What's going wrong?

[Ron Williams1]

I finish all my Mesquite works with one coat of shellac and five coats of semi-gloss lacquer. The problem that I am experiencing involves wax. I bought a can of Briwax and used that on a table. Never could get it to shine...always had a glaze. So, I got a can of Johnson's Paste Wax...the kind Mom used on hardwood floors fifty years ago. It streaked and glazed up. My customer came to pick up his coffee table and was "rather reserved" in his praise (boy did my ego check out the sawdust on the floor). I tried rubbing the two waxes on, waited until they glazed up and went to work with a 12" buffer. Could not get a "professional looking" shine. What am I doing wrong???

Thanks,

Ron Williams

[Jim Matthews]

I have to wonder about the wax - has it separated from the solvent?
I like Briwax, but it reeks as the solvent flashes off.

How old is the can?
What is the ambient temperature, where you applied the wax?
What is the relative humidity? Wax with water suspended in it will appear cloudy - the wax surrounds the water droplets.

I apply my wax with a non woven polishing pad (Mirlon) - what was used for your coffee table top?

It maybe worthwhile to pop the top on a fresh can and run a test panel.

[Belinda Barfield]

Ron,

You might want to post this over in the Project Finishing forum. You'll probably get a lot more help. A lot of members on the other forums don't hit the OT forum very often.

[John Coloccia]

I'm sort of wondering why you're trying to buff semi-gloss. Also, how long did you wait? Lacquer can take a while to dry. If you hit it with a buffer too soon (or even not too soon), you can easily heat it up and cause it to move around....or burn right through it.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I tried rubbing the two waxes on, waited until they glazed up and went to work with a 12" buffer.

Buffer probably burned the wax. It's super easy to do that.
Wax on, wax off - by hand is all that's needed.

I'm w/John - why bother with wax at all w/a semi gloss.

[glenn bradley]

I also generally hand buff my wax. Unless you are getting a wax buildup from too much material, it should just let the finish underneath show through adding only a slightly softening glow. Is the semi-gloss noticeably glossier before the wax goes on?

[Phil Thien]

I'm sort of wondering why you're trying to buff semi-gloss. Also, how long did you wait? Lacquer can take a while to dry. If you hit it with a buffer too soon (or even not too soon), you can easily heat it up and cause it to move around....or burn right through it.

This. Five coats of semi-gloss isn't going to buff to a crystal clear shine.

[phil harold]

+1 on, Why the wax on semi?

five coats of semi-gloss will not look as good as 4 coats of gloss and a final coat of semi

[Ron Williams1]

The heat index has been running over 100 for the last month, 115 yesterday. So, I usually allow the last coat of lacquer to dry for a couple of days. I started waxing stuff because my mentor was in his mid-40's (I was 29) in graduate school. He had built a sawmill to deal with Mesquite. So, he told me to wax and buff everything I did as it would "feel" better to the customer. He was the pro, so I followed his directions. I'll try using an old towel and see if that will take the streaks out of a coffee table.

Hey guys, thanks for all the tips you all give out. I know I need to learn a WHOLE lot about woodworking.

Ron

[Howard Acheson]

Couple of things to consider.

First, the solvent/thinners in lacquer are very aggressive and can easily attack a shellac finish. If you are applying a heavy coat of lacquer, there will be more solvents attacking the shellac. Why are you using the shellac?

Second, which version of Briwax did you use? They make two. The first is called their "Original" which is intended to be used as a restoration wax. It contains an aggressive solvent called toluene which acts as a cleaner. Toluene can attack a newly finished surface where the finish has not had a couple of months to cure. Recognizing this problem, Briwax developed a new wax called "2000" twelve years ago. It contains mineral spirits as its solvent and is much nicer to a new finish.

You may be at the point where you will need to strip the finish and start over.

[Jim Matthews]

Couple of things to consider.

Second, which version of Briwax did you use? They make two. The first is called their "Original" which is intended to be used as a restoration wax. It contains an aggressive solvent called toluene which acts as a cleaner. Toluene can attack a newly finished surface where the finish has not had a couple of months to cure. Recognizing this problem, Briwax developed a new wax called "2000" twelve years ago. It contains mineral spirits as its solvent and is much nicer to a new finish.

That is the simplest explanation, encompassing most of the facts right there.