Help, my Linseed oil beeswax finish is sticky, sometimes?

[Evan Ryan]

I followed a recipe from Chris Schwarz for a linseed oil and beeswax finish and it worked great, at first, but a couple of my recent test pieces are sticky.
I've kept the finish in a plastic food container for about 2 months, and I'm applying the finish with an old tshirt wrapped around a ball of Borg rags.
I've done 3 tests recently, 2 are sticky and one has an excellent finish.

Has anyone else had trouble with an oil beeswax mix getting sticky, and if so, how did you solve the problem?

Should I try putting another coat on a sticky sample to see if that stops the stickiness?
Or reheat, remelt the mix then let it cool again?
Or introduce a little mineral spirits into the ball of Borg rags?

[John K Jordan]

Sorry, I don't have an answer but only questions. I use beeswax on some turnings, especially on eastern red cedar, but I don't mix it with anything.

I've seen many recipes with a variety of ingredients:
beeswax + mineral oil
beeswax, tung oil
beeswax, mineral spirits
beeswax, BLO, mineral oil
beeswax, BLO, splash of olive oil to retard drying
beeswax, BLO
beeswax, BLO, mineral spirits
etc.

In case someone can spot an issue:

What recipe are you using?
Could the specific plastic container you use be reacting with one of your ingredients?
Is your beeswax yellow: directly from the hive and simply filtered, or white: processed and bleached (often with chemicals)
Do you use it on bare wood or seal the wood somehow first?
Are temperature and humidity consistent?
Same type of wood?

JKJ

[Evan Ryan]

The recipe 1:4 wax to oil,
1 part beeswax* to 4 parts linseed oil.
Wood and finish have been out in an uninsulated garage here in Chicago.
The plastic container is from the supermarket, nothing special.

* from the beeswax supplier,
"Natural Yellow Beeswax Granules / Pearls

Our all natural yellow beeswax pearls are 100% pure and are filtered to be free of debris. Our wholesale yellow beeswax granules are great for their ease of use but still maintain the characteristic aroma and color that beeswax is known for. You will find them much easier to work with than traditional blocks. This version is very popular in candles."

[lee cox]

I used beeswax mixed with turpentine to dissolve it. I then mixed it with BLO on 2 work benches. On one workbench I use as an out feed table I buffed the table using an electric buffer. Neither of my workbenches are sticky. The one I did not buff is kind of waxy but that's what I wanted so the glue would not stick.

[John TenEyck]

Get rid of the BLO and use mineral oil.

John

[Steve Schoene]

The OP always uses the term linseed oil, not BLO, suggesting the possibility that he is using raw linseed oil. Raw linseed oil dries, but only at a glacial pace. With the wax to retard curing even BLO (boiled linseed oil, which is linseed oil with metallic drying compounds added,may take a long time to dry. I'm not very fond of using mineral oil which never dries. Pure wax would be better than the mix, in my opinion. For even more durability, I'd think about an oil/varnish mix BLO and varnish or even Tung OIl and varnish. After a this has cured, wax on top would be useful for adjusting sheen.

[Evan Ryan]

That's it! I used stand oil left over from oil painting.
I did some research but not enough, so it's not drying anytime soon.
waste of cosmetic grade beeswax.
Ill try borg blo next time unless I find something better.
Thanks for the help.