Wax on, but no wax off

[Russ Ambrose]

until a couple days ago, i've always had used equipment. when i would get a new-to-me machine i'd clean it up and put a heavy coat of paste wax on the cast iron and never had a problem buffing out the wax. well, just got a new machine and put a medium-to-heavy coat of paste wax on the cast iron. wax on no problem. wax off is a problem. i can't seem to buff that @#$% wax off/out. you can clearly see the wax-on strokes in/on the cast iron. the cast iron isn't sticky or anything, so i suppose i have buffed the wax out to a certain extent. but neither is the top quite as slick as i'd like.

is this something i should be concerned about or will the apparently excess wax eventually soak into the cast iron and/or rub off on my lumber? can i just spray a little TopCote on it and just get on with things or do i need to use a solvent and clean the cast iron back to cast iron and start all over with a super light coat of wax?

BTW, the wax i used is Staples Crystal Clear Paste Wax. the label says that it contains no synthetics, silicones, or soft beeswax and is appropriate for use on machine tops. this is the same wax i've used without problem on used equipment.

any thoughts and insight are appreciated.

[Dell Littlefield]

I had a similar experience using a different wax. I slightly dampened a rag with mineral spirits and buffed it out. The second coat went on smoothly.

[Prashun Patel]

The only thing I can think of is that it might have dried too quickly, which makes it hard to buff off.

Most times, you can just put a new coat of wax on top, and the solvents in the new layer will soften the swirls enough so they'll buff out. Or, you can wipe off the swirls with a mineral spirits dampened cloth.

If it were me, I'd leave it on and let time and natural use take care of it. It's not going to hurt anything (provided it's not an oil/wax blend which can get sticky and a real pain if left too long on tools (DAMHIKT.....))

[Jeff Duncan]

If it's the same stuff that's worked fine before I wouldn't waste a lot of time messing with it. Won't take very long for it to wear off ini use and you'll be re-applying anyway;)

good luck,
JeffD

[Jerome Hanby]

If you have a heat gun, you might warm it up just a bit then buff it off...

[Brian Kent]

I find that wax buffs out really easily when it is about 104° out. What is your shop temp?

[Dave Lehnert]

I see no reason to put on a thick coat. It just makes your work harder. When you buff off the dry wax all you are doing is leaving a very thin coat on the service. The extra (thick) wax is buffed away. Much better to apply two or more thin coats vs one thick coat.

I have never heard of Staples Crystal Clear Paste Wax. Where do you purchase it from?

[Russ Ambrose]

thanks for all the input. doesn't sound like this is really anything to worry about. i'll take the advice of buffing it out with a small amount of mineral spirits and then put on another light coat or two of wax. also, Dave, i purchased that wax at Woodcraft. thanks again :)

[Rich Engelhardt]

My Ridgid jointer suffers the same malady.
It was a floor display and has years of who knows what built up on it.
No rust though - but - a couple of coffee cup rings that are shadows in the CI.

I put a few coats of Johnson paste wax on - it still shows the swirl marks after three or four coats.

I did try a small section with a Scotchbrite pad and some mineral spirits, then a coat of wax.
That section looks fine and feels fine.
I haven't had the time to do the whole thing & the weather is too cold to spend the hours out in the cold garage to do it now.

It's functional - but - it could be better.

[Russ Ambrose]

last night, i did as suggested and wiped the top down with a rag lightly sprinkled with mineral spirits. i wiped/buffed with the mineral spirits rag for a while and then buffed with a clean rag. seemed to do the trick. i'll wait a day or two and add another very light coat of wax. thanks again for the help