Waxing Chinese Rosewood

**jimbur** · 12th March 2014, 09:53 AM

I've just been reading 'Sagittarius Rising', the memoirs of a First World War pilot. In 1920/21 he was in China and in passing mentioned seeing rosewood items being waxed. The polisher would hold a metal shovel filled with red hot charcoal in one hand and polish underneath it. In this way he forced hot wax into the piece.
Cecil Lewis (the author) compared the resulting finish favourably with French polish as it wouldn't mark easily with spills etc.

**ubeaut** · 14th March 2014, 10:14 PM

Same trick can be done today using a paint stripper or with mixed wax a hair dryer melts the wax into the pores of the timber and is later buffed.

If our Waxtik is melted onto a flat shiny surface like glass it will give a brilliant gloss finish when it cools and is pealed off. Never tried melting it into timber but I suspect it would be brilliant, as you described above. It has a high Carnauba wax content which shines like glass when buffed or cut with a sharp knife, etc.

Just a thought. You would need to experiment if you were to use it to make sure it gave the finish you desired.

Cheers - Neil

**jimbur** · 15th March 2014, 08:52 AM

A lot less likely to raise blisters as well. Thanks Neil.

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