A piece of furniture valued for its beautiful surface should be left untouched and only dusted with care with a clean cotton cloth. Do not use a liquid, even in spray form except that dusting agents such as Endust may be sparingly placed on a dusting cloth. You should be caring for the finish, not the wood, and liquids discolor the wood after softening and penetrating the finish. In fact some liquids sold as “feeders” may actually destroy fine finishes.

To protect the finish, particularly on horizontal surfaces such as table tops, you may apply a good quality paste wax such as Minwax brand which is available in natural and dark tints. I use the dark because if it builds up in recessed areas it looks okay. Wax should be applied no more often than once every two or three years.

If possible, brass hardware should be removed for cleaning and polishing. Chemicals used for cleaning brass should not be allowed to touch a wood finish. Brass was chosen for fine furniture hundreds of years ago because it was easily worked and would polish to a very bright surface.