Is lemon oil a scam? Is it just "lemon" scented mineral oil? My wife loves to "oil" up finished furniture with it? I contend it isn't even good furniture polish and only serves to clg the pores of the wood and grease up the finish. Besides, trees don't need oil to live, do they?
Who's right? I won't get any credibility unless I produce the printed responses.
Tell your wife to stop wasting time and money! The finish that the wood has on it will determine (to a point) what maintenance it requires.......lemon oil ain't on the list.
Despite manufacturers claims, you can't "feed" the wood in your furniture (it is, after all, quite dead by the time you plunk it down in your living room). For most furniture, simple dusting will probably suffice, with the occasional coat of (preferably) paste wax. Carnauba is the hardest of all and most paste waxes contain at least some carnauba. Some finishes will survive quite well with simply wiping down with a damp cloth (polyurethane comes to mind first off).
My wife used to be a big fan of Pledge until we finally got smart.
Oil polishes only serve to build up "gunk" on the surface, clouding the look of the grain.
>Is lemon oil a scam? Is it just "lemon" scented mineral oil? My wife loves to >"oil" up finished furniture with it? I contend it isn't even good furniture >polish and only serves to clg the pores of the wood and grease up the finish. >Besides, trees don't need oil to live, do they?
>Who's right? I won't get any credibility unless I produce the printed >responses.
you said it! if you are set on Lemon Oil (which it is NOT) just get some Mineral Oil from the Apothecary and get some esssential Lemon Oil and add a drop or two to the Mineral oil.. that is all it is (really)
-- John A. Gunterman... Horse shoeing for cash only.
Apparently, it's not even mineral _oil_. From Flexner:
"Lemon oil, an oily mineral-spirits solvent with a lemon scent added, is a very short-lived maintenance product. It is a furniture polish that will help pick up dust, add temporary shine to a dull surface, and reduce scratching until it evaporates -- which it will do within a few days. The fresh scent it imparts is a large part of its appeal."
"So-called lemon oil is a slow-drying, petroleum distillate solvent with a lemon scent added. If lemon-oil furniture polish were really made from the tiny amount of oil that exists in the peel of lemons, not only would the price be exorbitantly high, it would skyrocket every time there was a freeze in Florida!"
SWMBO should clean the furniture with nothing more than a mild soap and water solution. If she wants a more lasting shine, she should use a light application of paste wax, and very rarely.
BenD9999 wrote:
> Is lemon oil a scam? Is it just "lemon" scented mineral oil? My wife loves to > "oil" up finished furniture with it? I contend it isn't even good furniture > polish and only serves to clg the pores of the wood and grease up the finish. > Besides, trees don't need oil to live, do they?
> Who's right? I won't get any credibility unless I produce the printed > responses.
> Thanks!
-- Creationism -- because the words are easier to spell. Rev Chuck, Alt.Atheism #203, Ordained Reverend, ULC, 17 March, 1997. Remove -REMOVE_THIS- from address to respond.
Is lemon oil a scam? Is it just "lemon" scented mineral oil? My wife loves to "oil" up finished furniture with it? I contend it isn't even good furniture polish and only serves to clg the pores of the wood and grease up the finish. Besides, trees don't need oil to live, do they? Who's right? I won't get any credibility unless I produce the printed responses.
It smells good, it keeps your wife happy. So unless it actually damages the furniture, I would let her keep going.
I can't imagine what benifit there is in oiling finished wood. I beleive it is intended mainly for unfinished wood, to prevent the from drying to much and cracking. Sometimes used on rosewood fret boards of stringed instruments where maintianing dimensional stability is a little more critical than say a coffee table. Keith
BenD9999 wrote in message <19990306163418.05791.00004...@ng34.aol.com>... >Is lemon oil a scam? Is it just "lemon" scented mineral oil? My wife loves to >"oil" up finished furniture with it? I contend it isn't even good furniture >polish and only serves to clg the pores of the wood and grease up the finish. >Besides, trees don't need oil to live, do they?
>Who's right? I won't get any credibility unless I produce the printed >responses.
I do professional finishing work and can say that: "Lemon oil is basically a scam." Period. Pledge falls into the same category. Pledge is a four letter word to guys like me.
Most furniture polish (except maybe scratch cover) is designed to smell good and remove grease buildup. It evaporates in a day or two. It does NOT feed the wood. Ever. There is no such thing.
