Removal of Wax

[Steve Doerr]

I have two flame box elder pieces that I want to put some spar varnish on. However, before I do that I need to remove the Rem wax and the carnauba wax that I have on top of each piece. The Rem is on top of the carnauba. Any suggestions on how to best remove these waxes so I can put on the spar varnish?

[John Keeton]

Acetone followed by shellac as a barrier/sealer.

[Russell Neyman]

Acetone followed by shellac as a barrier/sealer.

Allow me to expand on John's recommendation. Shellac is generally accepted as a universal "tiecoat" by woodworkers, meaning that it can be used as a transitional finish between almost any two other finishes. For example, if you have kitchen cabinets finished in lacquer, a polyurethane finish in incompatible and can't be applied, but both the lacquer and poly work with shellac, so a bit of scuffing and a coat of that makes the process possible.

We know that shellac is compatible with wax, too, because it's offered in both waxed and de-waxed varieties, so -- in this case -- it will work as a tiecoat to deal with any wax residue from the sealing process.

It happens I'm about to remove a heavy coating of parifin wax from a large rough-turned bowl this week. I'm going to do it with a heat gun and paper towels before I get to the acetone.

Also, I note that Steve is planning on applying a spar varnish. That's a good choice for some bowls, but be aware that boatbuilders use it because it never fully cures (it remains slightly soft) so that it can move with the constant expansion/contraction of wood in an ocean environment. If that's what you want, go for it.

[Bill Splaine]

Won't the heat gun drive the wax further into the wood pores? Same with acetone?.. except the acetone will "dilute" the wax

[John Keeton]

The shellac should take care of any residual wax in the pores.

[Prashun Patel]

Instead of acetone I would use mineral spirits. Wax will wash away with ms. You probably won't even need the insurance of shellac if you are doing oil based spar .

[Bill Boehme]

.... It happens I'm about to remove a heavy coating of parifin wax from a large rough-turned bowl this week. I'm going to do it with a heat gun and paper towels before I get to the acetone....

There's no need to go through all that extra work which will just drive the wax into the wood. Just turn the roughed out bowl and the wax will be gone as soon as you cut below the surface.

[Russell Neyman]

There's no need to go through all that extra work which will just drive the wax into the wood. Just turn the roughed out bowl and the wax will be gone as soon as you cut below the surface.

Correct, Bill, but in this case there are circumstances that preclude simply turning it off. Too convoluted to explain here.

[Steve Doerr]

Thanks everyone for your input. I think I will go with the mineral spirits and/or acetone.

Russell, in looking at the info on Helmsman Spar Varnish they talk about it being used on furniture, so I think it should be ok for this use as well.