How to make a wood furniture polish

NMSU's published furniture polish is 3/4 cup vinegar, 1/4 cup olive oil and 1 tablespoon lemon juice, rubbed in along the grain with a lint-free cloth, wiped off, and kept in the refrigerator, where NMSU says it "will keep several weeks." Georgia publishes a firmer beeswax and olive oil polish that it says keeps a year, and Kentucky a lemon, oil and water version made fresh each time. This page sets out all three as published, along with Georgia's oil-and-vinegar wood cleaner, then covers what the sources say and do not say about finishes, how to avoid a sticky oil buildup, and how to tell when a polish made with food oils has gone off.

Three polishes and a wood cleaner compared

None of these storage times comes with a test. They are the publishers' statements, and they run from Kentucky's "made fresh each time" to Georgia's "a year." The recipes differ too: Kentucky's is mostly fresh juice with a little water, Georgia's is mostly wax and oil. How long homemade cleaners last explains why no source gives a tested shelf life for homemade mixes.

NMSU's vinegar and olive oil polish

As printed in G-313 (revised February 2019) [1]:

In a small container or bowl: - Mix 3/4 cup vinegar with 1/4 cup olive oil. - Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice for fragrance. - Mix well. - Pour a small amount of liquid onto a lint-free white cloth. - Blot the cloth onto the wood. - Rub in the liquid, generally following the grain of the wood. - Wipe away any excess liquid with a clean, dry cloth. - Store the mixture in the refrigerator after use. - It will keep several weeks. - If it smells rancid or looks moldy after a period of time, discard it. - To use again, let the mixture return to room temperature

Oil and vinegar separate on standing, so give the container a stir or shake each time. NMSU also suggests an alternative to making anything: "Use a natural furniture wax product, such as bees wax. These products are available at home improvement and hardware stores" [1].

Georgia's beeswax polish

As printed in HACE-E-73-1 (revised October 2018) [2]:

- 1/4 cup melted Beeswax - 1 cups [sic] olive oil - 1 teaspoon lemon juice Carefully pour the melted beeswax slowly into a heat resistant bowl containing the olive oil and lemon juice. Slowly stir with a wooden spoon. The mixture will thicken as it cools to the consistency of smooth peanut butter. Store in an airtight container in a cool room. The polish will keep for a year. To use: Work a small amount into wood using a soft cotton cloth (or repurpose an old t-shirt). Buff to a soft glow.

("1 cups" is Georgia's typo; Missouri's version of the card reads "1 cup olive oil" [3].) Georgia's ingredient notes say of beeswax: "Melt in a double boiler. Watch carefully, as beeswax has a high melting point of 150 degrees" [2]. Melted wax and hot oil burn skin, so melt the wax over hot water rather than direct heat, keep children away from the stove, and pour slowly as the card says.

Kentucky's lemon polish and Georgia's wood cleaner

Kentucky, Furniture Polish (HHF-CRW.175, January 2010) [4]:

- 1 lemon - 1 teaspoon olive oil (least expensive) - 1 teaspoon water Extract the juice from the lemon. Mix with oil and water. Apply a thin coat on your wood surface and let sit for 5 minutes. Use a soft cloth to buff to a deep shine. This polish should [sic] to be made fresh each time you use it.

Georgia, Wood Cleaner [2]:

- 2 tbsp. olive oil - 2 tbsp. white vinegar - ¼ cup lemon juice Mix ingredients. Using a soft cloth, rub into the wood, in the direction of the grain.

Which finishes these suit

The sources do not say. None of the four recipes names a finish it is meant for or one to avoid. The nearest guidance comes from the flooring trade: the National Wood Flooring Association's technical services manager warns that on finished wood floors "The vinegar is acidic and can make your finish look dull or even damage the finish" [5]. That comment was about floors, but NMSU's polish and Georgia's wood cleaner both contain vinegar, so the caution is worth carrying over to fine finishes. Georgia's only finish warning is on its copper and brass cleaner, "Not for use on lacquered finishes" [2].

A sensible order, drawn from those sources:

1. If the piece came with care instructions from its maker or finisher, follow them.
2. For valuable or antique furniture, ask a conservator or the finisher before applying any homemade mix.
3. Otherwise, try the polish on a hidden spot (the back of a leg, the underside of a shelf) and look at it the next day before doing the whole piece.
4. If you would rather avoid vinegar entirely, the beeswax polish has none, and NMSU points to commercial beeswax furniture wax as an alternative [1].

Avoiding a sticky oil buildup

Every published method ends by removing the excess. NMSU: "Wipe away any excess liquid with a clean, dry cloth" [1]. Georgia: "Work a small amount into wood" and "Buff to a soft glow" [2]. Kentucky: "Apply a thin coat," wait five minutes, then buff [4]. Use a small amount, buff until the cloth moves freely, and polish only as often as the wood looks dry.

Spoilage, storage and the refrigerator

These polishes are made from food oils and juice, and they can spoil. NMSU's test is the only one in the sources: "If it smells rancid or looks moldy after a period of time, discard it" [1]. The Penn State IPM handout gives the general rule: "Make only enough for immediate use if recipe includes perishable items such as lemon juice" [6].

If you keep NMSU's polish in the refrigerator as directed, it will sit next to food, which is exactly where a mix-up happens. Use a container that does not look like food or drink, label it clearly as furniture polish with the date, and keep it on a shelf of its own. NMSU's own safety cautions say "Do not use food containers for storing cleaning products" [1], and bottles and labels for homemade cleaners covers what to write on the label. Wash polishing cloths before you reuse them.

From wood to the kitchen

The kitchen jobs that remain are the greasy ones: ovens, stovetops and the drain under the sink. Ovens and stovetops covers the published baking soda, salt and borax methods.

References

1. New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service (revised by Rick Griffiths and Sonja Koukel), *Green Alternatives to Toxic Household Products and Hazardous Waste*, G-313, revised February 2019. https://pubs.nmsu.edu/_g/G313/index.html
2. University of Georgia Cooperative Extension (Pamela R. Turner and Sharon M. S. Gibson), *Green Cleaning: Recipes for a Healthy Home*, HACE-E-73-1 (Green Clean Booklet), revised October 2018. https://site.extension.uga.edu/greenway/files/2024/09/10.18_Green-Clean-Booklet_update.pdf
3. University of Missouri Extension (Pamela R. Turner and Sharon M. S. Gibson, adapted by Kandace Fisher-McLean), *Green Cleaning: Recipes for a Healthy Home*, GH201, 2019 (GH-0201-2019 in the MU MOspace record), adaptation of the 2015 UGA edition. https://extension.missouri.edu/media/wysiwyg/Extensiondata/Pub/pdf/hesguide/foodnut/gh201.pdf
4. University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension (Connee Wheeler, adapted from Gibson and Turner, UGA), *Green Cleaning: Recipes for a Healthy Home*, HHF-CRW.175, January 2010. https://fcs.mgcafe.uky.edu/sites/fcs.mgcafe.uky.edu/files/green-cleaning-recipe-cards.pdf
5. Wood Floor Business (answers by Rusty Swindoll, National Wood Flooring Association), *Q&As: Steam Mops, Lap Lines & Swirl Marks*, October 2, 2013. https://www.woodfloorbusiness.com/finishing/maintenance/article/15125575/qas-steam-mops-lap-lines-swirl-marks
6. Pennsylvania Integrated Pest Management Program (Penn State), *Greener Cleaner Recipes*, undated handout hosted by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Entomology. https://extensionentomology.tamu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2011/05/Green-cleaning.pdf