My waxing day on jarrah benchtop

[The Mrs]

Howdy woodworkers...

i was looking for help softening some wax earlier today and found a thread but i couldnt reply to it as it was too old... thought id let you know what i ended up doing, which worked a treat!! (but as youre mainly men, i am imagining i will get a virtual slap on the wrist for this....)
ive just had a new counter top made for the kitchen area in the office... solid jarrah, and where the boards have been fixed together and edged there were a few hair line cracks and tiny holes where the grain does funny things, all very natural of course. Seeing as there is going to be a sink put into this, i want it to be completely sealed and watertight.... its had varnish, several coats, but the cracks worried me.
couldnt get my Gillys Wax to melt quick enough (at all) in a jar in a bowl of boiling water... so got my trusty heat gun... on low setting it melted the end of the wax stick, which i rubbed over the surface of my solid jarrah counter top where the 'imperfections' were, and then with a cloth (ok, i DID use my finger at first, but i now have 2 good blisters from all the rubbing, and the cloth worked better...) i worked the wax into the cracks and warmed the wax now and again with the gun as i went. when gap was filled i just lightly warmed the surface and polished off the entire area which came up beautifully. surface looks crystal clear and is now about to have a final coat of varnish to sweeten the deal. the varnish wasnt effected by the heat gun at all, as i never got it very hot, the wax only needed warming and you only would have needed a hot hairdryer for the same effect. Hubbies pretty happy, so thats whats important. it MAY be his office in the making, but its MY kitchenette.

anyway, it was very quick and easy.... and worked really well.

[Pete L]

Howdy woodworkers...
i worked the wax into the cracks and warmed the wax now and again with the gun as i went. when gap was filled i just lightly warmed the surface and polished off the entire area which came up beautifully. surface looks crystal clear and is now about to have a final coat of varnish to sweeten the deal.

I like the concept for sealing but I don't think that I would be game to varnish again on top of wax . . . I wouldn't trust it to stick! I would be leaving it as it is now. You can always wax again as required.

[The Mrs]

well the wax is probably 1/4 mm - 1 mm thick in all spots, they were only hairl line cracks... although, hubby filled a large crack in bathroom vanity top, it was probably 5 mm accross, and varnished arfterwards.. infact, he waxed, then sanded, then varnished several coats, and havent had any problems there, im assuming it was fine with the varmish, as it is a smooth finish and has lasted fine....

yeah, your right though, im sure i could get away with not bothering to varnish over the top... but if boiling water was to ever get on the surface, it would melt out the wax, whereas if i varnish over the top it should remain intact? just my thoughts....

[ubeaut]

If boiling water goes on it, the likelihood of the wax melting is pretty minimal. However the likelihood of the finish lifting and delaminating from the wax down the track is extremely high.

About the only thing that will confidently adhere to wax is shellac.... oh yeah or more wax.

Cheers - Neil

[The Mrs]

cool, it can stay that way then...! i dont mind not having to varnish....

thanks!

[Pete L]

OK. There you have it. Advice from the polishing expert.
I am sure that it looks very nice. Jarrah - particularly old - is one of my favourite woods. Please show us a photo of the bench?
I also think that you have chosen a great name!

[The Mrs]

well, figured if i was going to join up on a predominantly male visited site, better make it obvious who i am...

yes the jarrah is great... the cupboard doors we picked up free off Freecycle, someone was moving and offering them locally, and theyre jarrah look... we then were offered through family some old jarrah boards, about an inch thick and metres long, someone had used them to make a dodgy deck in their back yard of a rental property
so we used them to make the counter tops. a few nail holes here and there add to the look... will get a pic tomorrow before i start tiling...