Skip to content

Care & Cleaning-Make it Last

Care & Cleaning: Make it Last
Proper cleaning of your table ensures its beauty and longevity. We recommend simply using a damp cloth to clean your table. Never use a silicone based polish. Your furniture store or local hardware may carry Guardsman Furniture Polish which is recommended for fine wood finishes. Every effort should be made to keep your table out of direct sunlight and heat sources such as radiators, hot air outlets or wood stoves. These conditions will cause the wood to dry out and subsequently split. Humidity between 35 to 45 percent guards against shrinking and cracking or expansion. Basements with high humidity should be avoided. You may choose to dehumidify or humidify depending on your environment. Extreme temperature and humidity will ruin wood. Following these wood care guidelines, along with common sense will ensure that your fine, solid wood furniture will become the heirloom of future generations.

Furniture Care Tips
1. Keep furniture out of direct sunlight
2. Avoid placing directly in front of or underneath windows
3. Blot up spills immediately
4. Lift items rather than dragging them across the furniture surface
5. Rotate your accessories every once in a while
6. Avoid placing furniture near heat sources and do not store in damp area

The Benefits of Our Finish
Confused with all the different types of finishes and the benefits or disadvantages of each one? Here, we’ll try to make it a little clearer what kind of finish we use and why it’s so superior.

COATING REPORT BETWEEN LACQUERS AND CONVERSION VARNISH
We use a conversion varnish rather than its cheap and low-quality substitute: lacquer.
Lacquer: A coating commonly used on furniture today. A low quality coating that does not offer much durability or moisture resistance.
Conversion Varnish: A coating that provides superior moisture resistance. A very high quality coating that will provide long life and durability to your furniture.

A comparison between the two types of products. (Scale of 1 to 10.) 1 = severe effect 10 = no effect

LacquerConversion Varnish
water resistance110
nail polish remover110
ketchup210
mustard210
tape210


Chemical Resistance Test (24 hours unless otherwise noted)

1olive oilno effect8mayonnaiseno effect
2cooking sprayno effect9orange juiceno effect
3ketchupno effect10coffeeno effect
4mustardno effect11teano effect
5vinegarno effect12grape juiceno effect
6lemon juiceno effect13alcohol (100 proof)(1 hr.) no effect
7milkno effect14acetone(2 min. test) no effect

These are just some ways to show you the difference between these two products. The conversion varnish is a superior coating to any brand of lacquer.

Moisture Resistance – If a cup of water is left on the surface of a lacquer top overnight, it will leave a white ring in the finish. If a cup is left on the surface of a conversion varnish finish for a week, there will be no effect to the coating. Conversion varnish is a coating that is durable enough to last the life of your furniture. There are many things that will collect on the surface of wood finishes. Such as cooking oils and fumes, fingerprints, dust, and smoking residue. To clean the finish is very simple. Just wipe the finish with a soft damp cloth use with a mild detergent, non-wax polish or cleaner. Avoid the use of silicone polishes as they may damage the wood finish if used over a period of time.