WAX, the original finish
Wax is the first "finish" that was put on a piece of wood in modern Western history, and that was sometime in the early 16th Century. The word itself has its origins in the Old English language where the word "waxen" was used to describe the substance that was found in the human ear. When a similar substance was found in nature in bee hives, it was called "bee-waxen", and thus began the use of wax as a protective coating on wood.
Wax has come into disrepute as a wood finish, and has been replaced by the modern finishes that are harder and more durable. However, wax is still used as a top coating to protect these finishes from contact with our hands and the atmosphere.
the Good and the Bad of Wax
The "conventional wisdom" is that wax is not a good finish, but read that last paragraph (above) again. It says that wax has been replaced with harder and more durable finishes. These harder finishes are then protected from their surroundings by the same wax that couldn't be used as a finish. Am I the only one who sees the conflict in that statement of how we use wax?
the GOOD
The main cause of deterioration of our wood surfaces and the finishes we put on it is not always wear and tear. Exposure to ultraviolet rays, the air, and all of the airborne pollutants, microbes, fungi, and moisture, all take a heavy toll on wood and finishes that see very little use.
We use wax because it is more resistant to our environment than many of the finishes we use. Wax is extremely resistant to airborne pollutants, ultraviolet radiation, and moisture, and that's why we use wax to protect the harder finish.
Wax is very water-repellant. If you don't believe me, read the advertisements for car waxes where the water beads up and runs off. Compare that to a puddle of water on almost any other finish.
Wax is easy to apply and maintain. Unlike other finishes, wax never has to be stripped or sanded. The solvents we use to make the wax more workable will dissolve the previous coating of wax.
The biggest thing in favor of wax is that all waxes are ABSOLUTELY FOOD SAFE. Some of them may not smell very appetizing or taste very good, but there is nothing in any of them that will harm you. Beeswax both smells and tastes good, and paraffin has neither odor nor taste.
Wax imparts the least color to a piece of wood of anything we can put on it. The accenting and color change is the same as wetting the sanded wood surface with plain water. Light wood stays light, and there is none of the amber color and blotching that is associated with oil finishes.
With the addition of pigments of different colors and types, wax can be used to create a variety of accents to the wood grain; and most of the time it can be sealed and coated with a finish.
the BAD
There are only two (2) things we can say bad about wax. One is that it is softer than other finishes and doesn't last as long. That means it has to be replaced every year or so. However, that is easy to do as described above.
The other thing is that a thin coat of was is only water-repellant. Wax is not water resistant, and definitely not waterproof. The thickness required to be truly water resistant will be ugly and sticky.
The softer waxes will water-spot quite easily.
Conclusion
It makes me wonder why wax isn't used as a finish on turned wood more often. As I get older, I am finding that wax by itself is a perfectly acceptable finish on any piece of wood, except those that are used or handled a lot. That means that wax would not be my finish of choice on a pen. I still use the harder finishes where I want a smooth high gloss, and a more durable finish.
Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, or......??
I have linked the various waxes mentioned in this section of this page (only) to Wikipedia as a source for more information. This is the only place these links will be found. I know that Wikipedia doesn't have a good reputation, but in this case it is very readable and has a good amount of good information without going too far into the chemistry of waxes.
Wax is an imprecisely defined term generally understood to be a substance with properties similar to those of beeswax.
There are three basic types of wax , animal, vegetable, and mineral. Commercial waxes can be any combination of the three, and I have included the a fourth category of "or....??" because the manufacturers have kept the wax recipes a secret and many contain other chemical products to give them properties that are not available with wax alone. An example is adding silicone substances to automotive and household waxes to enhance their resistance to water repellence and spotting.
Animal
Wax can come from many animal sources, from whales to wool (lanolin). Woodworkers will universally recognize animal wax as beeswax. This was the first wax that was used to protect wood sometime in the early 16th Century. Beeswax can at best be called a "soft wax", and it has a low melting temperature of about 145F. Beeswax is often added to the harder vegetable and mineral waxes to make them more workable. By itself it has a low luster.
A harder animal wax is Lac-wax. This is the wax that is removed from de-waxed shellac. It is often used in commercial products as a replacement for beeswax, but advertised as having some magical properties. The truth is that it is just another relatively soft wax.
Vegetable
Carnauba comes from the leaves of a Palm tree, candelilla is from the leaves of a small shrub that grows in Northern Mexico and the Southwestern US, and Japan is an extract from the berries of the Sumac tree that is native to Japan and China.
These are very hard and brittle waxes with a melting temperature of 185-190F. These hard waxes are used in a buffing application in their pure form, and are blended with softer beeswax or paraffin for application as a paste. Buffing with the pure wax will give one of the most durable coatings of any wax. Woodturners are familiar with using pure Carnauba with the cotton wheel of the Beall Buffing System.
Mineral
These are the waxes that are found in geological formations or are derived from the refining of petroleum products. Montan is either found naturally or extracted from lignite or brown coal, Ozokerite is found naturally, Paraffin is a by-product of petroleum refining, and Microcrystalline can be either natural or extracted from the sludge in the bottom of crude oil storage tanks.
The mineral waxes are the most resistant to water and water-spotting.
Montan is used in automotive and shoe waxes for its durability and water repellant properties. We know of Microcrystalline as the Renaissance Wax that we use on our pens and other turned wood surfaces.
Paraffin is used to soften the harder waxes to make them more workable and useful. We can use it to carry the slurry for polishing compounds such as jewelers rouge and white diamond, or as a lubricant for wet sanding. Another use of Paraffin is rubbing it into difficult wood fibers such as soft end grain and burl to stiffen the fibers, and lubricate the turning tool. Many woodturners advocate using a commercial paste wax, but Paraffin works as well and is cheaper.
the Commercial Wax Products
The manufacturers are reluctant to tell us what is in their paste waxes and in what quantities. I have always suspected the reason was that they didn't’ want us to know how easy it is to make our own, and for how little a cost. Most of them guard their secrecy and flood us with advertising claims.
The truth is their products are a blend of a hard brittle wax such as Carnauba that is blended with a softer beeswax or paraffin to make it more workable, and then enough solvent is added to make it into a paste that is easy to use. That solvent is usually Toluene or a similar hydrocarbon. Some manufacturers give us a clue by naming the primary waxes, but nothing about their quantities, and never a mention of the solvents. Some of these solvents can be harmful to the finish they are intended to protect.
Briwax (brand) is to be commended because they are the only manufacturer that I know of who tells us their product uses Toluene as a solvent. They further tell us to always test the wax before it is used because it might be harmful to the finish.
Always test a commercial wax on the finish before using.
Don't use a commercial wax on any finish that still has the odor of thinners or solvents.
Failure to observe these two common sense rules can cause damage to a fresh finish. Oils and varnishes are particularly susceptible to damage by Toluene.
It always wise to test any commercial product on the existing finish before using it, and wax is no exception.
Elimination of potential problems is a good reason for mixing our own waxes for finishing and polishing, and I will tell you how to blend the waxes I use on the next page..
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