CHECK THE OIL
by Fred Taylor
...AT THE DOOR
In the late 1980's the Journal of the American Institute for Conservation published
an article about the contents of historical furniture finishes. It identified five main components of various
historical finishes - tree resins, insect resins, oils, gums and waxes. Tree resins, such as from pine trees, are
often used to make varnish. Insect resins, such as that from the lac beetle, are used to make shellac. Boiled
linseed oil and oil from the tung tree are common oil finishes. Gum is another product from trees and is used as a
binder. Waxes are primarily beeswax and the much harder carnuba wax.
But somehow, in the American viewpoint of furniture care and maintenance, the only
part of this variety of finishes that seems to have been retained is the "oil" part - and not as a finish component
but as a maintenance vehicle. Virtually every commercially advertised household furniture care product proudly
touts among its contents such ingredients as "lemon oil" or more recently "orange oil". While lemon oil and orange
oil do in fact exist, what, if anything, do they have to do with the maintenance of furniture finishes?
The oils of various citrus products are derived by the process of cold pressing or
low heat rendering of the skins of the fruit. This gives a concentrated concoction of natural oil that is highly
acidic. It is a natural, safe degreaser and as such has a useful place in some household and commercial cleaning
applications. It is especially appropriate in hand cleaners where a non-toxic degreaser is desirable instead of the
traditional petroleum distillate degreasers such as mineral spirits or naphtha. It is also appropriate when there
are sensitivity questions or environmental issues about the use and disposal of petroleum products.
But that is as far as it goes. Lemon oil, in an appropriate concentration, is a
cleaner. Period. The same goes for orange oil. These oils have no magical properties that lend extended life or
beauty to wood or its finishes. You have only to read the advertisements for some of these products to realize the
lack of understanding of furniture finishes on the part of the vendors. For example, one famous lemon oil product
which also contains carnuba wax, says in its ad that it "...treats the wood and enriches the beauty of the grain".
How can it "treat" the wood if it never touches the wood through the finish? The same manufacturer has a "cabinet
and panel treatment" which it claims has "...higher absorption by the wood resulting in higher preservation". Yet
there is nothing in the product that will penetrate the modern lacquer, shellac or urethane finish found on most
cabinetwork. So how can it lead to "higher absorption by the wood" if it never reaches the wood?
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