Hi All,

I have to weigh in on the side of minimal treatment.

If the plane is dirty, gentle use of 0000 steel wool
seems to be the best solution for me, even if there are 
paint splatters on the wood.  If there is patina, it 
doesn't lift it, and if there is any roughness in the 
finish, it seems to burnish it smooth without altering 
the crispness of the edges, and wax goes on much more
nicely.

I follow the steel wool with a coat of Minwax 
polishing wax (the yellow-orangish stuff in the round can).

I hope the reason I haven't gotten negative comments on
the planes I've sold is because this cleanup scheme is
ok. (please tell me if this is not so)

I've tried linseed oil, which doesn't work for me for
two reasons.  A) it's too dark, and changes the color of
the original, and B) it takes way too long to dry - a 
serious consideration for those who sell planes and 
don't want to wait weeks before shipping them out.

Tung oil, it's been mentioned, is inconsistent.  I've tried
to use "tung oil finish" and maybe that's the problem for 
me.  Possibly because some planes are drier than others, the
tung oil soaks into the wood and becomes blotchy, or if the
wood is not dried out, the finish polymerizes and looks 
too much like polyurethane.  

Just another opinion.

Jim Cook
Newton, MA