Cleaning wooden toys- HELP!

[WindyCityMom]

Aside from sanding with a fine grit sandpaper (and later finishing with beeswax), what can I do to clean up a grimy looking Elves & Angels kitchen, among other wooden toys?  Our pine dollhouse is in rough shape (but I wasn't finished sanding it anyways- DH built it) and idk.. I'm just looking for a way to clean it up.

I also need to sand our kitchen table, or clean it, or something.  It's unfinished pine as well- it's from ikea.  Yeah... it needs to get finished.  I obviously put that off way too long.

So what do *you* do? :)

[stellimamo]

Generally I depending on the what is wrong with the toy I would make a solution of water and gentle soap like Murphy's Oil Soap. Then clean the outside of the toy being careful not to over saturate the toy.  You don't want to leave the toy standing in water or let a ton of water to soak in.  After you have removed the dirt/grime allow the toy to dry completely. If your house is cool, place the toy over a heating grate or if it is small even pop it in the oven on warm.

If washing the toy raised any of the wood grain then you will want to sand the wood with a fine grit sandpaper carefully and finish with wood polish.

[sprinkle pocket]

Sometimes in a pinch, I use the magenta 3-M abrasive pads. They're sold for polishing metal. We bought ours thru Lee Valley. They're wonderful. Soap and those cleans like nothing else. We even use them on our dishes/pots...just a 1x2 inch pad lasts months in my home.

[WindyCityMom]

Thanks!  The murphy's oil soap worked for the most part- didn't get black beeswax crayon out totally though- sandpaper will have to do for that.  And my kitchen table looks less disgusting! Yay!

:) I finished them with some awesome orange-lavender beeswax polish I found on Amazon.

[DsMamma]

Originally Posted by WindyCityMom 

:) I finished them with some awesome orange-lavender beeswax polish I found on Amazon.

That sounds lovely!!

[WindyCityMom]

It's this stuff, if anyone is interested.

http://www.daddyvans.com/

[sprinkle pocket]

Beeswax polish is also super simple to make. Melt I think 1:4 beeswax to oil (we use sunflower seed oil). I don't measure, I just guesstimate and when its all mixed I put a drop inside the jar's lid. When it cools, I can tell if its too hard, too soft or just right to spread across the wood. Once I know I have it right (or close enough) I take it from the heat and add any essential oils. We love lavender, but maybe I will add orange next time too, hmm, or add slices of orange zest to the oil and strain it before pouring to cool.

[JudiAU]

This is a very helpful thread. So can someone tell me, if I buy an unfinished wooden toy should I assume I need to use some sort of polish on it. I have a handmade rocker from etsy that is a bit grimy now. I need to clean and then add some polish. Should I have done this from the beginning?

[sprinkle pocket]

Yep. But you can clean or sand it or whatever and oil it still.