tried johnson's paste wax. keeps leaving tacky surface. what am I doing wrong?

[jack duren]

I like Johnson's and recommend it, but some of the animals at work tend to put it on heavy and neglect to wash their hands afterwards is leaving finger prints in the wood when finishing.

We finally made the change..
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[Leo Graywacz]

If we're showing pictures of our wax products then....


One can will last quite some time, on the order of years for a one man show.

[Tom Paulley]

My trusty can of Johnson's paste wax is finally nearing its end, so I bought another can at Lowe's recently. Brought it home, opened it up, and thought "what the heck is this grey mess??" The cans are slightly different, but both say the are the original formula. I don't remember exactly how old my original can is, but a reasonable guess would be 20 years old. Anyone else's can of Johnson's look like this? The original smells nice (to me at least), the new one doesn't have much smell at all and has a much more liquid consistency. Not too excited to use this on all my cast iron tops and tools.

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[Leo Graywacz]

20 years is a long time and your original can likely dried out some. I have a can of Trewax that I've had for 6 years and it has definitely dried out. I've added Naphtha several times to reconstitute it.

Not sure about the gray issue though.

[Frederick Skelly]

Johnsons can feel a bit sticky if applied thick and not buffed out.

I'd recommend taking a small section that feels tacky and trying to wipe really hard with a clean rag, until you don't feel an obvious residue. The result should be a very thin layer of wax that your wood will glide on

Matt

+1. It gets tacky on me too. Matt's advice is good.

[al heitz]

JPW (Johnson's Paste Wax) - an old time favorite. I remember using it on chrome chair legs, furniture, nearly everything/anything that needed waxing when I was a kid in the '50's. One of my chores. Don't think it has changed much in all those years.

[Alan Lightstone]

Okay, think about this. You have just applied Johnson's paste wax to your hardwood floors and step out on them. Oops, your feet go one way and your a-- goes another! That's what would happen except------------------Johnson's puts an anti-slip agent in the wax to prevent this from happening. So, even though you keep waxing it never gets super, super slick.

Now, think about the bowling alley. You throw the ball and what does it do? It spins for several feet, then gains traction and hooks. Watch any bowling ball (thrown with a hook) and you will realize this is true. So what you want to buy is Bowling Alley Wax. I buy it several cans at a time and use it everywhere I want a slick surface.

Never use it on your floor.

Bowling alleys have oil sprayed on them from finishing machines in a specific pattern. The reason why the ball initially slides, then starts gripping and hooking has to do with the gradient oil pattern (thicker in the middle, and thinner towards the gutters, so that the ball self-corrects towards the pocket.

Here's a typical lane oiling machine (by AMF):

https://www.qubicaamf.com/images-1/b...a60a7b8a8.jpeg

I've never heard of an actual bowling lane being waxed, though there are a few companies that sell "Bowling Alley Wax". It's a misnomer. In a past life, I bowled professionally and was briefly on the PBA tour. FWIW, ancient history.

That being said, I think you're waiting too long, and not fully buffing out the JPW. I prefer CRC 3-36 to JPW, but the wax works too. Fine Woodworking magazine periodically tests all these for rust prevention and the CRC 3-36 has won on a couple of occasions.

[Doug Dawson]

20 years is a long time and your original can likely dried out some. I have a can of Trewax that I've had for 6 years and it has definitely dried out. I've added Naphtha several times to reconstitute it.

Not sure about the gray issue though.

My wife (the finishing expert) called up the J&J customer hotline a few years ago to ask about what is the expected useful lifetime of a can of JPW that had been previously opened. They looked it up and said, two to three years. They also sent us a sheet of coupons for every product that J&J ever sold. Good times.

[Doug Dawson]

JPW lasts forever....

JPW has special fixin's in it (secret solvents) that leech out over time, that would affect how it applies.

My MIL, dearly departed, thought toothpaste lasted forever. We found many unopened tubes, still in the original packaging, averaging thirty or forty years old. When opened, the contents were colors that are not otherwise known to man, and smells that you would ascribe to the atmospheres on distant planets.

So a grey color is nothing!

[Charles Lent]

"My MIL, dearly departed, thought toothpaste lasted forever. We found many unopened tubes, still in the original packaging, averaging thirty or forty years old. When opened, the contents were colors that are not otherwise known to man, and smells that you would ascribe to the atmospheres on distant planets

So a grey color is nothing!"

My good laugh for the day....Thanks, Doug.

Charley

[glenn bradley]

what are you doing to "buff it out"?

I just use a folded paper towel changing to a clean area frequently. I also start to wipe the surface as soon as the wax starts to haze.

[Rege Sullivan]

This goes against the conventional wisdom but I keep a can of JPW with a green 3M pad in it for cleaning up metal. Mostly castiron tops but tools and hardware to. It cuts grease, removes surface rust and removes some adhesives. I put it on thick and scrub with the 3M pad then wipe it off with a paper towel then buff it. I keep a seperat can clean for other uses where a little grease or rust would get into the surface.

For a slicker surface on just about anything rub warm bees wax on a cotton rag, wipe it on a clean surface then buff with a clean soft cloth... slicker'n snot!

[Bill Dufour]

I used to have a can of wax, made in Britain, that was very easy to use. It had a turn tub riveted on the side to open it. Like a can of Kiwi shoe polish. The rivet broke off and air leaked in so it dried out. It was a light blue can with white lettering. I left the rag in the can so it was quick and easy to wipe down a table top or fence when needed.
Bill D.

[Randall J Cox]

Sounds like you're putting on too much. Just a slight amount rubbed in and buffed off with a dry cotton anything and thats it. No mystery. I've been using for over 40 years, same can, no issues... Good luck. Randy