The best polish for a finished piece of wood is paste wax. Period. Anyone who says differently is selling snake oil. Or Pledge.
Wax should be applied every few months at most, more likely about once a year. Wax does stay behind and serves to deflect abrasive action - helps prevent minor scratches, for instance. You can also use colored wax like Kiwi Bois or Briwax to get rid of minor surface scratches and other minor finish problems.
Start of tirade.....
Lemon oil removes wax. Therefore it is unpolishing your furniture.
Some lemon oil products have silicones added. These do stay behind. Their main function in life is to make re-finishing furniture pure hell for people like me and you. They prevent new lacquer from forming even films. They do NOT come off with stripping, they stay behind. They also penetrate cracks in the old finish and buildup in wood fibers. Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
End of tirade....
If a piece of finished furniture (made after about 1850 with an intact finish is dirty), then wash it gently with warm water and Murphy's oil soap. If it has a buildup of tobacco goo or grease, then moisten a rag in mineral sprits and clean with that. After either of these cleaning operations, consider applying new paste wax, as you will have removed all the old wax by cleaning. Always test the cleaning solution on a spot that is out of sight. Some finishes on good, really old furniture may not like it. TEST FIRST!
A great exposition on the truth of furniture care Jim, I vote this be put into the FAQ's.
Most of the junk today is formulated with perfumed mineral oil and specifically marketed to make "the little woman" feel like she is 'nurturing' and 'feeding' the woodwork- I can't count how many customers I have told that furniture wood is dead wood, and dead things do not need "nourishment", they only need to be kept clean and dry with an occasional coat of *PASTE* wax applied to run interference against abrasion and dirt. You can tell it's time to re-wax when an occasional light buffing no longer brings up a shine.
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jim mcnamara wrote in message <7c1dme$9t...@sloth.swcp.com>... >I do professional finishing work and can say that: >"Lemon oil is basically a scam." Period. Pledge falls into the same >category. Pledge is a four letter word to guys like me.
>Most furniture polish (except maybe scratch cover) is designed to smell good >and remove grease buildup. It evaporates in a day or two. >It does NOT feed the wood. Ever. There is no such thing.
>The best polish for a finished piece of wood is paste wax. Period. >Anyone who says differently is selling snake oil. Or Pledge.
>Wax should be applied every few months at most, more likely about once a >year. Wax does stay behind and serves to deflect abrasive action - helps >prevent minor scratches, for instance. You can also use >colored wax like Kiwi Bois or Briwax to get rid of minor surface scratches >and other minor finish problems.
>Start of tirade.....
>Lemon oil removes wax. Therefore it is unpolishing your furniture.
>Some lemon oil products have silicones added. These do stay behind. Their >main function in life is to make re-finishing furniture >pure hell for people like me and you. They prevent new lacquer from >forming even films. They do NOT come off with stripping, they stay behind. >They also penetrate cracks in the old finish and buildup in wood fibers. >Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
>End of tirade....
>If a piece of finished furniture (made after about 1850 with an intact >finish is dirty), then wash it gently with warm water and Murphy's oil soap. >If it has a buildup of tobacco goo or grease, then moisten a rag in mineral >sprits and clean with that. After either of these cleaning operations, >consider applying new paste wax, as you will have removed all the old wax by >cleaning. Always test the cleaning solution on a spot that is out of >sight. Some finishes on good, really old furniture may not like it. TEST >FIRST!
I BEG TO DIFFER! Snake oil IS STILL THE BEST for feeding dead wood! Don't you all know that dead wood needs to BREATHE! Lemon oil is actually derived from the lemon iguana - a direct descendant from the snake. All you w.w.'rs that want to bring out the sheen and patina of the wood by using a high grade quality wax don't realize how well oils "grease with ease". So STOP using elbow grease - USE MORE REPTILE GREASE!
REspectively, I remain the REAL -- Jim Mc Namara Future Collectibles
I have had my Les Paul Standard since 1977. It has a rosewood fingerboard. My Les Paul Custom that I have had since 1981 has an ebony fingerboard. I do not oil the fingerboards. I am sorry to say that this is just another misleading bit of information. Oiling the fingerboards does nothing for the stability of the fingerboards or the neck. All it really does is ruin the strings with grime.
