ren wax

[robert baccus]

I have been making my own carnuba wax for years,mix it with 20% beeswax and real turpentine. been using various canned waxes also with good results. my question is if the ren. wax is worth the money. gee, i can't afford to buy everything in the catalogs.-------------old forester

[Andrew Arndts]

as what I understand, The material safety data sheets show that Renaissance wax is nothing more than plain show polish with one or two ingredients that are preparatory.
on a personal note, I find that I don't have to apply it on the table of my band saw as much as I did with other waxes. Plus on items that gets handled on my sales table I don't have to wipe them down to remove fingerprints again, as much. I hope this helps.

[John Keeton]

I can't compare the two as I started out with Ren wax. But, I have been very pleased, and a little goes a long way. The can I bought has barely been touched, and I suspect it will last for years. There are a couple of generics that are cheaper - Lee Valley has one.

[Alan Zenreich]

I like Ren wax.

As to the material data sheets being similar for Ren and clear shoe polish... ingredients alone are not necessarily a revelation.

I'd imagine that the MDS for pasta is the same for paper mache' paste. It's just flour and water, right?

The preparation and production processes have a significant effect on the end results.

[Norm Zax]

Ren wax's main difference is being a micro-crystalline wax. Regular wax molecules are long chains. MC wax chains have branches. This gives the wax elasticity which in turn almost doesnt show fingerprints on waxed objects. It is commonly used also in cosmetic formulations. The production if such wax involves de-oiling, de-odorizing, removing its coloring and so on. In short, its as pure as a petroleum based product can get. Art objects usually prefer such wax also as in the process of purification acids are also removed, and these have an unwanted affect on the art.
My view - microcrystalline waxes are somewhat of an overkill in our hobby BUT the need for tiny amounts at a time and the lack of fingerprinting are "nice to have".

[Bernie Weishapl]

I don't use carnuba or beeswax anymore. I have been using Ren Wax. Like Andrew if you have pieces that you show or are in a gallery with carnuba or beeswax the pieces have to be wiped down to remove fingerprints and with carnuba don't let water from like rain get on them. They are a pain to fix. Don't ask me how I know this.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I like Ren wax. As mentioned, a little goes a long way. I use it on my machines as well as turnings. Maybe 1/4 ways down on the can. Can't see buying another can in the near future.

[Scott Hackler]

I recently made the switch to Ren Wax from using carnuba on the Beal buffing wheels and regular ole paste wax by hand. I have noticed that 1) I use very little Ren wax to do a project compared to the paste wax, 2) no finger prints and 3) the soft luster I get by hand buffing is more appealing to me. The only negative I will say is that it needs a day or two to air out afterwards. The Ren wax has a strong smell when freshly applied.

Yes it is expensive (my container that is 1/2 the size of a can of corn) was $25 or something like that. But it doesn't take much and I believe that this can will last for years and years....so its really not that bad.

[Harvey Ghesser]

What everybody said....

[Steve Schlumpf]

I switched over to Ren wax a couple of years ago and haven't used carnuba since! Easy to apply - on the lathe or by hand!

[Bill Bolen]

A recent and delighted convert to Ren wax myself. I've also discovered, while roughing a bunch of very wet Walnut to bowls, that Ren wax does a much better job protecing my bedways from rust than my old Johnson paste wax ever did. And boy oh boy do the gouges ever slide over the tool rest now!

[Jon Nuckles]

I have had the same experience as Bill B. that Ren wax protects the ways much better than anything else I've used. Being a bit of a cheapskate, though, I have a hard time using it for that purpose!