I absolutely love wooden… everything, really. Furniture, staircases, combs, floors, panelled walls, cutting boards, salad bowls, utensils, whatever. You name it, and I’d like to see a wooden version of it. Wood just has a fantastic sheen and natural character to it, and I far prefer it to plastic. Personally I think painting wood is a tragedy, but I’m sure I picked that up from my dad, who is a fantastic woodworker. He filled my childhood home with exquisite French doors, cupboards, and cabinets, all unpainted to let the beautiful wood grain shine through. That entire house has a lovely glow to it that comes from well polished wood. It’s wonderful.
Anyhow, the thing about wood is that is does need to be cared for. Especially when it’s getting a lot of use, as wooden cutting boards and salad spoons do, wood tends to dry out and lose its lustre. That is where this wonderful polish comes in. Made from olive oil (pomace) (USA / Canada), beeswax, and orange wax, it brings wood right back to life. And, best of all, the orange wax imparts a delicious orangey scent that helps deodorize cutting boards that have seen too much garlic as of late.
The polish comes together in a flash—melt everything together, pour it in a tin, and let it set up. That’s it! To use, buff it into tired looking wooden cutting boards, let it soak in, and then buff off any extra. The orange wax will stain light coloured fabrics, so be sure to use a rag.
Because the orange wax does have photosensitizing properties, I’d limit the use of this polish to kitchen implements that are washed relatively frequently—I’d be worried about a table taking on a bit of bleaching in the shape of the nearest window’s panes or something.
Orange Wax Wood Polish
15g beeswax (USA / Canada)
15g orange wax
35g olive oil (pomace) (USA / Canada)Melt everything together in a small saucepan over medium low heat. Let set up.
To use, buff onto wooden kitchen implements, let soak in, and buff off any excess.
If you don’t have orange wax, you can use 50g of olive oil (pomace) (USA / Canada) and 10 drops orange essential oil.
Dang Marie! Is there no end to your creativity? I certainly hope not! Thanks!
The thing I like best about your posts are that the recipes are fairly simple and straightforward with pretty easily obtainable ingredients.
Thanks so much, Deborah 🙂 And yes, sometimes I wonder if it’ll run out… fingers crossed that if I keep the fires stoked well enough I’ll be ok!
This is awesome! I’ve been using mineral oil to care for our fancy cutting board. Definitely going to try this!
Do—it’s also much nicer in the digestive track if you happen to eat some 😛
Marie, I also love wood everything. In fact, we are tearing out our carpet and putting in some laminate flooring. I’d love to have real wood, but we just can’t afford it right now, if ever.
We also have wooden cabinets, and a wooden hearth and mantle for our propane fireplace.
Thank you so much for this recipe. You really amaze me with all the knowledge you have, and you are so young!
Thanks so much, Deborah! Your mantle sounds absolutely lovely, I wish I had a fireplace 🙂
Hi Marie,
I made this last night and love it. All of my very dry wooden spoons look brand new and my very weathered coffee table looks fabulous! It brought the beautiful wood grain out and left a pretty sheen. Now on to see what else I can polish!!!
Thanks for the great post!!
I’m thrilled to hear it, Becky 🙂 Polishing wooden furniture and what not is such a fun chore, eh? It just leaves everything looking so wonderful that I find myself trolling the house looking for other things to polish 😛 Thanks for reading & DIYing with me!
This is great. I plan on buying a large wooden board soon to use as a pizza/bread prep board and general cutting use and would love to condition it with this.
However, i have several bamboo cutting boards that I use for everyday purposes. I love them and have had them for a few years. Could i use this wax on them too? If now, what do you recommend? Thanks!
There’s no reason you couldn’t use this polish on bamboo—it’s basically wood, too 🙂 Enjoy!
Quick question, doesn’t olive oil have a short shelf life? Won’t it go rancid , or does the wax help this from going bad. Also can you use coconut oil in the place of Olive Oil because this is the main oil in my home.
The shelf life of olive oil is said to be about 1 year, which I wouldn’t call short—shorter than coconut oil, but better than something like flaxseed oil. I’ve never had anything made with olive oil go rancid on me, including a balm I made back in 2011. You can use coconut oil instead for this recipe, but it is a much thinner oil so it won’t have the same enriching kick as olive oil for the wood (though I doubt the wood will care much, haha). I’d also drop the amount of beeswax by a gram or two as it’s solid at room temperature.
