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Product Aftercare


polishing chess board

All of our products will be sent finished, waxed or polished. Over time, however, the sets may require some preventive maintenance and care to preserve them in their original condition. Certain products may require more care than others with various cleaning and preservation techniques. Listed below you will see our recommendations on how to care for your chess set.





Chess Pieces

Polished Wooden Chess Pieces

polishing chess pieces

Typically, wooden chess pieces are finished with a thin natural coating such as shellac – that permeates the wood grain and provides a protective barrier. Care for your wooden chess pieces is very simple – polish the wooden pieces with a dry lint-free cloth. Additional coatings such as polishes or waxes are not necessary as the originally applied shellac is quite durable. Should the pieces come into contact with some type of liquid, simply clean carefully with a damp cloth, and buff dry with a lint-free cloth.





Chess Boards

chess aftercare products

Solid Wood Gloss Lacquered Chess Boards

Solid wood boards are typically finished with a thick coating of lacquer such as nitrocellulose or melamine. Older boards were usually coated with solvent based lacquer and newer boards with more environmentally sound acrylic based lacquer. Regardless, the method of aftercare is identical – simply clean with a dry lint-free cloth. For more persistent contaminants use a damp cloth with a mild detergent, and run over it with a dry cloth.
Lacquer may lose some of its lustre or become lightly scratched over time. Here you have the option of polishing out minor scratches, or improving the sheen of the entire board surface. Use a small dose of an automotive scratch removal cream such as Meguiar’s®, focusing on one area of the board at a time. Use circular motion with light pressure. Once finished, buff the entire surface with a lint-free cloth. Do not use strong oil based or ammonia based cleaning solutions as they are too abrasive and corrosive to lacquered finishes.

Solid Wood Satin or Matte Lacquered Chess Boards

The care of these boards is very much like the care recommended gloss for lacquered boards. Dust off the boards on a weekly basis. Dirt or light deposits can be removed with a damp cloth with a light detergent.
NOTE: It is not recommended to attempt to polish or remove scratches from matte finished boards. The act of polishing will smooth out the matte finish resulting in the treated area being more lustrous than the original matte finished area.

Solid Wood Polished Chess Boards

Solid wood boards are usually finished with beeswax or equivalent. This type of wax begets a beautiful surface and reasonable protection for a limited time period. Therefore, we recommend the application of high quality beeswax, such as Briwax®, every six months. Apply a small dabbing of the beeswax with a lint-free cloth using a circular motion with light pressure. Once finished allow the board to dry for 15 minutes and buff off any excess wax with a dry lint-free cloth.

Veneer Wood Gloss Lacquered Chess Boards

Veneer gloss lacquered boards can be treated in the same fashion as gloss lacquered solid wood boards. Take note that most veneer boards do not have quite the same thickness of lacquer coating as their solid wood counterparts, therefore extra care should be taken if using polishing products to remove minor scratches or blemishes.

Veneer Wood Satin Lacquered ChessBoards

These boards require the same care as Satin Varnished Solid Wood Boards.

Veneer Wood Polished Chess Boards

Polished veneer wooden boards require identical care as a solid wood naturally polished board.


Folding Chess Sets

Gloss Lacquered Folding Chess Sets

Gloss lacquered folding chess boards require minimal care. As required, wipe the surface with clean lint-free cloth. Remove persistent contaminants with a damp cloth with a mild detergent. Scratches or buff marks may be removed with a quality automotive scratch removal product such as Meguiar’s®.

Polished Folding Wooden Chess Sets

Polished wood folding sets are typically finished with a light coating of beeswax. Reapply a coating of beeswax, such as Briwax®, every six months. Once dried, after 15 minutes, buff off with a lint-free cloth.




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