WWA Info Exchange

Hi all,

I made several small boxes with inset lid panels. Finished with danish oil and after a week or two buffed with paste wax. Problem is the wax on the lid panels look bad. If I hold them up to the light they're streaky and uneven. This isn't the first time so maybe I'm "wax challenged"! Anyway, I'd like to strip the wax and try again without harming the oil finish. Anyone know of good product or mixture that might work?

Thanks
Rich

If the problem is really just the wax, I'd suggest waxing again right over the first coat of wax. The new wax will soften/dissolve the existing wax and blend in.

RICH L: A no chemical approach would be to heat the surfaces with a hair dryer (not as aggressive as a hot air gun usually) then buff off the wax with a LOT of old T-shirt rags. In my head I have visions of these small boxes being given to others and chemicals may not "cure out" enough to have the odor completely gone. Vinegar or soap and water wash down and good rinse and dry may also work. Again Maybe another thin coat of wax and a really good buff out might also work if the new wax coat was really thoroughly and thinly applied and then thoroughly buffed out

_________________
Everything was new once.
newtooth 311
Rochester, MN

I would just keep buffing until I got a shine. Of course adding another coat would help too.
It is the buffing that makes for a good glow not the wax its self.

Rog

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Dont badmouth no strangers, they just friends you aint met yet.

An ounce of responsibility is worth a pound of State and Federal laws.

I spent most of my money on woodworking
tools and beer, the rest I just wasted.

Danish Oil can take a couple of weeks sometimes if the temperature is low and/or the humidity is high.
It may be that some of the oil hadn't yet cured completely.
It's possible the wax hasn't been completely buffed out.
No worries it should mix with the wax.

I'd start with the least evasive technique possible thus, my solution would be a combination of the above.

Heat with a hair dryer, then rub, rub, rub, rub, rub, rub, heat back to temperature, then rub, rub, rub, rub.
In other words, work it a lot.

If you find that the wax is not evening out, then likely you have some excess oil that didn't cure and you may have to strip the wax.
Easiest way is to wet a rag with Mineral Spirits and wipe the box down, exposing a clean side of the rag after several wipings.
Do this with several rags.
The MS should thin out both the oil and the wax such that they can be removed. But it will take plenty of fresh rags to gather the excess.
Take your time.

Then reapply the wax. Don't worry if there may still be some MS on the box, it will readily mix with the wax and even allow the wax to flow more easily.
Buff, buff, buff and buff some more.

I'd guess that you could do the whole process in the course of an hour.

And, post some pictures of your boxes when you're done!

_________________
~Dan.

Thanks for the replies. I've got the problem with 8 or nine boxes so maybe it's a good time to experiment with each approach.

I actually tried using a buffing wheel on them but it didn't help. I kept adding new coats so maybe I over did it. I'll post the results of my attempts at rewaxing them.

Thanks again

Rich L