Testimonials

Recently Received

Unsolicited Testimonials

for Howard Wood Care Products

I purchased one of your Woodcare kits at the Brisbane Timber and Wood show last week. I wanted to use it on my dining table to remove heat marks, and marks from black oil felt pens. While the person who served me did not know if the felt pen marks would come off, let me tell you it did. I had virtually ruined the table by tracing a pattern off a master using the felt pen, and it had marked the table all over. With that and the heat marks, and one of those was as large as a saucer, as coffee had been spilt on the table, I thought I would have to have the table completely stripped and renovated.
This is a wonderful product, as with about an hour's work, I have a table top like new.I have recommended this to friends of mine via e-mail tonight, one in particular is waiting to hear how it went with me, as she has a Queenslander full of lovely furniture that needs a little restoration.
Thank you, again, I'm very impressed - going to try it on the piano stool tomorrow!
Delia Priest - Walkerston...Q 4751

Hi, I am writing to you from the United States, in the state of Maine. My grandfather had only used Howard's orange oil on his furniture, and before going to the nursing home, he had given some of us grandchildren the extra bottles he had left. The address on these bottles is in New Jersey. I called the phone number on the bottle and it is no longer in service. We all love this oil, but as you can probably guess, we are getting low. Do you have any one in the States that we can purchase this through, or can we purchase it directly through you?
Thank you for your time.
Rory L Cookson
Dover-Foxcroft, ME 04426

Greetings
I would be pleased if you could advise me as to the suitability of Feed-N-Wax for red cedar , parts of which are exposed to direct sunlight for several hours each day in summer. ( I have a bottle of the product which was purchased at a furniture show in Canberra earlier this year and the initial effects upon a hardwood table with rainwater stains was very pleasing. )
I would appreciate your advice.
Thankyou
David Howes

Hello
I have recently had the pleasure of a local removalist who kindly used your brand of orange furniture oil on my furniture. He was very proud to show the difference the polish made to my furniture, in particular, my piano that is over 80 years old that desperately required some 'moisture'. It is very rare to find a removalist who shows so much care.

Many Thanks
Gabby L. Queensland

Dear Sir,
I am having a local French polisher do a small job for me and he recommended Howard's Furniture Polish as the best polish I could get to use to keep the finished article in good condition.. (He was most enthusiastic about its qualities)
He does have bottles of the polish at his workshop but they are the large bottles and I would prefer a smaller bottle of the polish.
I live in the Gosford area (my home address is below) so could you inform me where I might buy a smaller quantity of the polish and the cost, that is. if you make the smaller bottle.
Yours sincerely,
Cec. Hynes
Point Clare 2250

I’m one of your naughty customers, I told my husband that I had purchased the products and he asked me to cancel. He told me none of these products work and if they did they would be world known.

Well I didn’t cancel, the order arrived and I quickly used it before he got home to see what would happen, and guess what I am sooooo impressed. I had my coffee table and side tables imported from India 7 years ago which had the white water marks on it (from once storing in moist area) and k-a-boom the table looks new. And yes we are still married and he said I am lucky ……………..

This weekend cannot wait to get stuck into the side tables.

Thanks Again
Velinda Letters

The following email correspondence is more than just a glowing testimonial. It is also contains useful advice for all customers

Question from customer
I have a very old oak sideboard which was made by my grandfather, belonged to my grandparents, my mother and now myself. I'm not sure of the age but it must be at least 70 years old. It is very dark with the accumulation of the years, and the top is badly marked. I have purchased some Restor a Finish and started work on it today. On the sides and doors the Restor a Finish is amazing - I couldn't believe the effect it had. It was like using an eraser to clean away the dark accumulation. However I am having trouble with the top. I have the 0000 steel wool and have scrubbed and scrubbed with little effect. The colour of the wood has come somewhat lighter, but I can't get the marks out. Do you have any suggestions for me? Should I try a coarser steel wool? I thought I would continue with the doors and drawers and when I finish try the top again, in the hope that I have loosened some of the grime and marks. I would really appreciate some advice. I am taking before and after photos and it is quite amazing. Thanks for your time.

