Bob Jones
11-04-2007, 11:28 PM
Between an article in Woodsmith & a recent post here, I decided to give Beeswax and BLO finish a try - sounded simple and "natural". My favorite finish would be one that is barely there, so as not to hide the ocasional planer blade marks that i work so hard to create...
I made 2 mixes, thick and thin.
For the thin mix I shaved some beeswax (very thin shavings) and put them in a mason jar. It was about 3 to 5 oz, loosely packed. Then i poured in just enough turpentine to compleley cover the wax, and the total mix was 6 oz. I stirred it and then let it set overnight. The mix was similar viscosity to warm honey (same color too). The next day, it had some small balls of white wax in the mix so I added a little more turpentine (about 1 oz) to try to disolove all of it. Then I added 3 oz of BLO and stirred. I ended up with a mix that looks similar to penut butter and feels like heavy whipping cream...? Thinner and less viscous than honey, still with spots of undisolved wax.
For the thick mix, I followed a suggestion here. I poured 3 oz of turpentine into an empty mason jar. Then I added thin shavings of beeswax in small piles until the entire mix was 6 oz total. This was not as easy as the thin batch. The mix ended up like thick, dry, mashed potatoes. I stirred alot and left that overnight. Stirred in 3 oz of BLO the next day to end up with a pretty thick paste that was much lumpier than the first batch. This stuff would stick to the spoon and not drip off.
I tested both mixes on a stip of walnut. I had already coated the walnut once with straight BLO - a few days prior. On one end I applied a thick coat of the thin mix and on the other end I applied a thick coat of the thick mix. By thick, I mean wiped off lightly. I left the center uncovered.
I waited 5 hours while I worked in the garage and later went to church. Both areas looked like the wax had skimmed over a bit (not wet looking any more) but they were still soft to the touch. I buffed both off separately and inspected. There was a noticable difference in feel for the coated vs uncoated sections. There was almost no difference between the thick and thin mix areas. I suspect that the surface may have looked even better if I would have left it to dry even longer --- I may try that later.
Good news - my results showed me that the mix does not seem to need to be perfect. Just let it dry for a long time before buffing. I tried to let it dry for only one hour first, but when I buffed the surface I could not tell that I had done anything to it beyond plain BLO.
Hopefully this will help someone, and lead more expereinced folks to add helpful instructions.
I made 2 mixes, thick and thin.
For the thin mix I shaved some beeswax (very thin shavings) and put them in a mason jar. It was about 3 to 5 oz, loosely packed. Then i poured in just enough turpentine to compleley cover the wax, and the total mix was 6 oz. I stirred it and then let it set overnight. The mix was similar viscosity to warm honey (same color too). The next day, it had some small balls of white wax in the mix so I added a little more turpentine (about 1 oz) to try to disolove all of it. Then I added 3 oz of BLO and stirred. I ended up with a mix that looks similar to penut butter and feels like heavy whipping cream...? Thinner and less viscous than honey, still with spots of undisolved wax.
For the thick mix, I followed a suggestion here. I poured 3 oz of turpentine into an empty mason jar. Then I added thin shavings of beeswax in small piles until the entire mix was 6 oz total. This was not as easy as the thin batch. The mix ended up like thick, dry, mashed potatoes. I stirred alot and left that overnight. Stirred in 3 oz of BLO the next day to end up with a pretty thick paste that was much lumpier than the first batch. This stuff would stick to the spoon and not drip off.
I tested both mixes on a stip of walnut. I had already coated the walnut once with straight BLO - a few days prior. On one end I applied a thick coat of the thin mix and on the other end I applied a thick coat of the thick mix. By thick, I mean wiped off lightly. I left the center uncovered.
I waited 5 hours while I worked in the garage and later went to church. Both areas looked like the wax had skimmed over a bit (not wet looking any more) but they were still soft to the touch. I buffed both off separately and inspected. There was a noticable difference in feel for the coated vs uncoated sections. There was almost no difference between the thick and thin mix areas. I suspect that the surface may have looked even better if I would have left it to dry even longer --- I may try that later.
Good news - my results showed me that the mix does not seem to need to be perfect. Just let it dry for a long time before buffing. I tried to let it dry for only one hour first, but when I buffed the surface I could not tell that I had done anything to it beyond plain BLO.
Hopefully this will help someone, and lead more expereinced folks to add helpful instructions.