Thread: Beeswax

You have any number of ways of mixing beeswax, it all depends on what you want.

Some turners in particular use beeswax neat and buff it into the finished work. Just apply the wax to the spinning work then it melts into the wood. Finally buff it with a cotton rag.

Others will mix it with an oil and turps to produce a soft paste that you can apply to your finished work.

What I do is use a 1/3 mix of wax, oil (linseed or tung) and gum turpentine. The gum turpentine gives it a eucalyptus scent. You may also add any other oil such as citrus oil to enhance the smell. Not sure that it changes the properties that much. This mixture gives it a nice past consistency that is easy to apply and provides a nice natural finish.

John

Making some wax polish is on my list of things to do, and this blog has a fair list of recipes and should give some sense of the range of options: The Barn on White Run | Custom Blending Paste Wax in the Shop ( handout from Groopshop)

Beeswax as a finish on its own is useless as it does not go hard and can leave finger marks.

The U Beaut traditional wax is a mixture of beeswax and carnuba wax which allows the wax to flow on and the carnuba gives you a hard finish. We have been given a lot of samples over the years with the claim to be the next best thing but still go back to the U Beaut traditional wax

Originally Posted by Jim Carroll

Beeswax as a finish on its own is useless as it does not go hard and can leave finger marks.

The U Beaut traditional wax is a mixture of beeswax and carnuba wax which allows the wax to flow on and the carnuba gives you a hard finish. We have been given a lot of samples over the years with the claim to be the next best thing but still go back to the U Beaut traditional wax

+1 all of the above.

Bees wax on its own will not last very long as a good looking finish far to soft and looses its sheen very quickly.
Regards Rod.