Products for caring for your wood furniture abound. If you don't believe me, just take a look in your local supermarket or discount store and you'll see many polishes and waxes available to choose from. Whether you are trying to care for a dining room table or an ornate wooden cuckoo clock, you are confronted with so many choices it may be difficult to come to a decision. Every product claims that they protect your wood better than the next product. In reality, most of them will remove dust and clean the surface, but they won't do much else.

Using a polish or a wax may provide a certain amount of protection against scratches and scrapes to your furniture, however they really don't give you any lasting protection like a quality wood finish would. They really don't improve the durability of an old finish or revive it, either. In fact, the only real difference between a polish and a wax is that polish will leave a thin liquid film on the surface when you wipe down your wood, and wax will leave a thin film of solid wax on the surface. The liquid will eventually evaporate, while the wax will not.