GO GREEN in 2012 - Olive Oil Furniture Refinisher

In preparation for a more GREEN 2012 (and to honor the basic premise of my own green furniture refurnishing and reuse business - link to website), I am starting a series of blogs to highlight different green ideas gleaned from various sources.  I have already had some discussions about using a much greener than usual set of products to redo the woodwork on my chairs - Annie Sloan Chalk Paints - and can't wait to show some finished products when I get them back from the upholsterer.  Today, I found this interesting article about using olive oil as the primary ingredient to redo wood finishes - I am reposting most of it from planetgreen.com by Sara Novak  go to site :

Refinish Wood Furniture with Olive Oil

It beats VOC loaded furniture polish hands down.

I was watching some sort of home improvement show on television and I saw them using olive oil to refinish furniture and they weren't even trying to be green. I felt compelled to give it a try because I have always been pretty frightened of furniture polish. Store-bought furniture polish is the farthest thing from green and can irritate the respiratory systems in some individuals. Olive oil doesn't have the thick coating of a varnish but it does protect woods from simple scratches and drink rings.

Make Your Own Furniture Polish From Olive Oil
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 1. Combine two parts olive oil to one part lemon juice. You could substitute vegetable oil or linseed oil for the olive oil but you should avoid the use of virgin olive oil because it doesn't work nearly as well. This recipe only works on finished wood.

2. Apply with a lint free cloth or cheesecloth. Towel-dry excess oil in a circular motion applying special attention to the problem areas of the wood.

*To polish unfinished wood, combine a teaspoon of lemon oil into a cup of mineral oil. Apply with a lint free cloth or cheesecloth. Apply the mixture in a circular motion taking time to make sure it's evenly distributed.