I recently bought a little wood dresser that feels... sticky. I'm guessing its years of smoking, fingertips, and furniture oil. I've washed it down with Murpheys and the rags are coming back cleaner, but still a nasty orange color and the whole thing feels tacky. Does anyone have some recommendations for a way to easily clean it indoors?
Be careful. A few years ago...
Be careful. A few years ago I had a similar sticky piece of furniture. I usually do not use Murphy's Soap but in this case the dresser was so filthy and sticky I figured it might help me get through the grime. After a handful of washes the rags started getting cleaner and cleaner but there was still a yellow/orange color to the rags. I realized this was actually the varnish coming off from the Murphys and rubbing.
I ended up having to completely refinish the piece in the end because of the damage.
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I recently had a similar situation when cleaning the front rail of a daily-used, never cleaned wooden desk. I think the finish was worn thin where it was touched constantly, but could not be seen as lacking color until the filth was removed. Then when the piece was uniformly cleaned, you could see the non-uniform wear much more clearly. I suspect this won't be as much of an issue with a chest that isn't touched as much/ intensely only in certain areas.
I can smell the sticky tar, I think I'll go wash my hands!
I would try some turpentine.
I suspect it's wax that was applied too thickly so it never really hardened. I have seen that on furniture. I read somewhere long ago that turpentine is the only solvent that dissolves wax. It won't hurt the wood otherwise so why not try it?
Foxxxy, Murphy's Oil Soap does remove oil finishes down to the bare wood very quickly and it will also leech out pigment from the wood, which is probably what you were seeing. I don't think it will remove varnish, though. Varnish is pretty tough stuff.
Oh.
I thought shellac was shellac, a mixture of alcohol and the powdered wings of the lac beetle. And that lacquer is something else, with an acetone base, and that acrylic is acrylic (though sometimes called varnish). True varnish is a mixture of resins and oil and a solvent, which I think is mineral spirits, never acetone or alcohol. I've never heard of shellac referred to as varnish before.
?
The OP hasn't clarified whether the finish is even shellac or varnish, or even what type of wood for that matter...
I have a little Jalk table( teak in an oil finish) that was lousy with nicotene and outrageously filthy when I got it. It was ever so slightly sticky to begin with, which promptly worsened after I wiped it down (lightly) with white vinegar (a miracle worker for nicotene and smoke odor). I thought I must have somehow done damage even though the table still looked perfectly fine. Undaunted, I continued to wipe with vinegar periodically as the rags were still coming up very orange...
Once the rags were no longer orange I stopped, let it air dry completely, gave it a once over with some mineral spirits, let that dry. This was all done over the course of a few days and the results were excellent. The table was cleaner and brighter, no longer sticky, and the smoke odor had dissipated.
Vinegar is strong of course, and can certainly do damage to wood finishes if soaked for long periods of time or rubbed in too vigorously. I suggest this method only if it's oil finished and nicotene stained as it worked extremely well for me.
So dear Grendel...tell us more about your little dresser...
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