Making your own wax polishes

Hi Folks,

I am running low on waxes and am about to buy a few tins in various shades, but before I do...

Does anyone know how to make your own wax. I have always bought the ready made stuff but as I have beeswax blocks, pure turpentine and various earth pigment powders... it suddenly dawned on me to try and make my own.

Any advise on how to make a nice wax with a not too high shine and how I can tint them for certain applications ?

I have found that a lot of waxes are too shiny, I gather however that is probably my fault through technique....

I will start with saying I have never made any as a tin usually lasts years but I have thought about it so have looked at a couple of on line things on making your own. Basically its just the wax of your choice and some oil melted together in a double boiler. The combinations are endless so its something to play around with.
How-to Make Paste Wax For a Hand Tool woodworking finish - Beeswax and Linseed Oil - YouTube
Regards
John

thanks for the link. I am wondering what I can use to tint the polish, I have pigment earth powders and spirit powders, maybe someone may advise on their suitability.

Quick word of advice: don't add oil if you want to make a wax polish :shakehead:

If you mix oil and wax you get, no surprise really, an oil/wax polish. These are quite different to a standard paste wax. Plus, many don't have the unlimited shelf life that proper wax polishes do.

There are many many formulas for wax polishes out there online. Many of the legit formulas are originally from older books or pamphlets and tend to feature a mixture of waxes (mostly beeswax of course, with additions of carnauba, Japan wax, candida etc.), and often one or two ingredients you might not recognise but don't worry about those, frankly you don't really need them.

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Originally Posted by Anotherplane

I have always bought the ready made stuff but as I have beeswax blocks, pure turpentine and various earth pigment powders... it suddenly dawned on me to try and make my own.

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Those are a good starting point for making your own.

Note though that you don't need to use the turps unless you like it for the smell. White spirits doesn't smell as nice but works the same (read with a wary eye any source that says otherwise!) and is slightly safer, despite the less pleasant smell. If you want minimal odour you can use a low-odour version of white spirits; these are materially safer as well.

At simplest you'd:

• melt the wax in a double boiler (or very very carefully with the saucepan directly on an electric ring),
• add the amount of solvent you want (mixture will go cloudy temporarily because it cools),
• stir until it goes clear again,
• carefully pour into your chosen storage vessel,
• lightly cap while it cools,
• when solidified cap tightly.

You can in theory dissolve beeswax into turpentine without melting the wax first but results are variable, and it can take days to fully incorporate. Melting the wax yourself means you could have a wax polish ready to use today, in only a couple of hours.

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Originally Posted by Anotherplane

I have found that a lot of waxes are too shiny, I gather however that is probably my fault through technique....

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Not your fault. Some level of gloss is to be expected with any wax polish, because that is literally what they're for :) and with commercial waxes virtually all have a small amount of a harder wax added specifically for a higher sheen (also for greater durability).

The rule of thumb with wax polishes is that the softer the wax the lower the sheen, and since straight beeswax polishes are relatively soft this is a good starting point for what you're after.

Because earth pigments are literally tiny grains of iron oxide powder I think the more pigment you add the lower the sheen you can expect, but the more you add the more careful you have to be to mix very thoroughly, which is why I think dry pigment should be added before the solvent goes in. However if one uses oil paints to tint IMO they should be fully dissolved into the solvent prior to pouring it into the melted wax.

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Originally Posted by Anotherplane

I have found that a lot of waxes are too shiny, I gather however that is probably my fault through technique....

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Buff with fine steel wool.

Some great info, thanks. I have a few books that go in depth about the finishes of old but there are so many ingredients and difficult to obtain stuff that I will just stick to what I have on hand for finishing and waxing.

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Originally Posted by ED65

Because earth pigments are literally tiny grains of iron oxide powder I think the more pigment you add the lower the sheen you can expect, but the more you add the more careful you have to be to mix very thoroughly, which is why I think dry pigment should be added before the solvent goes in.

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Is there a better material to use for tinting wax polishes or are earth pigments the recommended way ?

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Originally Posted by q9

Buff with fine steel wool.

