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

[dustin wassner]

The first time I cleaned the whole table saw top with alcohol, dried, and applied wax and let sit for 30 minutes. Wiped off and it was extremely tacky. Tried it over again but wiped it off only after a few minutes and got basically the same result. What is the trick I'm missing? I put my mdf sled on the table and it hardly moves after I'm done...

[Bruce Page]

I have never left it on for more than a few minutes. I buff it out as soon as the wax starts to glaze over.

[dustin wassner]

what are you doing to "buff it out"?

[Marc Jeske]

Hmmmm..... I just always put it on a clean cast top that |I had just wiped down w like Acetone.

Alcohol should work as well.

Put on, rub in the wax in circles, let dry, maybe longer than you are.

Excess buffs right off pretty easily w old t shirts.

Not sure what your issue is. Marc

[Andrew Hughes]

Have you not seen the Karate kid? Wax on wax off.

[Robert Hayward]

I use nothing but JPW on my cast iron tops. I have tried numerous other products but have found nothing that works as well as JPW. Have never noticed a tacky surface. Is your can of JPW maybe not any good ?

[richard poitras]

Is your can of JPW maybe not any good ?

JPW lasts forever....

[Ben Rivel]

Cant say Ive had that problem with Johnson's, but maybe try Renaissance. I switched to that and havent gone back.

[Marc Jeske]

I think my can is 40 yrs old, stored in hottt climate for much of that.

Works just fine. Marc

[dustin wassner]

I only ask about what you mean by buffing it out because I was not sure if you use an electric buffer or just rub it by hand. I am putting a fairly thick layer of it on the whole surface and it is almost like it dries on and gets grippy after 20-30 minutes, at least to my mdf sled which I use almost constantly.

karate kid was just a little before my time...

[Matthew Hills]

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

[David Eisenhauer]

I have used JPW for many years and I believe that your problem may be too thick an initial coat and then letting it dry for too long. I wipe a thin coat of JPW on with a small piece of rag that lives inside the can, let it dry 5 minutes or so (not exact, just average guesstimate time) and use a dry cotton rag (t shirt) to buff it out. I do flip the rag around to clean/dry sides from time to time as I buff. When the rag stops grabbing and starts sliding effortlessly, the top is buffed. If I let it dry too long, it is more difficult to buff out. It leaves a very "slippery" surface that wood just glides on without hardly any effort and I tend to reapply when I notice wood not pushing as easily past the blade when using the saw.

[Bruce Page]

I only ask about what you mean by buffing it out because I was not sure if you use an electric buffer or just rub it by hand. I am putting a fairly thick layer of it on the whole surface and it is almost like it dries on and gets grippy after 20-30 minutes, at least to my mdf sled which I use almost constantly.

karate kid was just a little before my time...

Dustin, I usually use old soft cotton rags, by hand. I used the blue paper shop towels from Costco the last time and they also worked well. Depending on ambient temperature it should only take a few minutes for the wax to glaze up. The buffed out JPW is microns thick, there isn't any benefit to applying a thick coat or waiting 20-30 minutes before buffing. You're just making more work for yourself.

[Steve Jenkins]

I apply a thin coat and immediately buff it off with a rag. No waiting no problem

[Warren Lake]

used carnuba from car stuff. Its old, forgot the brand, can rusted out now in a plastic container and has mold on it. Machines are sometimes too damp it still work just a bit more work to it. Havnet had finishing issues from it though thinking about it doesnt seem right. Never heard of JPW will look it up.