Pine is a soft wood that can be crafted in variety of designs. Finding well-crafted but unfinished pine wood furniture is already a bargain. Imagine, with just a few investment and a few effort, you can already turn an unfinished piece of furniture into something elegant and classy. Here’s how to treat unfinished pine wood furniture:
- Keep the furniture in a safe place. Do this if you won’t start the treatment yet. Store the pine wood furniture away from direct sunlight or heat source because pine wood is vulnerable to shrinking and cracking. Keep the piece away from moisture, too. Extreme and sudden change of temperature will form moisture on the piece.
- Prepare the unfinished pine wood furniture. Wipe the furniture with clean cotton cloth to remove its dusts and other foreign debris. Do this every day if you will keep the furniture first before treating it. Dirt and dust build-up will be more difficult to remove. Discoloration might happen, too, and give the furniture an ugly appearance. If stubborn dirt build-up is already on the furniture, then use damp and clean cloth to remove the dirt. A bit of wood soap will be useful for removing difficult spots. However, do not use any soap or chemical directly on the pine wood without spot testing. Try it on a hidden part and this way, you’ll see whether the product will give unwanted stain on the wood.
- Apply protective coating for the wood. Wood oil and similar products that could protect the wood should be used to keep the furniture looking its best. If you can, apply lacquer paint on the wood and then occasionally apply wood oil to the furniture. The protective coating will prevent the wood from drying out. But before applying any protective coating, spot test the product first on a hidden part. Some coatings can cause nasty discoloration that can be hard to remove.
- Apply furniture wax on the wood. This is another alternative to protect the pine wood from damages like water, moisture, dusts, and dirt. The wood wax will make the furniture shiny, too. The wax manufacturer has instructions on how to use their product. Simply follow the label when using the wax. But then again, spot test the furniture wax first before applying it on the entire piece. Apply it first on a hidden part to see its effect. Leave the wax on for about an hour or two. See if it has any negative effects on the wood. If it has, try to use another brand of furniture wax.
- Prevent anything from staining the pine wood furniture. Applying protective coating or wax on the pine wood is not enough. The coat will only prevent anything that the owner cannot control anymore. So as much as possible, keep alcohol, coffee, and tea away from the furniture. But if prevention is too late, then at least act as soon as you see stains on the wood. Treat the stains as soon as possible because the longer they stay on, the more difficult they can be removed.
Furniture pieces, even the unfinished ones, are important investments that could outlast your lifetime. They are something that can be passed from generation to generation. So, take good care of it and treat it like a treasure. After all, you are one of its creators because you have treated it so well.
