOTHING.........NO POLISH! NO WAX! TOTALLY .........NOTHING!