Vera

Response from Howard Products.
Hi Vera,
The difficulty you’re having with the top is very likely because the top, unlike the sides, has suffered a variety of treatments and potions in its long and varied life in service to your family.
These layers of detritus must be cut through to get to what was there originally, unless it’s been stripped away. Even if the original shellac has been stripped away, it’s still there in essence and can be brought back to life in a limited way.
Here’s what I suggest …. But take courage... it will take nerves of steel:
Take a tin of Neutral Restor-A-Finish. Take a pack of Howard 0000 steel wool.
Take a pack of rubber surgical gloves.
Now … set about stripping the surface of your sideboard. Don’t panic, you won’t really be stripping it, you’ll just be pretending to.
Saturate your pad of steel wool with the Restor-A-Finish and get stuck into the top of your sideboard, use good firm pressure and work in fairly long, even strokes going back and back over the surface until it gives and begins to break-up. Wipe away excess gunk as you go with clean cloth. Discard it as it becomes filled with gunk and replace with fresh cloth.
You will begin to see a nice, satiny, mellow surface emerge, keep it going until you begin to see the look that you know is as good as you’ll get beginning to make itself clear to you. Stand back, take a breath, grab fresh, clean cloth and wipe the surface dry.
Go to bed or go out, forget the job until the next day.
Next day: Apply a good even coat of Feed-N-Wax to the whole surface and let it dry for an hour or so. Come back and buff it dry. Burnish it, rub it until it looks good.
Then repeat the process if you feel it needs it.
Give it the works, you will be rewarded. What you end up with will be so much better than that dark, unforgiving accumulation of old polish, caked shellac, dirt and silicone.
Regards,
David

Update from customer
Hi David,

Just to update you on the progress of my sideboard. I have used a whole can of Restor-A-Finish, and still have one side to go. However that side is against the wall and can wait till I get another can. I still cannot get the marks off the top of the sideboard - I've got the gunk off, the colour is right, but there are still marks, one of which is, I think, a burn. I've polished it all with the Feed-N-Wax, and it is looking a whole different piece of furniture. It gave the term "distressed timber" a whole deeper meaning!

I am attaching some photos to show you the difference. Photo 1 is the sideboard before any work. In photo 2 I have used the Restor-A-Finish on the centre panel only - see the difference. Photos 3 & 4 show the sideboard polished and gleaming!

When I get another can of Restor-A-Finish and do the hidden side, do you think I should go over the rest of it again? Is it likely that more will come out? And what should I do with the top? Even if I leave it and do no more, it is SO much better, but if possible I would like to get more of the marks out.

Thank you so much for taking the trouble to give me advice. I would be more than happy to endorse these two products, I think they are just fantastic.

Vera
(Please view pictures….)

Photo 1

Photo 2

Photo 3

Photo 4

Further Response from Howard Products.

Hello again Vera,
Well, you should be feeling very good about your accomplishment. You have saved yourself hundreds of dollars and the piece looks to have a real glow of good health and good care about it. If it were me, I wouldn’t worry too much anymore about the marks on the top. From what you are saying they seem to be pretty well indelible. Burns in wood for instance, are impossible to remove apart from deep sanding or replacement of sections of wood. Either treat the marks as patination and live with them or you could wax the top surface with Citrus Shield Coloured Wax. Looking at your sideboard I would recommend Golden Oak. With this product you can in fact, build a surface which may disguise the marks to a good extent. You spread a thin coat of the wax as smoothly as you can (it applies like butter) to the surface and allow it to dry for a day or so. When it is dry spray a little orange oil onto a cloth and burnish it into the waxed finish trying not to remove it but simply to smooth it. Then you dry it off and apply another smooth coat of Citrus Shield and wait another day for it to dry and repeat the procedure, then apply a third and final coat. After this coat has dried you take a mechanical buffer, an electric drill with a lambswool buffer attached or even a car polisher of the kind you can pick up for $30 from Supa Cheap autos would do. Now, using high friction you buff that final coat to a lovely sheen. The wax should be thick enough not to break through to the original surface and should mask the marks quite well. The only other treatment I could advise is to use Restor-A-Shine on the marks. By using the Polishing Compound first and the Burnishing Cream second you could buff that marked surface to a lovely glowing finish.

Citrus Shield is $45.00 per tin (expensive but incredible) and Restor-A-Shine both types are $35.00 each for 473ml bottles or $25.00 each for 236ml containers.

Thanks and good luck,

David

PS: Generally speaking you don’t use Restor-A-Finish again having once treated something. However people do go over pieces that have been previously done and continue to uncover more hidden grain and further work away bad blemishes. However the deeper you go into your piece the more you will break away and remove original polishes and stains. Sometimes this is the best thing you can do and sometimes it works against the project. You’ll have to be the judge.

I bought some Orange oil and Citrus Shield for our redgum kitchen benches on a recent trip to Melbourne and both my partner and I LOVE the outcome. They look terrific and I am so pleased that I have used these natural products.

Danielle. Bega NSW

Ten years ago you told me about the hazards of Linseed oil. Well, I ignored your advice and my beautiful dining table became sticky and unusable. I came to your workshop again and I was convinced to try Orange Oil. It removed the gunk and your Feed-N-Wax gave the table a great new surface and brought up the grain of the wood. You saved my marriage!

