How to clean old wooden molding planes??

[Jim Neeley]

What's the best way to clean old (100-200yo) wooden molding planes, for the wood and the blade?

On one end would be an abrasive , and on the other something like eucalyptus oil which I know is used by some to clean old uper-valuable violins.

Somewhere in the middle I figure there's the best solution. I wouldn't want to make it look new but with it arriving as a "old stored used" plane, I'd expect that any way or other protection would be long gone.

I've been talking with Patrick Leach..

[Zach Dillinger]

Lee Richmond of The Best Things recommends that you do nothing more than give them a good rubdown with a high quality paste wax. I agree. The solvent in the wax will gently clean the wood and the wax will help protect it. It is reversible.

[Jim Neeley]

Thank you, Zack..

Are there some waxes that work better than others? I have Johnson's paste wax but wonder if it has the proper amount of solvenst for the best result.

Jim

[Zach Dillinger]

I'm sure you could spend a lot of money on a high end wax, but I use Johnsons on my planes with good effect. Just don't use steel wool on them. A nice soft cloth and a slight bit of paste wax, then rub the wax out, let it dry, then buff with a clean soft cloth. Works great. Here is Lee's guide to cleaning tools: http://thebestthings.com/toolfaqs.htm

[David Weaver]

I never noticed a difference with the waxes. I don't have any regard for my tools sometimes (as in i'm not trying to keep them valuable), but I wouldn't sand a vintage tool, it'll be ugly. I usually use a white scotchbrite to apply the wax or to rub tung oil on a very dried out plane, and observe as i'm going along. if the plane is really dirty, i might go to gray, but if it looks too aggressive, I back off. I'll apply wax with the same thing.

Makes no difference what brand the wax is.

[john brenton]

For some reason, anymore the only paste wax they sell at the local cavernous retail stores is the "Johnson's finishing paste wax", that kind of a pinkish color. I don't like it. I miss the goopy brown strong and smelly stuff.

[David Weaver]

It sounds like a similar color to minwax furniture paste wax. I had that also and wasn't excited about it, though it does fine on furniture. It takes a long time to dry, but in its defense, it doesn't cross your eyes like briwax does when you open a briwax can.

[David Keller NC]

I use Butcher's Bowling Alley Wax from the BORG. Butcher's is more parafin and carnauba wax and less beeswax, so it is harder to apply but also considerably harder when buffed to a finish. Briwax contains a considerably greater beeswax concentration, so it's easy to apply, but a lot less hard when finish-buffed. A bit too sticky under one's hand when hard at work on a molding.

[Jim Matthews]

If the wax has a strong smell when you open the tub, that's a solvent flashing off.

I use Briwax with Mirlon polishing pads. The solvent liquifies the old finish, and the polishing pad helps buff it off.
Take care on any sharp profile - you don't want to round those over.

[Ryan Baker]

For some reason, anymore the only paste wax they sell at the local cavernous retail stores is the "Johnson's finishing paste wax", that kind of a pinkish color. I don't like it. I miss the goopy brown strong and smelly stuff.

You might be looking in the wrong place. The old brown paste wax is usually located with the cleaning supplies, not with the finishing waxes and other finishing products. It's still in all the big stores around me.

[Eric Brown]

Hi Jim. Others may frown on this, but there is a product called Scrubs in a Bucket that works well. They are a paper towel soaked with a fast evaporating solvent. Has a little grit on one side. I use this technique on the tools stored in a barn that were very neglected. Rust is a different issue. Just be sure to put something back on after cleaning. The wax technique doesn't clean as deep, but cleans and protects in one step.

Scrubs.jpg

Eric

[David Weaver]

If the wax has a strong smell when you open the tub, that's a solvent flashing off.

Yes, and that being toluene in the case of briwax. I don't read good things about it for brain cells, but an english friend of mine likes the smell enough to open the can and put it under his nose and fill his lungs the same way you might do with a morning cup of coffee!