How to Clean Painted Antique Finished Furniture

Paint antiquing is an age-old technique to make new furniture look old and well-loved. Paint is applied and then sanded off to give the furniture a distressed look. Furniture with a painted antique finish must be handled carefully. Vigorous cleaning may chip or erode the paint that it took so long to apply. Take care and use the right products and your furniture will look good until it really is antique.

Rag
Water
Container
Soap flakes
Liquid detergent soap
Borax

Instructions

- 1
  Wipe the surface off with a dry rag to dust it. Clean the furniture in this manner once weekly or whenever you see surface dust. To remove stubborn dust that dry dusting can't remove, move on to Step 2.
- 2
  Soak a rag in warm water and wring it out until it is nearly dry. Wipe stubborn dust away. Don't scrub too hard or you may flake off the antiquing. If dirt remains, move on to Step 3.
- 3
  Soak a rag with a soap solution. According to The University of Missouri Extension, soap paste is the best solvent for cleaning antique painted wood. Mix 3 tbsp. soap flakes with 1 cup boiling water to make soap paste. To clean heavy soil, add 2 tsp. borax to the mixture. If you don't have access to soap flakes, mix 1 tbsp. liquid detergent soap with 1 quart hot water.
- 4
  Wring the soapy rag out until it stops dripping.
- 5
  Wipe the painted furniture down to clean any spots, caked-on dust or debris.
- 6
  Wipe the furniture dry with a soft towel. Do not leave any water spots. They may become permanent.

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