Thank You
🙂
hi marie. i made some wood polish last night with olive oil, lemon e.o. & beeswax and while i really want to use it i think i’m going to make a new one with jojoba oil (& orange e.o. so no photosensitivity) as jojoba oil has a shelf life of about 5 years. i am not sure how much of a concern the olive oil going rancid on the wood really is, but since i’m going to use it on a desk i think better safe than sorry. i have been reading and it sounds like many people seem to have no problem with olive oil in their wood polish, but i did read a person or two had oil go rancid while on their wood. i have had a salve with an organic olive oil go rancid just after a year and i used the oil shortly after i bought it. now, i’m trying to think what i can do with this oil since i added lemon e.o. any ideas you creative woman. 😉
i’m updating my own comment to say i think i figured out a good oil to use. i saw on another post you used mineral oil to finish your desk, but i didn’t want to use a petroleum product so i just got some fractionated (permanently liquid) coconut oil. it has an indefinite shelf life so now i don’t have to worry about rancidity at all. yea.
Good idea! 🙂
Hey Linda! I’d use it on cutting boards and other wooden utensils that get washed frequently—that way you don’t have to worry about rancidity ’cause you’ll have to replenish it frequently, and you can check the source polish before each application 🙂
Hi Marie
What can be used as a sub for the orange wax? It’s unavailable in my neck of the woods. Thanks!
Hi Mamasan—as per the recipe, if you don’t have orange wax, you can use 50g of olive oil and 10 drops orange essential oil 🙂
Hey Marie, another great recipe I can’t wait to try! Haven’t been disappointed yet 🙂 Meanwhile, I’m trying to work on a simple wood cleaner, and I’d love to have something close to the smell of Murphy’s Oil Soap… I’m assuming there’s some kind of citrus and maybe a pine or something, but your knowledge of EOs is far better than mine – any suggestions to get me started in the right direction? Thanks!
Check out d-limonene 😉
Hi Marie,
I am big fan of yours.. This recipe is so simple.. Just a question, Can We use it on wooden floor?.. We have a patch near our door which looks unpolished and dry.. Can I use this polish for that patch?
Hi Tanny! You definitely can, just be sure to buff it in well and then buff it off after letting it sink in for a while, or you’ll find that bit of floor gets dirty very fast 😛
I remember reading a post somewhere about taking orange rinds into an oil and letting it simmer for an hour or so then using it directly as a cleaner. I like your recipe with the beeswax better.
Would this work on bamboo cutting boards and bamboo tables?
Hey Penny! This will work on any kind of wood 🙂 The orange flavour will come through on cutting boards, though, so keep that in mind 🙂 I love it on cabinets and furniture, but stopped using it on cutting boards because the food I’d cut on them would taste like oranges until they’d been washed a few times 😛
Hi Marie☺ I just came across this recipe as I am waiting for my orange wax to arrive. My husband is an incredible woodworker and our house is almost furnished with his work. I guess you would like it! We are not young and our love of wood has been forever! When we sold our first little house the people painted over much of the wood and it made us feel so sad. But not everyone likes wood and that doesn’t make them wrong! I am looking forward to making this polish to refresh the cutting boards he has made for me and many others as well. Some, I actually haven’t used because they are so beautiful! I have your book and am in the process of making some of the recipes. Keep sending us your wonderful recipes and videos. It is a pleasure for me to read and watch and make them Thanks for sharing your gift.
I would definitely like it! I think homes with lots of wood feel so warm and cozy 🙂 Those people who painted over it don’t know what they’re missing! Thanks so much for reading and DIYing with me—I hope you love this polish!
Hi Marie. I can’t believe I didn’t see this recipe before, but I am so excited to try it! I did see in one of the above comments, that d-limonene was brought up. Can this be used with olive oil, instead of the orange eo? Thanks!!
Yes, that should work very well 🙂 Just make sure you’re following the italic notes at the bottom and not swapping the orange wax completely for d-limonene. Happy making!