Antique wood carvings are art masterpieces found in various furnishings that have a functional purpose, not only a decorative one so they cannot be kept covered to avoid collecting dust. Displaying these carved wood pieces in your house is a delight for yourself, your family but also for your visitors. Despite the fact that antique wood carvings are incredibly beautiful, they collect dust like any other object in your house or even worse since they have tiny crevices and grooves where dust can enter and regular dusting tools cannot reach. The best way to maintain the aspect of antique wood is dusting regularly to avoid the dust to diminish their beauty. But when it comes to dusting, these pieces of art, you need soft materials, patience and a little bit of knowledge to make sure you do not scratch the wood. Even though the process of dusting the antique wood carvings is not a fast, easy process, you should try to dust your carvings on a regular basis to make sure they do not collect too much dust.
Use a Feather Duster
A feather duster is probably the best object you can use for dusting antique wood carvings. The feathers are gentle enough so they shouldn’t cause any harm to the wood. However, feather dusters are only good for large surfaces from where you can remove the dust easily. You can use them for wooden statues with antique carvings, antique carvings headboards, carved cabinets or detailed doors.
Use a Soft Bristled Brush for Small Spaces
While feather dusters are good for large antique wood carvings, they do not work for smaller pieces. The smaller antique wood carvings can be dusted using a soft bristled brush such as a paint brush or a make-up brush. These small brushes will allow you to reach into every single detail of the antique wood carvings while protecting the wood since they are soft enough not to do any damage.
Use Cotton Swabs for Deep Grooves
The best way to clean the deep grooves of dust is to use cotton swabs that can easily get into small, thin carved areas. To avoid spreading the dust around, push downward when you pull out the swab to drag the dust. Use multiple cotton swabs for different grooves to avoid spreading the dust from one groove to another.
Toothpicks for Tiny Spaces
If the cotton swabs are too big for certain antique wood carving details, toothpicks can come in handy. Make sure you wrap the end of the toothpick with a soft cotton fabric that will prevent the toothpick to damage the carving. Ideally, use flat toothpicks covered in a soft, cotton cloth. Clean all those minuscule grooves and crevices with a toothpick covered in cotton by using the same technique you used with the cotton swabs – push the toothpick in the groove or crevice gently and then slide it out to remove the dust. Change the soft, cotton cloth after each cleaned crevice or groove to make sure you’re not spreading the dust around.