Oiling wood does nothing for the wood. The oils in the wood have nothing to do with the moisture content of the wood or the drying/seasoning of the wood. All oil does is make finishing a tad more difficult if it is not dealt with properly.
My guitars recieve very lottle maitenence. That is a bad thing, I know, but they survive quite nicely despite my miserable ownership. What they do get is a good playing and what they give are nice tonal sounds that are a combination of the tone woods, the finish, the electroniscs, my beautiful Ampegs/Mesa Boogie amplifiers, and that special magic that occurs between the skin of my fretting fingertips and the GHS strings (this is where the uniqueness of a good player's tone comes from). Listen for a player with "heavy hands" and you will hear his unique tones: Mick Taylor, David Gilmore, Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, et. al.
I am digressing. Keep lemon oil away from your guitars and you will love to play almost as much as I do.
> I can't imagine what benifit there is in oiling finished wood. I beleive it > is intended mainly for unfinished wood, to prevent the from drying to much > and cracking. Sometimes used on rosewood fret boards of stringed > instruments where maintianing dimensional stability is a little more > critical than say a coffee table. > Keith
> BenD9999 wrote in message <19990306163418.05791.00004...@ng34.aol.com>... > >Is lemon oil a scam? Is it just "lemon" scented mineral oil? My wife > loves to > >"oil" up finished furniture with it? I contend it isn't even good > furniture > >polish and only serves to clg the pores of the wood and grease up the > finish. > >Besides, trees don't need oil to live, do they?
> >Who's right? I won't get any credibility unless I produce the printed > >responses.
I have a 1972 12 string Ovation that has NEVER seen oil. Every time I change strings (about every 3 months) I use some old Bruce hardwood floor paste wax ONLY on the neck. It looks the same as the day I bought it. The secret is to BUFF THE HELL out of it. I've done the same with my Yamaha acoustic and my Strat. I've seen performers on stage under the lights and can tell within seconds who are drowning their axes with 10w40! Thanks for the post! -- Jim Mc Namara Future Collectibles
Jim McNamara wrote in message <01be6c8f$35d61be0$85461ed1@jmcn>... >Dave,
>TOO MUCH IN COMMON!
>I have a 1972 12 string Ovation that has NEVER seen oil. Every time I >change strings (about every 3 months) I use some old Bruce hardwood floor >paste wax ONLY on the neck. It looks the same as the day I bought it. The >secret is to BUFF THE HELL out of it. I've done the same with my Yamaha >acoustic and my Strat. I've seen performers on stage under the lights and >can tell within seconds who are drowning their axes with 10w40! Thanks for >the post! >-- >Jim Mc Namara >Future Collectibles
I agree with you completely on this subject. I am a professional jazz guitarist. I play a custom made Comins archtop, a Johnny Smith Gibson (set up by Johnny Smith himself, who is a very close friend) and a Johnny Smith Heritage. I never do anything to these expensive instruments except to wipe them off with a soft cotton cloth and change strings about every six months.
I agree with you completely on this subject. I am a professional jazz guitarist. I play a custom made Comins archtop, a Johnny Smith Gibson (set up by Johnny Smith himself, who is a very close friend) and a Johnny Smith Heritage. I never do anything to these expensive instruments except to wipe them off with a soft cotton cloth and change strings about every six months.
> I agree with you completely on this subject. I am a professional jazz > guitarist. I play a custom made Comins archtop, a Johnny Smith Gibson > (set up by Johnny Smith himself, who is a very close friend) and a > Johnny Smith Heritage. I never do anything to these expensive > instruments except to wipe them off with a soft cotton cloth and change > strings about every six months.
> Rick Ireland
To prevent the oils in your hands from eating away at the finish on your guitar, you should wipe the guitar (back of the neck) down with a good furniture polish like OZ, Weiman's or Endust when you are done playing.
The finish on the underside of my necks is eaten away (that is the fulcrom point for my vibrato and my string bending).
And dropping names will get you no where, except to make me envious (just kidding). -- Daniel Shafner
Oiling wood is for wood that is finished with oil, such as tung oil, or lindseed, it dries to a hard finish. Lemon oil is just to shine it. The guitars I've seen are waxed with guitar polish which is a canaruba wax[very hard for shuffle boards or dance floors] used sparingly, Martin's Guitar Polish for one, I only use it once or twice a year to cover scratches [belt buckle on the back] as it's so dry here in Canada in the winter. It cleans the fret board too.
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