Help with carnuba wax leaving white behind

[Ryan Sparreboom]

Hey guys, I'm finishing a QS bubinga table top.
I used 2 coats of Zinsser seal coat (dewaxed shelac) followed by 6 coats of General finishes high performance polyurethane topcoat. Sanded with 400 between coats. Final coat was sanded with 600 then 1000 grit wet.

I let that last coat dry for a full day, then applyed some Mothers carnuba wax by hand (soft terry cloth) and buffed by hand also. Despite the 2 coats of shellac and 6 coats of poly, it seems the wax is still sitting in the wood grain (???) as I have white streaks that won't buff out!
Help.
What do I do now? Try buffing more with a power polisher? Add more wax?
or try to remove the wax and add more poly?
The finish looks fantastic other than the small white inclusions.

TIA
Ryan

[Todd Carpenter]

Hi Ryan,

Try just wiping it down with mineral spirits. This will dissolve the wax and you can try again. The trick with carnuba, is not to let it dry too long - this is the most common mistake people make, either with cars or finishes. You can try the power buffer which will probably work for the streaks, I don't know about the pores though. If you can color the wax or use a darker wax, you get less showing in the pores. You can add more poly if you want to eliminate the pores all together, but I'm not sure it's necessary.

HTH
Todd

[Bill Brozo]

Ryan -

Use a heat gun (or a hair dryer would work as well) to lightly warm the surface where you have used the carnauba wax and wipe quickly with a soft cloth. That should take care of the streaks.

Bill

[Scott Holmes]

A full day to CURE for poly varnish is about 29 days too short of a full cure.

Hold off on the wax for at least a week or two.

[Howard Acheson]

When applying wax to a dark colored surface that has deep pores, always use a dark wax. The white dust you get when you buff a light colored wax will get into the pores and there is little likelihood in getting it out.

I know of a couple of folks that have applied a brown shoe polish using a brush dauber. Then polish with a shoe brush. No gaurrentee but short of completely stripping the finish, it's an option.