ongoing polishing / preserving

[Jedo_03]

Hi All...
Wife has an antique piece in genuine mahogany - ?shellac finish - and wants to know what's the best - the very BEST liquid/paste stuff we can use to polish and preserve the piece...
She's read stuff about "feeding" the wood...
I've seen refs to "orange oil" and other things..
What's the "best" stuff to use?
(cost is no object here)...
Cheers
Jedo

[ubeaut]

Don't believe any of the BS about feeding the wood. It is covered with shellac. To get a product that feeds the wood you would firstly have to destroy the French polish or whatever other surface coating was on it.

If the finish is in excellent condition without cracks or crazing, leave it alone. With the exception of a Polish Reviver (http://www.ubeaut.com.au/reviver.html) almost anything you put on it will allow for the surface to be easier damaged, especially if you use a wax product which can be easily marked with water, alcohol, heat, etc

Some oils may even cause crazing of the surface later on. Avoid products containing silicon.

Hope this is of some help.

Cheers - Neil :)