Kerry. Raymonds Hill Qld.

I love your Orange Oil for use on absolutely every surface in my house. It smells great and my furniture literally glows. I once made the mistake of using a cheap brand. Never again!

Robyn. Nelson Bay NSW

Orange Oil creates a lovely ambience in our home. Our beautiful furniture glows with inner warmth. I actually buy it in 1900 ml containers.

Graham. Chatswood NSW

I’m an industrial arts teacher, my students and I use your unique products in class. My HSC boys are using your products in their senior years projects.

Kerry. Berrima. NSW

I have restored an old kitchen table using Restor-A-Finish and it came back like new.

All of my wood furniture is cleaned down with your orange oil and it is really excellent.

Pauline Rouse Hill Sydney

We rescued an old cedar book case from a blue bin by the road. Your Restor-A-Finish took off all the rubbish and the colour of that lovely old wood came to life again. It was really unbelievable!

David & Cassie Turramurra Sydney

I use a ton of your Restor-A-Finish in all colours. I also use a lot of Citrus Shield wax and Feed-N-Wax for restoration work. They are brilliant products.

Terry. T-Craft Woodwork. Taree. NSW

I really love Howard Orange Oil. I’m forever finding new and different uses for it.

John. Picnic Point NSW

I scratched an old walnut table really badly. I used Restor-A-Finish on it and it came up brilliantly. I paid $12 to come to the Sydney Wood Show just to tell you.

Carol. East Sydney.

I used Restor-A-Finish on my 1897 Singer sewing machine. At first I just wanted to repair a small area but the results were so amazing I just couldn’t stop. It’s compulsive! I’ve got several projects on the boil now.

Victoria. Renaissance Rocking Horses.

I love your orange oil. I used it on an old cabinet held together with metal surrounds.

It even made the old metal look good.

Arch. Panania. NSW

I’m converted! There are really no other products that come close to Feed-N-Wax and Orange Oil. I clean my furniture down with Orange Oil and follow up with a quick coat of Feed-N-Wax. It looks as though I’ve spent hours looking after my stuff but it only takes minutes.

Belinda. Gordon NSW

Hi, I live in Beerwah on the Sunshine Coast, Everything gets mouldy very quickly here in the wet season. I used your Orange Oil before when I lived on Phillip Island and I don’t want to use anything else. Can you please send me more? I'm going to be desperate soon as the climate here is not wonderful for my antiques.

Karen Parkin Beerwah Qld.

Thank you for your wonderful help. The first time I bought [and got addicted to] your orange oil was in Mildura. I found it in the orange shop, where just about everything was orange flavoured or scented. We now love this unique cleaner and polisher and we’d never use anything else on the furniture or woodwork in our house.

Karen and John Parkin Beerwah Qld.

I was really surprised at how easily your Restor-A-Finish removed felt pen marks, heat rings and scratches from our dining table. I did as you suggested and followed up with a coat of Feed-N-Wax for protection. So easy compared to the usual beeswaxes!

I now use your orange oil to maintain everything. Wouldn’t use anything else.

Eric. Bundaberg Qld.

Last year I saw your talk at the Brisbane Wood Show and bought your little trial kit. Well, everything worked exactly as you said it would and I’m back to buy some more.

Janet. Brisbane Timber & Working With Wood Show.

My job is with Bunnings who don’t yet stock your product but I’ve been using your Tung Oil and Feed-N-Wax on my Tasmanian Oak flooring in our new house in preference to any of the usual brands available. The result is beautiful. It gets quite a thrashing with my two little kids but we can cover most marks with a bit of your fabulous Feed-N-Wax.

Name withheld. (York) Wollongong.

I took your advice and ordered a bottle of your orange oil for use on my raw Jarrah table. After the first coat it was obvious that the result was going to be spectacular.

I’ve now applied two coats of Feed-N-Wax to the table and it is the most impressive piece of furniture we own. It is impossible to walk past it without running your hands over the grain. It is just beautiful. Many thanks.

John Bradshaw Adelaide

We would like to purchase more of your Feed-N-Wax. We love it but haven't been able to locate it where we live in Nevada USA. Can you send it to us?

Steve Hyatt

Reno, Nevada

By far the most important purchase I made at the recent Gardening Show at Homebush was your Feed-N-Wax. It certainly revitalises my furniture but just as importantly it revitalises me. I’m 86 years old and Feed-N-Wax has enabled me to do things that only hired help could do in the past.

With gratitude.

Lorna Wilton NSW.

Feed-N-Wax has indisputably revived my furniture but do you know that it is also wonderful on shoes, handbags, metal ornaments and a whole range of odds and ends?

Lorna. Wilton. NSW