Wax?

[Aram]

When do you apply wax as finish on your projects, and when do you not? By "you," I mean you personally -- your own philosophy. I've never used it. About all I know is that Krenov used it sometimes, and other woodworkers use it sometimes.

Also, what brand do you prefer and why?

Thanks!

[hbmcc]

Years ago I slopped nearly a gallon of Thompson's Waterseal onto wood framing for a fishing raft. The active ingredient then was probably paraffin, but it did penetrate. Worked great for years! Never as well thereafter. In fact paraffin (wax) attracts black mold. Wax is not a good outdoor finish; actually, terrible.

Rarely used indoors. As a food safe finish, but there is an ambivalence to using it on wood cutting boards--odors either way--so I went darkside and chop on plastic now. Used on weathered surfaces for a non-finish look. Hand tool woods. Never on a wear prone surface needing headache maintenance.

The "Erma Bombeck" guide: Use wax where you don't want the drudgery of using it again, and again tomorrow; not to mention damp attacks. It's why I have stainless spoons instead of Mom's sterling.

Experiment with carnauba and bees/paraffin percentages. Highland Woodworking has a pretty standard basic mix.

I'm a Johnson's and towels floor waxing boy. Works on a plane soles too.

[C. in Indy]

I stumbled onto BriWax (dark brown) as a way to obscure a most disappointing dark water-stain I had on an Oak piece that I'd made. I was really happy how it worked. I've used Briwax a lot of times since then, and similarly some of the tinted waxes from Howards, which don't have the toxic toluene.

At the Indy Woodworking show a couple of weeks ago, a Fine Woodworking presenter said carnauba wax is a good water-repeller. I've read the exact opposite many times. So... as you said, I do what I like, and I like wax!

[JR1]

I've played with wax. It does give a nice feel, but provides little to no protection for the wood and can be a PITA to keep looking good. I've done a couple projects for folks who like it and so far the best I've found is Butchers Bowling Alley Wax . They also make Renaissance Wax which is also very good. The only thing that I recommend wax for is as mixed with MO for cutting boards etc. There you want Bees Wax or paraffin—do NOT use other waxes as they may be toxic. Wax needs to be rubbed out really well with a polisher of some sort. A ROS will work but an auto polisher is better.

Reasons to use wax:
Nontoxic finish.
Feels good.

Reasons to not use wax:
Provides little protection.
Can be a PITA to maintain.
Other more durable easier to apply finishes look better IMHO.

[SteveS]

the minwax can i have in my cabinet gets used on the iron surfaces. I don't recall that last time I used it on a project.

[JustinTyson]

Yes, most all of my furniture gets a coat of paste wax as the final layer of finish.

[Rob Young]

JustinTyson said:

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Yes, most all of my furniture gets a coat of paste wax as the final layer of finish.

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I prefer the sheen of a waxed finish over anything glossy.

I don't find it hard to maintain. Dust and if it looks "tired", rewax. To my standards, "tired" takes about 2 years.

Small boxes that may get handled more, it wears more quickly.

Depending on the wood I'll use anything from Johnson's Paste Wax (the stuff for floors, seems pretty tough) to straight bees wax (a good grain & pore filler), to dyed waxes by BriWax (a good contact high, so have some ventilation).

Frequently I'll apply one of the colored waxes to get a partial grain fill and then topcoat with shellac to seal it in and then possibly use a clear or light wax over that. Seems like a lot of work but really, goes very quickly.

[Aram]

Thanks everyone. Rob, I think you told me what I had sort of suspected but not been sure of.

"I prefer the sheen of a waxed finish over anything glossy. "

Thanks!

[C. in Indy]

There was a Fine Woodworking article comparing several waxes recently. I still haven't bought any Renaissance Wax (which was their favorite), but I decided to get a bit of the non-silicone Angelus shoe wax. Here was my elbow-grease, bug-shellac, and shoe-wax results! A pen is a hand-tool, right? [Desert Ironwood]

[Derek Cohen]

My favourite is Howard's Wax-N-Feed for indoor furniture. It contains carnuba, goes on and buffs easily, and leaves a long lasting clear and bright finish.

Regards from Perth

Derek