Anyone ever read the warning label on paste waxes?

[mark kosse]

At 56, I may be a gonner.

I was was taught our craft by my grandfather. We always used our hands or rags for waxing. Tonight while waxing my planes with bare fingers I looked at the warning label on the Belken can. It states" may be harmful if absorbed by skin. Contains turpentine which can cause kidney and bladder damage.

so I look over at the minwax paste wax can. " delayed effects from long term overexposure: contains solvents that can cause permanent brain and nervous system damage"

wow! I'm not blaming them but I know that warning wasn't on the cans I started on. Do you all wear gloves when waxing? If I have to I may just start scraping rust off rather that wax.

jeez, hope to live long enough to see the replies. :)

[Frederick Skelly]

Toxic absorbsion through skin is a real thing. Think about nicotine patches and other dermal medicines. But I suspect you'd have to be immersing your hand in that wax all day long to be impacted.

Unless you live in California, of course.;)

[Roy Lindberry]

At 56, I may be a gonner.

I was was taught our craft by my grandfather. We always used our hands or rags for waxing. Tonight while waxing my planes with bare fingers I looked at the warning label on the Belken can. It states" may be harmful if absorbed by skin. Contains turpentine which can cause kidney and bladder damage.

so I look over at the minwax paste wax can. " delayed effects from long term overexposure: contains solvents that can cause permanent brain and nervous system damage"

wow! I'm not blaming them but I know that warning wasn't on the cans I started on. Do you all wear gloves when waxing? If I have to I may just start scraping rust off rather that wax.

jeez, hope to live long enough to see the replies. :)

When I first began work in the cabinet shop, all of our finishes (stains, paints, sealer & topcoat) were lacquer based. The only way to get it off, particularly the stain, was to wash our hands with lacquer thinner. Pretty sure that didn't do me a whole lot of good.

[Reinis Kanders]

I do not particularly like a smell of the paste wax, so I stopped using it. I once read somewhere that we should trust our noses if they do not like the smell.
Nitrile disposable glove 100 packs are about $10 on Amazon and last forever so I wear those when needed.

[glenn bradley]

I wear gloves.

[Leo Graywacz]

You have nothing to worry about ...twitch twitch

I use the pad that came with mine, the only thing that touches the wax is my thumb, and that's really only the older wax that's been on the pad, the fresh wax is always on the other side of where my thumb is. Then I wipe down with a paper towel.

[mark kosse]

You have nothing to worry about ...twitch twitch.

thats funny!

those wax cans have sat on my desk for many years. I was kinda shocked when I read it. I have hft nitrile gloves but they fall apart when I use some chemicals like stain. Anyone know if the ones on amazon are better?

like Roy I always used paint thinner, kerosene and mineral spirits by hand. Maybe it's time to start thinking different.

[Art Mann]

Just be glad you don't live in California. Anything that is man made causes cancer there.

[Steve Meliza]

If you want to live a long and healthy life you need to stop breathing because that is giving you cancer.

Seriously, how many of you grew up in a house with lead paint, asbestos flooring, or lead pipes? Did the cars not spew lead in their vapors? Did you play with mercury in the palm of your hand? Did you buy the lies and start using margarine instead of butter and skip the eggs?

I'm not suggesting we all start bathing in toxic substances, just that fools and their lawsuits have made this country so jumpy we now have to warn people that hot coffee is hot. Take sensible precautions if you work with such substances for a living, but the occasional exposure over the years won't be the death of you*.




*Follow this advice at your own risk as the author is not a medical professional and these claims have not been evaluated by the FDA or the Surgeon General. Reading this post on an electronic device may cause eye strain and is known to cause retinal cancer in the state of California.

[Jim Koepke]

In my youth gloves were seldom used with anything from paint thinners to gasoline. When I started working as a silk screen printer, we used some much stronger materials. I started wearing heavy gloves most of the time. Now I wear gloves when painting, but not for most of my waxing. Maybe I will have to start wearing gloves.

jtk

[Mel Fulks]

Well,the moon doesn't seem to be hurt and it is often waxing. But I guess it is not entirely unphased....

[Bill Houghton]

Did the label mention the part about not driving or operating heavy machinery while applying paste wax to furniture?

[Jim Belair]

Well,the moon doesn't seem to be hurt and it is often waxing. But I guess it is not entirely unphased....


Good one Mel. Or I guess that was two good ones. ;)

[Mel Fulks]

Well,thank you Jim. I neglected to mention the moon is an "orbital buffer" whose waxing sometimes blocks damaging ultra violet rays.

[Bill White]

Let me see.......
Benzene, acetone, carbon tetrachloride, muriatic acid, red meat, denatured alcohol, and all the other stuff I was using as a young adult is gonna kill me SOME DAY.
Where is my cigar?
Bill

[mark kosse]

Let me see.......
Benzene, acetone, carbon tetrachloride, muriatic acid, red meat, denatured alcohol, and all the other stuff I was using as a young adult is gonna kill me SOME DAY.
Where is my cigar?
Bill

yeah, i almost dropped the beer I was having after my BBQ dinner when I read that.

i finished the wax job today.

[Tom M King]

My Mother has been casually handling fungicides, insecticides, and all sorts of other toxic stuff as long as I've known her in the raising of her Roses. I've been telling her for years that stuff is harmful to you, but you can't tell a 99 year old woman anything.

[James Pallas]

One of the best ways to save money is to start reading warning labels on anything you pick up in a store. You will walk out with nothing, you may starve a rich person.
Jim

[Greg R Bradley]

Too many attorneys and politicians and not enough "real world" intelligence. Please do your part and kill all the attorneys and politicians.

[george wilson]

I'm lucky I'm still kicking!!

[Matt Bainton]

I read it when opening my first can of Briwax this past week. I've had it unopened for a few months, and was surprised to see dark brown particles on top surface. Is that normal (this is clear, not tinted)? Also, is Briwax the same type of paste wax you guys put on your steel tools to protect from rust?

Good tip about the Nitrile gloves from Reinis.

[James Pallas]

George you are hilarious. All of us of a certain age have built up some kind of immunity. Exposed to lead, creosote, and radium dial watches. Just watch out for the good things it may put us in NON TOXIC shock. HaHa
Jim