Subject: Carnauba wax (Re: Johnsons paste wax)

From: Michael Spencer <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 96 21:58:21 EDT

Daryl in Ottawa:
> This may be a crap recommendation but quality woodworking stores
> frequently have wax in tins like carnuba (very hard) etc used to
> finish wood.

Not at all. I use carnauba wax and beeswax with enough raw linseed oil
melted in to make it workable. (Pure carnauba wax is real hard.) Apply
to hot metal or with enough superficial torch heating to make it flow
into crevices and remaining scale. Wipe off any excess. Responds well
to subsequent buffing -- not like the look of liquid floor wax, which
works fine but looks kinda tacky.  

More beeswax will make it easier to apply but stickier. More carnauba
wax will give a better polish but is much harder to apply. Too much
linseed oil will increase drying time from approximately nil to "a
while".  Francis Whitaker's formula notwithstanding, I could never
see that adding turps was any advantage except it smelled nice.

Smells nice? Hey. How about melting in a little peppermint oil or oil
of lavender? :-)

- Mike

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From: [email-masked] (Frost, Jerry)
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 1996 20:23:43 -0800

> Smells nice? Hey. How about melting in a little peppermint oil or oil

I like the turpentine because it keeps the wax nice and soft and has a 
dry time of zip. Smells nice too, will have to try peppermint or maybe 
gardenia.

Frosty
-- 
If it ain't forged
It ain't real
wrought iron is
The FROSTWORKS