With the year coming to an end, it’s time to do a little tidying up around the house to give 2015 a fresh start. If you have some wood surfaces that need polishing, this Simple Citrus Furniture Polish is easy to make and leaves wood looking refreshed. Made with a combination of beeswax, olive oil and castor oil, this polish is firm yet spreadable. Castor oil gives the polish shiny properties, and yellow beeswax creates a solid texture.
With a small amount of Orange Valencia and Lemon essential oils, this polish smells bright, clean and spring-like. I used this polish on my cutting boards, and they look brand new. To use, apply wax onto a paper towel or rag, and apply to the wood. Massage the polish in and remove any excess. Check out the 9 Bar Birchwood Mold below, one half has been polished and the other has not. What a difference a little polish makes!
What You’ll Need:
.7 oz. Yellow Beeswax
1 oz. Castor Oil
2.2 oz. Olive Oil
2 mL Orange Valencia Essential Oil
1 mL Lemon Essential Oil
4 oz. Candle Tin
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TWO: Add Orange Valencia Essential Oil and stir to combine.
THREE: Add Lemon Essential Oil, and stir to thoroughly combine.
FOUR: Pour the mixture into the candle tins, and allow to cool for several hours.
Once the wax is fully cool, it’s ready to use! To use, apply the wax to a paper towel or rag and apply to the wood. Massage the wax into the wood and wipe off any excess.
- .7 oz. Yellow Beeswax
- 1 oz. Castor Oil
- 2.2 oz. Olive Oil
- 2 mL Orange Valencia Essential Oil
- 1 mL Lemon Essential Oil
- 4 oz. Candle Tin
- Pour the olive oil, castor oil and yellow beeswax into a small heat safe container. Heat in the microwave using 1 minute bursts until fully melted. Be careful when removing from the microwave, as it will be very hot!
- Add Orange Valencia Essential Oil and stir to combine.
- Add Lemon Essential Oil, and stir to thoroughly combine.
- Pour the mixture into the candle tins, and allow to full for several hours.
- Once the wax is fully cool, it’s ready to use! To use, apply the wax to a paper towel or rag and apply to the wood. Massage the wax into the wood and wipe off any excess.
Can this be used on cutting blocks?
Hi Emma!
This can be used on wooden cutting blocks! We’ve used it on cutting boards and it makes them look nice and clean. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Can this polish be used with bone inlay furniture?
Hi Emma!
We haven’t tried this polish on bone inlay furniture, so I’m not entirely sure! I would recommend testing a small amount on a discreet part of the furniture to see how it works. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hi, I was wondering if I could substitute jojoba oil or sweet almond oil for castor oil? Also could I use regular fragrance oil instead of essential oil? Thank you.
Hi Jasmyn!
You can! We love the castor oil because it adds a nice shine to this polish, but sweet almond or jojoba oil would work as well. It will change the consistency a little bit, so a small test batch may be helpful. 🙂
Sweet almond oil: https://www.brambleberry.com/Sweet-Almond-Oil-P3205.aspx
Jojoba oil: https://www.brambleberry.com/Jojoba-Oil-Golden-P3219.aspx
Also, you can use a fragrance oil if you like! We have some great clean scents that would work well with this recipe. I’ll include a link below. 🙂
Clean scents: https://www.brambleberry.com/Clean-C168.aspx
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Thank you!
You’re welcome Jasmyn! 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Love the natural polish idea, but don’t have any citrus essential oils. What other oils will suffice as substitute? And can it be placed in a plastic jar?
Hi Emma!
You can use any essential oils you like in this recipe! Lavender 40/42 Essential Oil would give this polish a nice clean floral smell. 🙂
Lavender 40/42 Essential Oil: https://www.brambleberry.com/Lavender-4042-Essential-Oil-P3664.aspx
You can put this polish in a plastic jar. However, the wax will need to be cooler than 140F when you pour it. Any hotter than that typically melts or warps plastic. Hope that helps!
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
So I wanted to get some of the ingredients to try this but notice you are out of stock on the yellow beeswax. Any difference if I choose the white beeswax instead or should I wait for the yellow to get back in stock?
thanks!
Hi Jeanette!
White beeswax would work well in this recipe as well! It is similar to yellow beeswax, except it is bleached. This means it is white in color and has a less noticeable smoky smell. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
White beeswax: https://www.brambleberry.com/Beeswax-White-P4211.aspx
Love this and thank you for adding the print feature which is one of the things I thought would make your tutorials easy to print off.
Hi Michelle!
I’m so happy you enjoy the recipe! We really love the printable recipes too. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I always thought that the only oil you should use on your permanent wood surfaces was mineral oil as it doesn’t spoil. Any issues with the castor/olive going rancid that you’ve noticed? Thanks!
Hi Jaime!
We haven’t noticed any problems with rancidity. We recommend wiping any excess polish off after you’re finished, that way there’s no excess which could possibly go rancid. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
We have a lot of natural wood surfaces in our home. I’ve been looking for something like this; can’t wait to try it. Any idea if it causes build-up like some of the commercial stuff does? Thank you for all your great ideas!
Hi Dottie!
We tried this out on our wood molds and didn’t notice any build up. Just make sure to wipe off any excess after the polish has been massaged into the wood. Have fun making it! 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
hello can i use this polish on leather couch it doesn’t say it or do you have any recipe for leather furniture polish please
Hi Sandeep!
Hmm, I’m not entirely sure! Leather requires a specific type of cleaner, and I’m not sure if this recipe fits the bill.
I did a quick internet search, and it looks like there are several DIY leather cleaners that use a combination of vinegar and olive oil to clean their seats. We haven’t tested those, so you’ll definitely want to test it out before applying it on your furniture.
We will also keep that in mind for future tutorials! 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry