A reader wrote to ask how to bring the luster back to her vintage laminate countertops. Paste wax, maybe? To get the answer, I turned to expert Grace Jeffers. She is the writer, design historian and materials expert responsible for restoration of the Ralph Sr. and Sunny Wilson House – including its gorgeous Mondrian-style kitchen, above. Grace wrote back pronto:

Do use them with COUNTERTOP MAGIC.  DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT USE WAX. Plastics do not like wax, they like oil. In the Wilson house I used almonst an entire can of countertop magic for each 4 x 8 panel. Let it soak overnight and then polish with a clean cloth in the a.m.

Grace Jeffers

Readers, I actually bought some of this stuff — and my DH, the cleaner of the house — really likes it. We use the liquid spray, not the aerosol. We bought it from Amazon, as we could not find it locally: