older maple conditioning

[ken brueggestrass]

I'm going to move an older (1940s) maple bedroom set into my son's room shortly, he is a big boy after all, and I'm looking for suggestions to clean it up a bit, protect it etc. It has some color to it so I assume it was stained at some point and the finish feels hard but no longer shiny. I'm fine with the finish as is but curious if I should use a little oil soap to clean it up, just a damp sponge. It's been held inside its whole like, either in a basement or conditioned room.

[Nancy Laird]

Ken, try some Murphy's Oil Soap to clean it up. I'm sure that the lack of shine points to an abundance of built-up dirt and grime (not that I'm accusing anyone of not cleaning or dusting) that has accumulated over the years. You may find after you've cleaned it that you will want to put a coat of something else over it, but make sure what is on it before that.

Nancy.