Polishing Wax ?

[Dog]

Being a fan of Woodwax 22 I've tried several different ways to polish it when finishing a project.

Hand polishing: Lots of elbow grease required, ran out of elbow grease and was horrified to find that the strength in my pint lifting arm was seriously depleated by nightfall.

Machine polishing: Got the bright idea of using my Hitachi 9" angle grinder fitted with a neoprene pad and 7" lambs wool bonnet. Vibrations!!! It was like sticking an electric drill down your trousers, which I'm sure some would pay highly for such things but believe me every nerve ending in my body took hours to settle and the wax all but disappeared from the surface, pint lifting was not an option, I could lift it but it didn't make it to my mouth, most landed on the floor which got happy and started singing old war songs, then it got aggressive and trying to calm an aggressive floor after a drinking session is extremely difficult I can tell you!

Machine Polisher: Tried a friends machine designed for polishing, but more for polishing wax on metal surfaces such as cars and not really suitable for wood wax.

There must be something on the market that goes in the end of a normal drill and does a good job ?

 

[Terry Smart]

Hi Richard

Great opening line by the way!

Hand polishing waxes like WoodWax 22 shouldn't be that difficult, so perhaps before answering your question I hope you won't mind if I give a couple of tips which I'm sure you already know but may be of use to to others reading this.

Obviously, preparation is all important and although these waxes will work without a sealer using one does give a better result.
With this type of quick-drying wax it is important to only put on a thin coat; I find that using either a soft but open weave cloth (i.e. stockinette), 0000 Steel Wool or Grey NyWeb (our version of Webrax) helps to spread the wax evenly and prevent a build up.
Don't wait too long before buffing up, using a soft cloth (or Safety Cloth on the lathe). If you wait too long the wax can go very hard which makes it very hard to polish. I usually only wait a minute because I'm impatient.
If you want to improve the shine, wait fifteen minutes before applying another coat of wax.

As for making life easier...

We supply a selection of bristle brushes which are ideal for polishing wax. There are pictures of them on our website, and although they may look a bit too harsh for the job the bristle is specially chosen and does the job beautifully. They are popular in the pine trade where wax is used. They also last a long time.
Different versions are available, some of which are hand powered and others which fit into an electric drill.
Choose carefully which one you want for the job in hand. The hand ones are quite obvious and fairly multi-purpose, the drill ones not quite so.
The Drill Polishing Brush is best on spindles, the Drum Brush on flat surfaces and the Dome Brush is a mainly for 'fiddly' things but will, to a lesser extent, work on flat surfaces.

If all else fails, perhaps a long straw will help save your pint lifting arm?

(Would this be a good time to plug the gallery on our website to which pictures of items finished with Chestnut Products are invited?)

 

[Anonymous]

Interesting reply Terry

I have been using Black Bison for a few years now and wondered what your (imparital) view of Woodwax 22 is when compared to the Bison.

I am particularly interested in the 'toughness' of the finish.

Cheers

Tony

PS I have ordered some Woodwax to try out.

 

[Terry Smart]

Hi Tony

Thanks for ordering some wax, I'll be interested in your comments.

Black Bison is a very good wax, I can't and wouldn't want to knock it; the main difference between it and WoodWax 22 is drying time. WoodWax 22 is based on very quick drying solvents (but not harmful ones like toluene) which means that I suggest buffing it quickly rather than waiting the twenty minutes I believe Black Bison recommend.
Also, our wax will work on bare wood whereas Black Bison isn't as effective, the reason being that ours dries before it can all soak in whereas the Black Bison stays wet longer and will sink into bare wood.

I can't really comment on the toughness, I would imagine that there is not much to choose between them to be honest, although I'm not sure of the wax make-up of the Black Bison. WoodWax 22 is a blend of mainly Beeswax and carnauba Wax, the latter of which makes the finish harder-wearing and resistant to finger marking etc.
You might be interested to know that we are currently working on a Top Coat for Wax (I think we need to work on the name too!) which will make the wax finish much more heat and water resistant without detracting from the look.
Watch this space!

 

[frank]

richard you can get a lambs wool pad that fits on your ros i had one for my b&d and it wont give you white finger .

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Terry

 

[Midnight]

<chucklin...

buggered drinkin arm.. sheesh.... shouldn't happen to a Dog.. :wink:

I bought one of them dead cheap auto polishers specifically to maintain a wax finished elm table in the living room; it copes with it pretty well. No vibration white finger... and no drunk floors neither...