finishing advice

[jimbhoy]

Hi i am glad i have found this thread and would appreciate some advice. i carve rocking horses and have had sucess with varnishing to date. however i have been given a lovely old coffe table top thatI have lightlysanded and beeswaxed. which looks ok when the wax is applied but becomes cloudy each time i coat it What am i doing wrong? I am loath to strip it back to original wood- any advice please
thanks jim cameron

 

[marcros]

probably the wrong wax. pure beeswax, or a beeswax polish is not really ideal because it is hard to get a good shine and the melting point is a bit low.

 

[Ollie78]

Have you tried buffing it with a polisher or a wool pad in a random orbit sander. It sounds like it needs buffing off more, maybe to do with the wax type as marcros says.

Ollie

 

[jimbhoy]

Have you tried buffing it with a polisher or a wool pad in a random orbit sander. It sounds like it needs buffing off more, maybe to do with the wax type as marcros says.

Ollie

 

[jimbhoy]

probably the wrong wax. pure beeswax, or a beeswax polish is not really ideal because it is hard to get a good shine and the melting point is a bit low.

 

[jimbhoy]

Thanks what would you suggest?

 

[marcros]

I would probably go with a microcrystalline wax. what I am not sure about is whether you need to remove every trace of the old wax first. beeswax should be removable with white spirit I think (but am not certain, so do some research) so it may not be a huge job.

The other thing that you dont mention is whether you sealed the bare wood before applying the wax. if you dont, it seems to suck it in and may make it look dull. Thinking further, this is probably the cause of the issue that you have although beeswax isnt great for the reasons i stated.

I would research how to remove the wax, then find a sealer that is suitable to go over wax (shellac based sanding sealer might work), then reapply the alternative wax.

Chestnut products are very good and are helpful. maybe give their technical dept a call.

https://chestnutproducts.co.uk

 

[pe2dave]

Cloudy can mean too much 'polish' applied? Try less and less on scrap pieces and see if it improves?

 

[Mark Karacsonyi]

marcros is most likely correct here. Take it back with white spirit and wire wool, check to see if it needs grain filling, prior to sealing. Then go for Polish application using 0000grade wire wool.
It may require sealing again after, to protect it from water damage - spillages or hot mugs etc.

 

[Peri]

It may require sealing again after ....

Can you seal a surface with wax on it?

 

[Brandon Bespoke]

Agree with the posts above that it sounds like the beeswax is the issue and microcrystalline wax could work better.

Brandon Bespoke
[email protected]

 

[mrpercysnodgrass]

Hi Jim. Wax is not a suitable finish for a table, as you are experienced with varnish I would use that. You will need to scrub off the wax already applied with white spirit and wire wool then two or three coats of varnish.