Carnauba Wax, has anyone tried...?

[astrid]

Has anyone tried filling grain with carnauba wax.
Ive been refinishing a small cedar table with danish oil (wipe on poly)
Its had about 6 thin coats and the shine is great.
Only problem is that some of the grain is so deep, it's still open.
I dont' usually use grain filler, but I probably should have this time.
but the timber was so pretty, oh well
I was wondering if you could use cedar carnauba in circles to fill the grain like one would with FP?.
It should dry hard enough and theres only a few spots open.

Astrid

[rsser]

Hi Astrid,

I've used the boss's ShitHot Waxstik on elm turnings and it came up very well. Elm is open-grained too.

Not used Carnauba but I understand it's pretty hard so may take a bit of elbow grease. Another option might be the Ubeaut tinted trad. wax.

[astrid]

Thanks ern,
Unfortunatly i left my Ubeaut trad wax in the car, on its side on a very hot day.
and all the wax ran away so I'll have a go with the carnaubra.
My only worry is that it it messes up, i will have to be careful taking it off again because of the DO underneath.

Cheers

Mel

[rsser]

Yuk.

(Left a pack of butter once in the car boot after shopping ... ).

As for removing the wax, or at least excess wax, try 0000 steel wool. May leave a dull but not scratched spot which could then be buffed.

[ubeaut]

Give the DO a week or so to harden or it will keep the wax soft and it will hust pull pit of the grain again.

No reason why you can't use the grain filler now then sand it off and apply a few more coats of DO to seal it in, although it could end up looking dull in the pores.

[astrid]

Last coat of DO went on about 10 days ago.
Havent got any grain filler, gave my can away cos i wasnt using it,
dont really want to buy any more just for this job, I'm a low budget Op and use what I've got, (within reason)

How long should i wait for the wax to dry before i buff it off the top, dont want to drag it out again, was hoping to get to client tomorrow?

Thanks for the reminder re steel wool, Ive got so mant OS jobs after the school hols, I'm in a bit of a flap.
Now I'm off to strip that old brown shellac of the lecturn for the school.

Astrid

[Cruzi]

Have found wax goes white in pores and grain in open grained timbers.

Looks horrible.

[astrid]

Thanks Cruzi,
Thats why Im using a cedar tinted carnaubra, Its the neutral wax that goes white as it dries (I hope)

cheers Astrid

[rsser]

Extrapolating from my experience with the WaxStik (which prob has a good deal of hard wax like Carnauba in it), you can buff it up immediately.

[astrid]

Carnaubra it softer when it goes on,
Not familier with Ubeat wax sticks, but I'm putting the carnaubra (which in this weather is almost liquid) on in circular movements like FP, then straghtning up.
so the soft wax should go in the pores, but a bit thicker than on the surface.
I dont want to have to rub out carnaubra whip marks that is almost impossible unless your a weightlifter.

Astrid

[astrid]

Progress report
First coat of CW went on well, filled pores a bit
second coat 1 hour later filled a bit more, let dry 1hr
orange peeled a bit, so buffed with 0000 steel wool, got rid of OP and hopefully flattened ridges on pores.
Will let dry another hour and try another coat of CW

Astrid

[rsser]

Sounds good.

Shithot Waxstik is hard in this weather, so clearly it's not just CW, or not even.

[astrid]

The CW I'm using isnt pure CW in fact in view of some of our enlightening posts lately on mainstream products, Ill be lucky if its 20%.
But it does dry very hard. put it on too thick once, OH BOY I dont think I ever got it all off.
It does go a bit sticky if you dont let it fully dry, but I think thats a feature of carnaubra.

Astrid

[rsser]

As an aside, it's striking how restoring is so much more complex than finishing.

Hadn't realised that til reading Neil's book.

[astrid]

Yes I'll get a copy when I get some work done and put an order in
The wax sticks sound good, the only ones Ive got are rubbish and the colours dreadful (unless you want sealing wax)

Re restoration being more complex than finishing, I dont really think thats the case.
A first class restoration shop usually employs a first class finisher and a first class cabinate maker, and upholstery is separate again.
Those like me who do a bit of both should stick to simple stuff.(there are exceptions of course)
My line with those who got an upholster to "fix" their chair, and who did it with araldite and a nail gun, and then complain about the work, is
"Dont ask an eletrician to do a plumbers job"

Astrid