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I have applied the wax with 0000 wire wool but I haven't buffed with it, I used a cloth.....I will try that and see

What would you want to use colour tinted wax for ? The coloured waxes I have used don't do anything for shifting the colour of a polished piece of furniture. Did you want it for that ?
The only use Ive had for coloured polishing wax is on nice patinated original stuff where when its waxed you can get a build up of wax in the dry cracks of a old crusty finish. When that happens you don't want the neutral light look a lot of waxes have in those dry cracks. A darker build up of a coloured wax looks a lot better.

I make my own waxes. Its just a Beeswax Carnauba wax and Pure turpentine mix . Mixed hot in a pot and adjusted no make the normal furniture wax consistency. A 4 lt bucket or two lasts me a few years unless I sell it off to the ladies for the furniture I have made or restored for them. Then I'm making more sooner than expected.
I also make filling waxes . For filling holes and splits or damage that is not to big and needs to be done fast. For these I make strong colours right across the range of all furniture colours. They get applied with a hot knife / modified chisel . Or sometimes cold and friction smoothed over. All the colours used are oxide colours mostly. Black oxide/ Brown umber /Burnt sienna / Red oxide/ Yellow ocher. Sometimes Titanium white. And a light Orange that is not red lead but is a similar colour.

All of these are mostly pretty cheap and are what I'd be trying in a furniture wax polish if I was making tinted wax.

Using 000 or 0000 steel wool (or other fine abrasives) to rub down is an established way of reducing sheen, but on film finishes. In addition to these usually being much more thickly applied even the softest film finish should be way harder than beeswax.

Applying the same method to something finished in wax polish you run the risk of rubbing off most of the wax.

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Originally Posted by Anotherplane

Some great info, thanks. I have a few books that go in depth about the finishes of old but there are so many ingredients and difficult to obtain stuff that I will just stick to what I have on hand for finishing and waxing.
As I mention above, many of those ingredients aren't really necessary (and some are actively not necessary, perhaps even counterproductive like in some formulas for finish revivers, but I digress).

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The bottom line is: the much simpler formulas of many modern wax polishes — and their happy users — speak volumes about what's not needed (and like I say this includes turpentine, except for its smell).

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Originally Posted by Anotherplane

Is there a better material to use for tinting wax polishes or are earth pigments the recommended way ?

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You know the old saying, ask 10 woodworkers and you'll get 11 answers? Same thing here.

Some people are going to swear by using dry pigment (although possibly in differing ways), some are going to swear by using regular oil paints, others might insist that Japan colours (which are a posh type of oil paint) are the only way to go. You'll struggle to find someone who has tried all the available options and done any sort of comparative testing!

Use what you have, problem-solve as needed to get the end product you want.

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Originally Posted by ED65

Some people are going to swear by using dry pigment (although possibly in differing ways), some are going to swear by using regular oil paints, others might insist that Japan colours (which are a posh type of oil paint) are the only way to go.

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Sound like Oil paints are well worth a try out.

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Originally Posted by auscab

What would you want to use colour tinted wax for ?

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I'm honestly not sure, it's just I have always bought ready made waxes and of course one has to usually choose a colour / tint. I am thinking of making my own and was wondering how they are tinted. I do like to have a darker shade for carvings and mouldings etc to retain the age.

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Originally Posted by ED65

Use what you have, problem-solve as needed to get the end product you want.

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I have found this is the only way to get work done, I am as guilty of the next man for making things more complicated than necessary -:)

Warning.

Where possible use Mineral Turpentine or white spirits not pure turpentine.

Pure turpentine has been known to cause brain damage and kidney damage if absorbed through the pores of the skin.

The mineral turps and white spirits will do exactly the same as the same job as the pure stuff but with way less risk of health problems, for a much cheaper cost and without the high aromatics. Almost all solvents and other liquid with high pungent or high aromatics are not good for your health.

We only ever use mineral turpentine for our waxes.

Also bear in mind that waxes are easy to mark up with ware, water, alcohol and heat, etc. a satin or mat wax will mark quicker and easier than a gloss and most homemade waxes will also require constant reapplication to keep them in top condition... unless you have carnauba wax in the mix, but then you've got a shiny wax and it will still need constant maintenance just not a much.

Cheers - Neil :U