Tips on how to repair wood furniture and general wood care advice

Are your favourite wood furniture pieces suffering from white rings, heat haze and other surface marks and stains? If they are we have some excellent wood finish repair tips and products to bring your wood pieces, varnished or unfinished, back to life.

The old days of stripping battered varnish from a piece and then re-varnishing the item is all but gone. It’s now possible to revitalise battered or marked varnish surfaces without stripping them.

As we all know, leaving hot mugs of tea or coffee on varnished wooden surfaces can leave very unattractiveand hard to remove white rings or haze, due to heat penetrating the finish and creating a situation whereby moisture is attracted up from the wood and is trapped under the top layer of the finish, or in the worst case scenario the heat has broken the surface creating crusty white marks where the varnish has been melted.

At Howard products we have an amazing wood surface repair product and also a wood finish repair polish to enhance the depth, tone, and natural beauty of your wood grain every time you dust.

Restor-A-Finishis a unique repair finish-penetrating formula that restores the original colour and lustre to your wood finish without removing any of the existing finish. The product is very easy to use with a simple wipe on, wipe-off process. Once your wood finish has been restored it is important to keep your newly restored wood clean and polished. It is important NOT to use polishing products containing silicone or propellants. At Howard Products we have two products to choose from. The first is our world famous Orange Oil which is the original and still the best on the market. Both our Orange Oil and Lemon Oil (the scent you prefer is your choice) clean  and polish all varnished wood finishes utilising the power of high grade  citrus oils which leave no build-up, just  a beautiful  shine and a fresh but subtle citrus scent. As these cleaners are naturally derived they replace the need for use of lots of harsh chemicals. If you don’t want to use oil but would prefer a polishing compound we have one-step Restor-A-Shine which further eliminates marks and brings up French polished style sheen.

Wood Furniture Care tips

When investing in good quality wood constructed furniture for the betterment of your home environment, you naturally expect it to be a lifetime investment. However this doesn’t just happen on its own. To protect your investment the correct care is needed to ensure the natural beauty of your furniture is maintained and that the finish and the actual wood itself remains nourished. Each piece of wood furniture reacts differently when there is a change in temperature. By keeping the wood nourished it remains supple so that when the wood contracts and expands it does not crack or warp. See below for Wood furniture care tips and product advice:

• When placing warm plates, dishes, hot mugs, or watery glasses on wood surfaces ensure that a hot-pad, placemat or coaster is used. However never leave any protective device in place all the time. Allow the wood to breathe and keep the wood nourished with Howard Feed-N-Wax and/or Howard Orange Oil and only use a hot-pad, coater or placemat when needed, and then remove them.
• Try to place your furniture away from windows and areas with direct sunlight as UV rays are very damaging and can quickly deteriorate the finish leading to blistering, striating and discoloration. A coat or two of UV ray resistant Howard Citrus-Shield Paste Wax on your exposed wood pieces will help protect against colour fade and other problems associated with UV damage.
• Avoid using harsh chemical solvents around your good furniture. Absolutely avoid products which contain acetone (nail-varnish remover etc.)as this chemical burns away most wood varnishes making a perfect repair almost impossible (Restor-A-Finish does have limited success on such marks)and try not to choose any cleaning product which contains silicone or propellant.
• When finding a crack or hole, even a shallow dent in any wood furniture repair it fast with FixStix,which are pliable microcrystalline wax logs in a set of 6 wood colours. These pliable logs can be blended together using finger and thumb to perfectly fill and disguise any such problem.

Finishing raw wood

Quality furniture made of raw wood is a joy to own for many people, but beware, it does mark easily and should be at least coated with a thin hard drying and nourishing wax. It is important thatraw wood is cared for with the right products. It is essential that raw wood pieces are sealed, nourished and polished to maintain their natural beauty.

Howard Feed-N-Wax is perfect for sealing and finishing raw wood pieces as it penetrates and feeds the wood, preventing the cracking that is so common in wood that has become too dry. A second coat of Feed-N-Wax enhances the glow of the wood and reveals the beauty and depth of grain to a level that just might amaze you. For dusting and polishing all that is needed is a little Howard Orange Oil sprayed into a cloth and quickly moved over the dusty surface. The dust will be eliminated and the wax will remain largely unaffected. A couple of times a year you might want to apply another thin top-up coat of Feed-N-Wax or Natural Citrus Shield Paste Wax,to maintain the natural beauty of your raw wood finish.