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I have just finished up putting some danish oil on a couple boxes I just made. This is my first time using DO and it was really nice to use and it really brought out the colors of the wood (purple heart / maple / cherry). I would like to put wax over the DO, can I do that? I have both renaissance wax and paste wax, what would be the preferred one? I know if you go with poly over DO you have to wait several days for it to cure, but how soon can wax be applied.
Thanks, Bob
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I've put paste wax over DO after only a couple of days and didn't find a problem. Of course, waiting longer can't hurt so unless you are as impatient as I was I'd wait 3 or 4 days, and a week if the temp. is less than 60° or so. As for which wax, I have no experience with Renaissance wax so I can't offer any comment on that. Of the paste waxes I've used, I prefer the harder Butcher's wax over Johnson's. In any case, you don't need much wax. There was an excellent article in FWW several years ago about how to apply wax. The gist of it is to put the wax inside a soft cotton fabric, wind that up into a dauber, and then use that to apply the wax. The wax will migrate through the cloth from the heat of rubbing it on the wood and leave a very thin layer. Then buff that out after it has set for a few minutes.
John
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(06-14-2017, 10:00 AM)jteneyck Wrote: I've put paste wax over DO after only a couple of days and didn't find a problem. Of course, waiting longer can't hurt so unless you are as impatient as I was I'd wait 3 or 4 days, and a week if the temp. is less than 60° or so. As for which wax, I have no experience with Renaissance wax so I can't offer any comment on that. Of the paste waxes I've used, I prefer the harder Butcher's wax over Johnson's. In any case, you don't need much wax. There was an excellent article in FWW several years ago about how to apply wax. The gist of it is to put the wax inside a soft cotton fabric, wind that up into a dauber, and then use that to apply the wax. The wax will migrate through the cloth from the heat of rubbing it on the wood and leave a very thin layer. Then buff that out after it has set for a few minutes.
John
Wax over Danish Oil isn't going to be an issue so long as the DO has had a few days to start curing and isn't feeling tacky or even still pooling up out of the pores. Wax isn't going to be such as "air-tight" film that the DO can't continue to cure.
+1 on the method described. Works GREAT for flat and lightly decorated surfaces. Carvings, get out the old toothbrushes or similar to push the wax around. And the secret weapon to buffing out a medium to medium-high sheen is a horsehair shoe polish brush. Also works well on carvings and other tight spots similar to the way dry-brushing is the solution for getting excess stain out of tight corners.
Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things. -- G. Carlin
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Thank you guys, for the good info. I decided not to go with wax this time, since time is an issue and it looks good as is.
Bob
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(06-16-2017, 05:05 AM)bobs64ford352 Wrote: Thank you guys, for the good info. I decided not to go with wax this time, since time is an issue and it looks good as is.
Bob
I think you got the right answer yourself. I have never seen the point of adding wax over a finish. Any extra sheen or gloss gained from waxing will be transient. Over a relatively short time the wax will dry and oxidise leaving, at best, the level of finish you had to start with. Yes, you or the client can wax again but why bother? Much better to start with the result you want for the long term; this may, once the initial finish has hardened, involve cutting back with abrasive paper or steel wool to reduce gloss or burnishing to increase it.
Jim
