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Thread: ren wax

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
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    lufkin tx
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    2,054

    Cool ren wax

    I have been making my own carnuba wax for years,mix it with 20% beeswax and real turpentine. been using various canned waxes also with good results. my question is if the ren. wax is worth the money. gee, i can't afford to buy everything in the catalogs.-------------old forester

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    South Central Michigan
    Posts
    90
    as what I understand, The material safety data sheets show that Renaissance wax is nothing more than plain show polish with one or two ingredients that are preparatory.
    on a personal note, I find that I don't have to apply it on the table of my band saw as much as I did with other waxes. Plus on items that gets handled on my sales table I don't have to wipe them down to remove fingerprints again, as much. I hope this helps.

  3. #3
    I can't compare the two as I started out with Ren wax. But, I have been very pleased, and a little goes a long way. The can I bought has barely been touched, and I suspect it will last for years. There are a couple of generics that are cheaper - Lee Valley has one.

  4. #4
    I like Ren wax.

    As to the material data sheets being similar for Ren and clear shoe polish... ingredients alone are not necessarily a revelation.

    I'd imagine that the MDS for pasta is the same for paper mache' paste. It's just flour and water, right?

    The preparation and production processes have a significant effect on the end results.
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  5. #5
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Raised in the US (elementary in Lawrence, graduated in Boulder). Now in Israel.
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    667
    Ren wax's main difference is being a micro-crystalline wax. Regular wax molecules are long chains. MC wax chains have branches. This gives the wax elasticity which in turn almost doesnt show fingerprints on waxed objects. It is commonly used also in cosmetic formulations. The production if such wax involves de-oiling, de-odorizing, removing its coloring and so on. In short, its as pure as a petroleum based product can get. Art objects usually prefer such wax also as in the process of purification acids are also removed, and these have an unwanted affect on the art.
    My view - microcrystalline waxes are somewhat of an overkill in our hobby BUT the need for tiny amounts at a time and the lack of fingerprinting are "nice to have".

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Goodland, Kansas
    Posts
    22,605
    I don't use carnuba or beeswax anymore. I have been using Ren Wax. Like Andrew if you have pieces that you show or are in a gallery with carnuba or beeswax the pieces have to be wiped down to remove fingerprints and with carnuba don't let water from like rain get on them. They are a pain to fix. Don't ask me how I know this.
    Bernie

    Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.

    To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funnybone.



  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Kapolei Hawaii
    Posts
    3,236
    I like Ren wax. As mentioned, a little goes a long way. I use it on my machines as well as turnings. Maybe 1/4 ways down on the can. Can't see buying another can in the near future.

  8. #8
    I recently made the switch to Ren Wax from using carnuba on the Beal buffing wheels and regular ole paste wax by hand. I have noticed that 1) I use very little Ren wax to do a project compared to the paste wax, 2) no finger prints and 3) the soft luster I get by hand buffing is more appealing to me. The only negative I will say is that it needs a day or two to air out afterwards. The Ren wax has a strong smell when freshly applied.

    Yes it is expensive (my container that is 1/2 the size of a can of corn) was $25 or something like that. But it doesn't take much and I believe that this can will last for years and years....so its really not that bad.
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    No, it's not thin enough yet.
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  9. #9
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Manassas, Virginia
    Posts
    889
    What everybody said....

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Harvey, Michigan
    Posts
    20,801
    I switched over to Ren wax a couple of years ago and haven't used carnuba since! Easy to apply - on the lathe or by hand!
    Steve

    “You never know what you got til it's gone!”
    Please don’t let that happen!
    Become a financial Contributor today!

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Eureka, Mo.
    Posts
    2,363
    A recent and delighted convert to Ren wax myself. I've also discovered, while roughing a bunch of very wet Walnut to bowls, that Ren wax does a much better job protecing my bedways from rust than my old Johnson paste wax ever did. And boy oh boy do the gouges ever slide over the tool rest now!

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Evanston, IL
    Posts
    1,424
    I have had the same experience as Bill B. that Ren wax protects the ways much better than anything else I've used. Being a bit of a cheapskate, though, I have a hard time using it for that purpose!

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