Does anyone have the formula for a bees wax finish? I had it but it got lost.

 

Preston

I mix it about 4 to 1 oil to wax. I think you are supposed to do it by weight but mostly I just guess. Depends on if I want it buttery or firm

The only formula I have is rough based on about 8oz oil and a egg sized piece of beeswax

What they said^^^^^, there's no "perfect" mix. Adjust as needed.

What type of oil do you use?  Would it change depending upon the project?

Edited March 2, 20206 yr by Cal

40 minutes ago, Cal said:

What type of oil do you use?  Would it change depending upon the project?

Mineral oil from the grocery store. Located in the first aid isle. Usually stocked with the laxatives.

I wrote down the formula and lost it. There was 4 items bees wax, boiled linseed oil. varnish or tung oil, and ? I used it on the sewing machine cabinet I made for my wife 35 years ago. It has worn good.I had a tread on the cabinet here.

 

Preston 

Others will chime in, but the only thing I know of that's close to what you describe is Beeswax, MS (or turpentine, to dissolve it) and then BLO. But I've only used that on workbench tops....and it's great for that.

50 minutes ago, Fred W. Hargis Jr said:

I've only used that on workbench tops....and it's great for that.

The one I suggested is great for food safe surfaces

Absolutely! Without the solvents it's food safe. Do you melt the bees wax in a double boiler, then mix it with the mineral oil?

 

Edit in: I had to go back and check Flexner's book. I realize that all finishes are non-toxic (once fully cured), but I wasn't sure this meant food-safe. According to Bob, "all finishes are safe to eat off of or chew on once the finish has fully cured". I had wondered about the metallic driers in BLO and varnishes, but they are not a problem.

Edited March 2, 20206 yr by Fred W. Hargis Jr

All of this depends on what you put it on. If for a cutting board or other food contact I use mineral oil and bees wax. If not a food surface I use turpentine or mineral spirits , BLO and beeswax. Note turpentine has a nice strong smell. Either finish will need to be replenished .

There seem to be two threads:

- Bees' Wax and mineral oil for things like cutting boards or "charcuterie"  (a nod to @Fred W. Hargis Jr

 

- Bees' Wax and boiled linseed oil, usually with a thinner like turpentine and/or mineral spirits, as a polish or finish by itself

https://www.popularwoodworking.com/woodworking-blogs/make-linseed-oil-wax-finish/

 

 

What you do NOT want is to add vinegar with the linseed oil.

 

Article written by Donald C. Williams
Senior Furniture Conservator, Conservation Analytical Laboratory at the Smithsonian Institution

Drying oils, such as linseed, tung, or walnut oil, are a different matter altogether. These materials solidify, or "dry" through a process of chemical reaction with the air called oxidation. The drying process polymerizes the oil, making it increasingly intractable with time and more difficult to remove with cleaners or solvents. This is fine if oil is employed as the finish, but not good if it is used as a polish. By itself, having a polish which is difficult to remove would be irritating but not insurmountable. Unfortunately, this is not the whole story. As drying oils age, they tend to become yellow or brown. Also, drying oils are chromogenic (they become colored) in the presence of acids. In this instance the oil adopts the dark, muddy brown/black opaque appearance so prevalent in antique furniture. Traditionally, cleaning/polishing concoctions were comprised of linseed oil, turpentine, beeswax, and vinegar (acetic acid). This cleaning/polishing method, used widely even in the museum field until recently, was and is a disaster waiting to happen. The results of this approach are readily apparent to even the casual observer; a thick incrustation of chocolate colored goo which is neither hard enough to be durable nor soft enough to wipe off easily. Thus, due to the polymerization of the oil as it dries and the reaction of the oil with acetic acid, the furniture is left with an unsightly coating which is very difficult to remove without damaging the surface of the object.

33 minutes ago, kmealy said:

Thus, due to the polymerization of the oil as it dries and the reaction of the oil with acetic acid, the furniture is left with an unsightly coating which is very difficult to remove without damaging the surface of the object.

So this won't cut it??  Asking for a friend....

 

1 hour ago, Woodbutcherbynight said:

So this won't cut it??  Asking for a friend....

 

Are we going to have ro raid your shop and confiscate the contraband?

19 hours ago, kmealy said:

This cleaning/polishing method, used widely even in the museum field until recently, was and is a disaster waiting to happen.

 

I am guessing that this reaction is not very quick then?

Good info Keith, thanks.

20 hours ago, Woodbutcherbynight said:

So this won't cut it??  Asking for a friend....

 

Brought to you by 

On 3/4/2020 at 12:49 PM, Woodbutcherbynight said:

So this won't cut it??  Asking for a friend....

 

Pledge has silacone in it whch ruins the wood.  Do not use this product.

 

1 hour ago, Michael Thuman said:

Pledge has silacone in it whch ruins the wood.  Do not use this product.

 

Thanks. I was messing with @kmealy. He posted about that issue awhile back.  Myself I have never used it.

Edited March 6, 20206 yr by Woodbutcherbynight