Hi

Well I’m glad this week is nearly over! I’ve had car problems (booked in for repair next week), a safety recall on the van (to say nothing of someone backing into it last week!) and a new parcel booking program that is a poor replacement for the one we’ve been using for years.
Anyway, you’re not here for me to whinge at, you want answers!

First up this week is a question about rejuvenating and old family table. It’s been bashed and scratched over the years and our emailer would like to reduce the battle scars. He’d tried the Burnishing Cream on a patch with good results and wanted to confirm he was doing the right thing.
Yep! Burnishing Cream is a great cleaner, it will remove any grime and muck from the surface and polish up the coating at the same time. It won’t repair scratches, but it will clean them and make them less obvious. It can be applied by hand or used with a powered buffing mop. So if the original finish is sound, but jaded and grubby, Burnishing Cream is a great first step to getting it looking great again.
It’s also great on turned work, of course, where the lathe does the hard work.

A follow on question from the above was what to ‘finish up with to get a bit of a shine? Options here are limited, as we don’t know for sure what was applied beforehand. Although, even if we knew, the earlier use of Burnishing Cream would rule out lacquers anyway. The simplest and easiest solution is to use a wax, Microcrystalline Wax being the best option as it is a bit harder wearing and will stand up better on a family table. It will still need some maintenance to keep it looking good, but this will be quite easy, as it is with all waxes. Just apply another thin coat and buff up!

And finally this week, I was asked about the difference between Tung Oil and Finishing Oil. Our Tung Oil is 100% pure, there are no solvents or driers in it. That makes it ideal if you’re looking for something with no additives- but it does mean that it’s slower drying.
Finishing Oil contains Tung Oil, but a solvent, driers and UV filters have been added. This makes it just a little easier to apply and a lot quicker drying – usually within eight hours. Both oils have an amber colour, Finishing Oil is, however, the paler of the two. The performance and protection offered is similar, so the choice is yours!

Thank you to everyone who entered our ‘Conkers’ competition (Conkers is the name of our Facebook group and our YouTube livestreams if you didn’t know). There have been many interesting answers, most of them repeatable, and the correct answer will be announced next week. The winner will be contacted during the week after.
In my recent Conkers LIVE bulletin I mentioned the online Halloween quiz being held tonight (30 October) by our good friend Dan Rees from Zebrano Woodcraft. (We based our Weekender quiz on his format). We’ll be taking part, if you’d like to pit your wits against us and other teams you’ll be able to join in here. It’ll probably (definitely!) be a bit more madcap and riotous than our quiz, but still huge fun. Be sure to say hello if you’re there!

If I don’t see you tonight, and even if I do, have a great week and I’ll see you again, back here, next Friday.

All the best

Terry