Help With Paste Wax

[Dillon Webster]

Hello All,

New to the forum and woodworking in general. Anyway, I just finished a live edge slab of maple I'm making a bow rack from. I took the shellac/french polish route and loved the end result; however, the instructions I was following called for a finishing application of paste wax. I did so, but noticed that it dulled the 3D/mirror finish I had and am not a fan. What is the best route to remove the paste wax completely? Rubbing hard cleaned it up a lot, but not entirely. Would another session of french polishing work or would that damage it in any way now that it has cured?

Thanks for any help

Dillon

[Mike Tagge]

I recently had a similar experience. I fixed it by rubbing off as much as possible followed by cleaning up whatever was left with mineral spirits and light 000 steel wool buffing. I then reapplied a very light shellac coat with very little oil. It is not on a high wear item so I think the shellac doesn't need whatever protection the wax is going to give it.

[Steve Schoene]

Mineral spirits will remove wax. I prefer naphtha since it is less "oily" than other mineral spirit products. Make sure to use plenty of rags or paper towels when using the mineral spirits so you remove the wax, not just spread it around. You can certainly do another session of French polishing after the wax has been used. You can use naphtha instead of "spiriting off" the oil used in the polishing. There is always some risk that the next session of French polishing will damage the perfection of the finish, but the risk here would in no way be greater than what you went through in doing the original polishing.

[Dillon Webster]

Ok Thanks Mike and Steve. I'll get some Naphtha and rub it down and see where I'm at with that. I'd like to avoid another french polish just because I got a really nice finish and am not sure I could do it again... lol

[Prashun Patel]

How long has your finish sat idle? Shellac does not cure per se, but it can take several days for the alcohol to completely evaporate and for the shellac to be fully hard. If you wipe with naptha before this time, there is a risk that some of the solvent penetrates the finish. This can leave you with a slightly cloudy or streaky or whitish haze. I would wait as long as you can stomach, then wipe the surface with dry towels to remove the wax, and last use mineral spirits (not naphtha) to dissolve the remaining wax (it's a better solubilizer of wax than naphtha in my experience). As long as you wipe your surface thoroughly after this with dry towels, AND give a good couple hours for residual MS to evaporate, when dry wipe one more time, you won't have any oil residue.



I wouldn't use steel wool. You'll dull the sheen of the shellac.

I too used to read a lot of shellac and finishing regimens that prescribed finishing with paste wax.

However, it is entirely possible, and IMHO preferable in many cases, to get a perfect finish without wax.

IMHO, wax is the finishing equivalent to air brushing. It's used to fill pores and scratches - not completely - just enough to make them a little less visible. Wax also dulls the sheen to again make imperfections slightly less visible. If you have any tiny drips or sags or nibs, then wax can also act as a lubricant for a gentle abrasive like steel wool or even brown paper.

If your finish doesn't need any fixing, then you can leave it alone.

[Dale Probst]

You may have gotten too much wax on your project. Like Prashun suggests, I would wait a bit then see where you are. You can always clean the wax off with furniture polish, naphtha or mineral spirits. Then I would hand buff the remaining wax to see what you think. Good luck and hang in there.

[Mike Tagge]

In my experience, French polishing is one of my favorite finishes due to the inherent ability to get a great finish with minimal health risks or odor, as well as the fix ability. After I removed the paste wax with steel wool it was dull but with 2 more applications of mostly alcohol and a touch of 2lb shellac, the finish was as good as before. If you can get it to look nice once, you can always get it to look like it again in my experience.

[Dillon Webster]

Thanks for all the help. I've let let the shellac "cure" for a week now and it does look almost as good... Before I use MS I think I'll just keep rubbing it down with an old T-Shirt... Waiting on a glass antler to arrive anyway... Thanks again yall!

[Jerry Olexa]

mineral spirits best for removing wax then later I would use a very light touch of denatured alcohol and try to get back your classes finish

[Tom McMahon]

A good paste wax properly applied should not dull the finish unless you applied it with steel wool. Shellac is routinely used as a barrier coat to seal in wax, silicon and other contaminants when over finishing, you should be able to French polish right over the wax as long as it is not extremely heavy and soft. Wax is often used as a grain filler and for repair of dings and dents and then polished over. Shellac contains wax if not dewaxed you can polish with non-dewaxed shellac.