Furniture is often made from pine wood, which is a soft wood that can deteriorate over time. Even if the pine furniture you own was once shiny and new, it might not take very long for it to lose that luster. If you want that fresh pine, look back. However, it may be as simple as following a few steps. Here’s how you can fix the pine that won’t shine in your house.
As is often the first step when attempting a repair, you’re going to want to clean your pine out first. It may seem unnecessary, but dust and debris can often get in the way of cosmetic home repairs. After all, you won’t want to paint over a pebble, would you? That’s why you’ll want to make sure that your pine is clean and hopefully clear of debris before you get started.
The key to restoring the “shine” to pine is in the solution you’ll be applying next. This will probably require a trip to the store, so make sure you have your list ahead of time:
- Soft soap (1/4 cup)
- Mineral oil (1 cup)
- Pine oil (1 tablespoon)
You’re also going to want to make sure you have a cup of warm water handy. To mix up this solution, start with the mineral oil and pine oil first. Once they’re mixed together, stir in the soft soap and the water. (By the way, if you’re curious about what soft soap means, liquid soap will do just fine).
Now that you have your solution ready, put some of it onto a cloth – you don’t want to use it all up right away. Generously apply the mixture via the cloth onto the pine wood, but make sure that none of it drips or coalesces, as this is too much. In fact, once you’re done, you can take a dry cloth and pick up the extra solution that you applied.
It will be important to make sure that your solution doesn’t only touch the surface of the wood but seeps in as much as it can. You can’t control this; you can only make sure to apply an even amount of the mixture onto your pine wood. Let it dry out, and take a look at the pine later so that you can evaluate how well the solution worked.
It might be possible to fine pine solutions pre-made for you at a hardware store or other outlet. Before you go shopping, try to call around and see if a store has some stock so that you can pick one up.
