Value for money

This week Conor Popetakes a look at furniture polish

Tesco Value Furniture Polish

€0.51 for 300ml €1.71 per litre

Highs:This is cheap, ridiculously cheap, in fact and if you're not relying on your polish to bring out a lustrous shine on your priceless antiques then it is perfectly adequate. It smells quite strongly which creates the impression of recently polished furniture.

Lows:The liquid comes out in a very fine spray and while it cleans perfectly well, it did seem to need a whole lot of elbow grease to bring out anything that could remotely be described as a polished finish. And despite all Pricewatch'selbow grease, it left a lot of residue behind on the test surface which was prone to streaking.

Verdict:Good value if you work at it.

Star rating: ****

Mr Sheen Spring Fresh

€1.59 for 300ml

 €5.30 per litre

Highs:This is marginally cheaper than its main competitor and considerably more versatile (to be fair to Pledge, it also has multi-surface cleaners on the market). It is good at cleaning fairly grimy surfaces while leaving behind only a fine residue which was not inclined to smear. It also has "new Mr Sheen's Stainguard" which promises to protect surfaces but we were unable to test the veracity of the claim.

Lows:However, we were immediately able to debunk its claim to a spring fresh fragrance. While its smell is hardly noxious, there is nothing remotely spring-like or fresh about it. It is fine for everyday cleaning but failed to deliver much by way of a decent polish on the wood surfaces we tried it on.

Verdict:Lacked polish

Star rating: **

Malone's Lavender Wax Polish

 €3.99 for 200ml €19.96 per litre

Highs:Applied with a cloth like an old-fashioned boot polish, this is undoubtedly the most traditional of the polishes we tried. It is Irish-made and is silicone free. It has a subtle fragence that lingers without ever becoming overpowering. It soaks into the wood quite quickly and once properly applied and properly buffed delivers the best finish.

Lows:It's very expensive and certainly not the quick fix option. As it was the only one without a spray dispenser, and gauging accurately how much of it was needed on our cloth proved beyond the capabilities of Pricewatch, we ended up wasting a whole lot of it which added somewhat to the cost.

Verdict:Top quality but tricky.

Star rating: ****

Pledge Classic Beauty €1.49 for 250ml €5.96 per litre

Highs:This is a very familiar brand that is widely available. It has a pleasingly light fragrance and comes out of the can in a (comparatively) thick spray, making it easier to judge where the polish has been applied.

Lows:The sheen was mildly disappointing - more matt than glossy - and a lot more effort was required than we expected to get the test furniture shining. It might be classic, but a thing of beauty it most certainly is not.

Verdict:Fairly hard work

Star rating: ***

The Original Non Silicone Wood Silk

€2.49 for 200ml €12.45 per litre

Highs:If you'd said a week ago Pricewatch had a favourite polish we'd have laughed in your face, but now we are ashamed to admit we do, and this is it. It is made using beeswax, has a lovely old-fashioned and lasting smell and is silicone free (silicones can seep into wood and create a hazy finish called blooming, the can tells us). The best thing about it, however, was the remarkable ease with which it delivered an almost glassy finish - a couple of sprays and a half-hearted wipe, and it looked like we'd been polishing the furniture for hours.

Lows:It is a lot more expensive than the mainstream brands and probably a lot trickier to track down.

Verdict:Top notch

Star rating:*****