All of you that have shops know that keeping the dust down is very hard to control. No matter how hard one tries to keep up with it, dust will settle on everything in the shop including those finished projects that are ready to be delivered or enjoyed in your home. So, it is imperative that furniture is dusted in a proper manner or you may damage the finish because not all dust is equal.

Good 'ol household dust is primarily our own dander plus dust from family pets, clothing and carpets. To clean this type of dust, which is not very hard on finishes, use a spray bottle of clear water and a soft cloth like old flannel. Spray a little water on the surface and always try to dust in one direction only, making sure to use light pressure on the cloth. If you wipe in circles these will eventually show up on the surface so wipe back and forth with the grain to avoid this.

With other types of dust like construction, wood and drywall dust you have to be much more careful since this type of dust can be very abrasive and will scratch most any finish in short order. In this case I always soak a clean soft cloth in clear water, ringing it out completely and then dusting with it, followed by a dry, soft cloth. This way, and with a little patience, the chances of scratching your finishes are greatly diminished.

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Alan can be reached directly via email c/o Alan Noel Furniture Refinishing at anoelfurniturere@bellsouth.net . You can also visit Alan's website by CLICKING HERE .

Visiting Atlanta? Attend one of Alan's upcoming highly informative Highland Woodworking wood finishing seminars:

August 11, 2018 Spray Finishing
August 15, 2018 French Polish Workshop
September 15, 2018 Finishing 101
September 19, 2018 Finishing the Finish
September 22-23, 2018 Antique Restoration