Pledge may or may not build up, but it's like herpes, once you have it, you won't get rid of it. And it does cause problems in repair and refinishing. Waxing is a time-consuming job, but you don't need to do it frequently, every few years. Once you switch to wax, you should not use polishes as they may make it milky and soft. Put on some wax (yes, dark for dark woods) let it haze over then buff off all you possibly can, then buff a little more. Most people leave too much on and it attracts dirt and looks ugly. See the last paragraph of the link below. Alternately, you can use an emulsion polish like Oz or Guardsman once a month. Guardsman also makes a Furniture Cleaner that you might try first in an attempt to remove some of what's on there now. It's also possible that the finish along the edges has degraded due to acidic body oils. Cleaning will help, but if too far gone, you'll eventually need to strip and refinish as there's no saving gooey finish (see top of article for discussion on that.) If you refinish, you will really see the evils of Pledge. Here is a link that might be useful: Saving the finish

Maintaining waxed floors is why no wax floors were invented. My grandmother would do semi annual stripping maintainence every spring and fall, and owned her own buffer. She refinished the floors with poly in the 60s and never looked back. You need to strip off the existing wax, and that involves a bucket of hot water and ammonia and a scrub brush on your hands and knees. Allow the floor to dry and then assess the shellac's integrity. If you don't keep rugs down in the traffic patterns to prevent wear paths, you may need to clean with mineral spirits and recoat with shellac. Once the old wax is removed and the shellac repaired, it's time to wax. You need a buffer with an applicator pad. Plain old Johnson's paste wax is all my grandmother ever used, and I doubt if they've improved on it any. Once the wax has dried, switch to a buffing pad and buff to a high shine. Vacuum the floor regularly, followed by the dryest damp mopping with pure water that you can do. If areas begin to become a bit dull you can apply more wax after the damp mopping and buff out again. If you allow the floors to go too long between waxings, you can damage the shellac finish and have to start over again. You will get build up of wax, which will create it's own dulling, so it's best to do the semi annual stripping like my grandmother did. If you do decide to switch to a less maintenance intensive finish, you will have to sand to bare wood before applying another type of finish. Wax retards adhesion of almost any flooring finish.

Hi, There would not be enough darkening or color change to make it worthwhile. The colored waxes are able to slightly enhance an existing color, and to help blend in scratches. The other thing is they don't leave light-colored flecks of buildup in crevices, like blond or clear wax. To change the color you could: Clean the finish with naphtha to remove and dirt / wax. Apply an oil-based gel stain as directed (brush on, artfully wipe off so as not to leave any streaks) Apply second coat of same if needed after 2 day's drying time. If desired, apply two or three coats of wipe-on gel varnish. I'm really happy with Bartley gel stains. Casey

Mary, I LOVE that wardrobe!! It will be PERFECT to paint and distress. I am a big DIY-er, and just did this project this past weekend. I lost one of my beautiful Brittany Spaniels unexpectedly last Thursday, and decided that in Joey's honor, I'd do a tribute to him by copying a popular design that I have seen painted on bureaus - the British 'Union Jack' flag. I started out with an unpainted old pine piece. I suspect that yours might be pine, too. I used Annie Sloan chalk paint as the 'white' background on mine, and it's wonderful, but pricey. I painted my piece and then sanded the areas I wanted to appear worn by hand, with a piece of 150 grit sandpaper. If you want natural colored wood to show on some 'worn' areas of yours, you might want to experiment before you paint it black, by seeing if you can sand off some of the white paint that's there from a test area, such as an edge. If you have an electric sander, it'll make the job go easier. You don't need to sand the whole thing unless the current paint has a bit of a gloss finish to it. Try your black paint and see if it'll stick to the current paint. If it doesn't you may need to scuff up or prime the whole wardrobe to get your black paint to stick. Or, use chalk paint (not chalk board paint) as it really does stick well, goes a long way, and dries very fast. I put a link to Annie Sloan's site below. Click on 'American Stockists' on the left to see if there are any in your area. I ordered mine from Sea Rose Cottage in RI. I also waxed mine with both Butcher's wax first and then with BriWax, which I had in light brown and dark brown, to add the aged effect. That really makes a difference, and changes the paint colors slightly. Before - During - Just had the paint on here - After, with sanded edges and waxed - Close-up of the original old porcelain knobs and some sanded and waxed areas. And last, but certainly not least, my beautiful little boy who this is a tribute for, Joey. Here is a link that might be useful: Annie Sloan Chalk paint link