Waxing wood for glue resistance?

[Craig Moulton]

I made a couple supports for panel gluing out of oak. I'd like to saturate the wood with wax to prevent glue from sticking to it.

I have in the past impregnated maple with paraffin (for acid resistance in a battery room construction) by heating it to low temperature in a large oven in a paraffin bath, letting it cool, then repeating the procedure.

These pieces won't fit in my oven, and I wouldn't care to explain to LOML why I was baking wood and wax in the oven anyways. I was thinking maybe rubbing canning paraffin wax on like a surfboard, and using LOML's hair dryer to melt it, but not sure how the penetration would be.

Anyone have experience with a method that was easy and effective?

Thanks!

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I make a lube for wood drawer guide/slides by melting paraffin and adding mineral spirits. Then I apply that while it's still a hot semi-liquid/semi-paste consistency.

But as for a glue up - - - well you'd have to get the wax off before any finish was applied to the end product.

That might be more trouble than it could ever be worth.

I just let the glue that drips out harden up and take 'em off with a chisel. If I mess with them while the glue is liquid I always get some of it forced into the fibers and it always makes for a finishing problem.

Nothing else works for me. I've tried the razor blade, the wet wipe, the dry wipe, masking tape, and even pre-finishing. Nothing is as easy or works so well as just leaving it alone and chipping it off later.

[Jamie Buxton]

You might try commercial furniture waxes. They'd go on without heat. For instance, Watco has a fluid wax product they call Satin Finishing Wax. Or Johnson's Paste Wax is a solid.

Another possibility is to face the supports with Formica or its many competitors. Wood glues don't stick to the front face of formica, and unlike wax, it would never need to be renewed.

[Howard Acheson]

I just rub my wood cauls with furniture paste wax. Do it a couple of times and I've never had a glue stick to it.

[Craig Moulton]

I make a lube for wood drawer guide/slides by melting paraffin and adding mineral spirits. Then I apply that while it's still a hot semi-liquid/semi-paste consistency.

But as for a glue up - - - well you'd have to get the wax off before any finish was applied to the end product.



Hadn't thought of thinning the wax. That might work, like a sealer coat of varnish. This isn't part of the project, just two hardwood pieces that work together like a press to keep the boards from cupping when edge-gluing.

[Bill Huber]

I have some wood cauls and I just put packing tape on them and then pull it off when they get to be a mess.

[Craig Moulton]

Packing tape is an interesting idea. I use parchment paper to protect the work surface (plywood on saw horses until I build a bench) from drippings. I saw your post after I bought some paste wax. It seems to be doing the trick. Thanks to all who replied.

[Bill Huber]

Packing tape is an interesting idea. I use parchment paper to protect the work surface (plywood on saw horses until I build a bench) from drippings. I saw your post after I bought some paste wax. It seems to be doing the trick. Thanks to all who replied.

I do use paste wax on my MDF assembly table (board) and it works really well. I also wax my big clamps and that sure makes a difference when getting the glue off of them. I put it on but just never really wrap it off.

[Peter Quinn]

I guess its now a moot issue? At work I use past wax for quick and dirty applications or large bench tops that need a bit of protection, but for panel cauls its clear packing tape. Works great, easy to apply, cheap to refresh and never sticks to the work nor transfers anything to the finished work.

[Tony Bilello]

It is a wax that is used when making fiberglas molds. You 'wax' with the mold release over your mold, spray gelcoat on the mold release, laminate your epoxy/fiberglasss or polyester/fiberglass to the gelcoat. Let dry and pop from mold. That is how boats are built. You can put glue, epoxy, etc. on the mold release and it wont stick. Most paste waxes should also work for what you want to do with it.
Either of the above may be a bit of overkill. Just place a layer of visquene between your 'mold' and your project. Most adhesives will not stick to visquene. It's cheap and comes in all size rolls. I usually buy the 10' x 100' roll as I do some cold molding from time tio time. That roll lasts for years because the visquene can be used over and over again until it just tears apart. I also have used it in my friends shop for vacuum pressing (clamp) plastic laminate around round columns.

[Mac McQuinn]

A lot of the guys who shoot bench rest rifles and bed the barrels in the stock with epoxy for accuracy swear by "Kiwi" shoe polish for coating the barrel & receiver for easy removal beforehand.........!

Mac