wax wood finish

i have many pieces of high grain (crabapple) about the size of a very large hand. i will put them on a base and gift them to friends. the best finish, i belive would be a pure wax finish. never done that. looking for some guidence in the process of doing so??

Can you describe more what the object is? Is it a woodturning, a carved object, or ??? And, do you really need 'pure' wax? Many wax finishes are applied with some sort of solvent which helps it go on better, but then evaporates.

try shellac see if you like it

Danish oil is a "drying" oil finish. wax is wax, and shellac is a whole different thing. I wouldn't use shellac over a drying oil unless it was on there for at least year or so to harden up, and then it results in an entirely different type of finish.

it depends on what type of finish you want.

you sound inexperienced in wood finishing as your first post references a "pure wax finish" and your second, an oil followed by "wax".
an oil finish can be wonderful, but you need to apply multiple coats, with appropriate "drying" time between coats to get the best result. that time could be a week or so, depending on conditions, and possibly abrading with 400 or finer grit and/or or bronze wool between coats.

a "wax" finish is a very different thing than an oil finish, and I'd say the primary selling point of one is a low to high sheen without a thick or gloppy look, but the low sheen at least can be achieved with a well done multiple coat oil finish.
applying a high quality wax finish like "museum wax" or one of the classic French or English (pardon my magnanimous multilateral national allegiances there,I've got both in my heritage) furniture products, is an art form in its self, and is best done over a good sealer. I think 4 coats of shellac, with at least two grades of pumice between, and then 3 or 4 coats of a quality wax is a traditional fine furniture finish, but im a metal guy, so please correct me here!

just give it 3 coats of "danish oil" and don't store your rags inside.

Try Johnson's Paste Wax.

Bob
WB8NQW

It's old school, but you might try clear lacquer. They have it for brush or in rattle cans. A few coats, sand lightly between. It's water clear and can really bring out the best in some woods. A lot of old furniture and wood radio cabinets were lacquer finished. Wax alone isn't a very good finish. I like modified tung oil finishes but it's many coats and more work to get the best results.

Pretty sire we need a picture.
If this is about showing off elaborate grain, just wax may not be the answer.

I really like the newer hard wax oils. Rubio Monocoat (a misnomer, you need the top coat to have it look like anything. You want "pure" not "natural") and osmo polyx (which, despite the name, is not a polyurethane finish) are both pretty great.

They're shockingly overpriced, but they're fast, they do a bang-up job, they don't stink and require special precautions like lacquer. They're pretty easy too. Wipe on, let sit, buff off. You could wax over top of either of them if you were so inclined.

blcksmth said:

Try Johnson's Paste Wax.

Bob
WB8NQW

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Discontinued in 2021 when it got to $50 a pound.
Bill D

Danish oil or other oil of choice. Let it dry. Buffing wheel and Carnauba wax..

Since it is Crab Apple that's fairly tight grained, so you could buff first with compound to raise the sheen of the oil finished wood. Wipe it all down and hit with the wax wheel and carnauba.

Assuming you have a buffing kit like that of course.

Try Johnson's Paste Wax.

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Gosh that stuff stinks.
Still have most of a couple cans.
Because it stinks and i would never use it on wood that was going in a living space.

YMMV, of course

if wax, I like Trewax (brand) & use it in drawers 'cause it smells nice.
I used beeswax on oak a couple times because it was traditional & we have bees. Ironed it in & polished it off with a broom-straw polisher. It's a lot of work. I have not tried it on fine grain wood.


French polish/-fresh-shellac from flakes will bring the wood characteristics out the best & be the brightest, for an inside piece. IME also the easiest.

Oil looks good on dark woods, but it can muddy light ones.
So can wax, for that matter.

Any pix of the crabapple?

smt

I'm a fan of Trewax too, my impression is that it's one of the harder commercial wax products. Have also used the Renaissance micro-crystalline wax on the recommendation of Krenov. I like it over a washcoat of shellac on small objects of ebony or rosewood, nice soft sheen.

But these days I'd use fresh mixed shellac flakes on small, table top objects. I just like the way it looks - nice soft, warm glow, but plenty shiny enuf. Banjos get gloss nitro lacquer, over shellac sealer.

What i do more and more for myself, is thin very fresh-from-flakes shellac, so it is like maybe 1/2 lb cut (never measured, just thin a small cup until it "feels" right) and flood the item with it, let it soak in but sort of wipe off the excess. When that dries, scuff sand with 400 or finer to remove any lines. Norton sponge over 600 if it is clean. Then pad on a couple more coats, let dry, sand 800+ Norton sponge. The shellac consolidates the grain, but the surface is mostly bare wood. At this point sometimes Tried & True rubbed out. Eventually Trewax when the surface (oil) seems cured enough.

smt

Stephen, is this a durable finish for table tops, or more for decorative objects? I really like that kind of thin finish.

Do you use the T&T straight oil or varnish oil? I used to know Joe Robson, the guy who started the company in Trumansburg. Interesting guy, I bought some cool wood from him.

richard newman said:

Have also used the Renaissance micro-crystalline wax on the recommendation of Krenov. I like it over a washcoat of shellac on small objects of ebony or rosewood, nice soft sheen.

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I ended up with that as well on the recommendation of someone at Woodcraft. I made a large black melamine/laminate workstation for my studio years ago and screwed up by using red oak for the edge trim. I liked the look on my (unfinished) test pieces, but every topcoat turned it the standard oak orange which looked like Halloween with the black. A wax-only finish was the only thing that kept the raw oak color. Screwed up again with regular wax, which I found had zero resistance to liquids, and would more or less disappear from any spot that got the slightest bit damp. The Renaissance stuff was said to not have that problem, and seems to have worked.