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Thread: Which wax?

  1. #1
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    Which wax?

    I have a small spalted silver maple bowl with very nice color varioations I would like to preserve. I'm afraid oils or poly are going to subdue the greys and the little bit of orange too much; so I'm thinking a wax. Any favorites?
    Thanks.

  2. #2
    I'd use a blonde shellac or lacquer. Wax is nice for some things, but if grain accentuation and fidelity is what yr after, a clearer finish would be IMHO superior.

  3. #3
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    Prashun I hadn't considered either of those. Would a wax finish darken or mute the color? Still in my,(eternal), learning curve here! I've handled a few waxed bowls and liked the feel very much. Also a consideration.

  4. #4
    I've used de-natured walnut oil and WOP on 2 different silver maple bowls without any noticeable subduing of the colors.

  5. #5
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    Personally I find most of the time the oil (or even just shellac) brings out the color variations more (and most of the time I like that ). Most will darken them somewhat (some oils react more than others and some seem to be somewhat light reactive - I've had some interesting results with leaving pieces coated in walnut oil out in the sun for a couple of weeks).

    If you want close to zero change in the current colors my personal choices would be:
    • rattle can lacquer, clear. This will leave a lot of gloss depth and will like being sanded back out to say 2000 grit. May make the piece look a bit "plastic" if not carefully done.
    • renaissance wax. Quick, easy, re-coatable. Doesn't put a lot of "depth" on the piece but leave sort of a light "gloss" on the top if you've sanded to a high grit and then polish/buff the wax after it dries. Personally I almost always put it on top of a bit of oil (left to dry for a week or so between) but have done some pieces with just wax.
    • General Finishes Wood Turners Finish (clear water born poly - note they have a clearer one and a more amber one). This is somewhat between the previous two, dries fairly hard and clear, you can control the level of build fairly easily. Probably the closest to a solid top coat "no finish" look I've found.


    I'm sure there are others that are as good or better.

  6. #6
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    I used and researched waxes years ago. A good carnuba will change the color less than any finish. It's what the 400 year old French antiques that look like new, were finished with. You can get a gloss like lacquer but only on very hard woods. Very labor intensive to get this spit shine look and it will water spot like crazy. I still like it over lacquer finishes buffed on very thin.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by robert baccus View Post
    I still like it over lacquer finishes buffed on very thin.
    Bob are you saying you prefer carnuba to lacquer, or prefer it on lacquer?

  8. #8
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    I greatly prefer lacquer--much easier especially used over sanding sealer to close pores ect. Buffed carnuba on small pieces of tropicals is very pretty and easy. Carnuba is far easier to use thinned down with a bit of turpentine and 25% bees wax to your desired consistency.

  9. #9
    I like Crystal Clear from Staples Wax get it from Woodcraft. It's basically carnuba wax thinned with a chemical NOT bee's wax Bee's wax will leave finger prints, if used correctly no finger prints will show-up on your turnings. I think it is what they say it's crystal clear
    Just my $.02
    Comments and Constructive Criticism Welcome

    Haste in every craft or business brings failures. Herodotus,450 B.C.

  10. #10
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    Yeah, Harry--that's good stuff too. Another furniture/floor wax that is mostly carnuba is Tree WAx. It is presoftened. The bees wax is bad about fingerprints but combined with carnuba/turpentine it's very hard and no prints. I have a copy of a finishing book written by Louis-14 and he covers all the old high class finishing methods from the 1600's. There was a flood of new woods, resins, oils, and waxes introduced from the new world and it was a revolution in furniture and finishing. Often called the "Columbian revolution" it was also a flood of foods, bacteria. weeds and diseases.

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