Waxing Lyrical

For years I have been experimenting and searching for an additive that would absorb more of the highly damaging UV while MOST importantly, not affecting the way our beeswax polish performs in any way. At the end of the summer in 2023 it was looking like I had cracked it. But how effective was it?

In a captivating episode of BBC's "Inside the Factory" viewers will be treated to an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at Gilboys, following an unexpected yet thrilling invitation from Voltage TV to feature our meticulous polish crafting process.

As winter approached in late November 2021, Simon received an inquiry that would soon spotlight our artisanal processes on national television. The proposal from Voltage TV ignited a flurry of excitement, leading to the swift arrival of presenter Cherry Healey and the BBC film crew at the picturesque Buckfast Abbey.

High above the Teign Valley, overlooking the Powderham estate with views reaching to the River Exe, Simon meets bee keeper Neil Graham.

Simon Gilboy started restoring furniture in his parent’s garden shed over 30 years ago. Gilboy’s then went on to become established as a furniture restoration company. Now we manufacture and sell our own beeswax furniture polish and leather balsam.

Well, it’s October half-term and the time has come for the new me to start buying Christmas presents. For the me of 2017 this would have been unheard of. Christmas present buying was relegated to week 2 of December after ‘School Christmas’ had taken place. 

Step-by-Step How-To Guide for restoring the worn-out finish on teak furniture. In this guide, I restore a set of Nathan nested tables.

The more Simon tells me, the more intrigued I am to find out more about these intelligent, efficient and productive creatures. It seems to me that there may be some practical applications to my own life. So begins my research and I soon discover that there are three types of honey bee...

So the time has come to dust off the jar of Gilboy's Leather Balsam which has been in the cupboard for many months. 
"Bring me back some of that shoe polish," I kept saying to Simon. 
"It's not polish, it's a balsam," would come the correction. I refrained from asking what the difference was. For many months Simon has been excitedly coming home and telling me about the new product he has been creating and how he had finally worked out that he needed to add more lanolin in order to perfect a balsam made from the highest quality of ingredients, the purest of components and that it would revolutionise the way that people cared for their leather.

I was rummaging around in the container just outside here. We have a large shipping container where we store all of our bits of old furniture that we use for repairs. And I stumbled across these two panels. Now look at these, two mahogany panels that are identical. I'm going to wax one and leave one. So we've got a before and after. People are always asking us about our polishes and why they're so good and why we as furniture restorers make them.

In this article I demonstrate how we remove an old french polish finish on a John Broadwood piano fall. It is then french polished to a high shine using entirely traditional methods taught to me as an apprentice by the Dartington Trust owned Staverton Joinery.

This procedure is very simple to follow and will give your wooden furniture a natural-looking protective waxed finish.

The complete story of our beeswax polish. Everything you ever wanted to know about Gilboy's Gold beeswax furniture polish. Including what beeswax is and how it is made by the bees.