carnauba wax removal

3/19/05, 1:29 AM #1

Bill L.
Guest

carnauba wax removal

Bill L.

>After turning a few chinese hat boxes I beal buffed the outside of each one leaving the inside "natural" . Later I decided to lightly apply danish oil to the interior . I knew of the power of capillary action and did it show up ! The outside of the maple is blotched just inside the carnauba finish . Is there a good solvent to remove the carnauba wax perhaps immersing the small box so I might be able to finish the entire box in danish oil ? Fortunately only one box had this combo applied . Thanks for any input. Bill L.

Re: carnauba wax removal

3/19/05, 1:42 AM #2

MikeinCapeMay
Guest

Re: carnauba wax removal

MikeinCapeMay

>Only a guess.....acetone.

Re: carnauba wax removal

3/19/05, 2:01 AM #3

JL
Member
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6,825 posts

Registered: 7/4/04

Re: carnauba wax removal

JL

>A lot of the waxes are soluble in toluene (including carnuba). If you heat some water and warm it up, the toluene will dissolve the wax better. Wear gloves, use a respirator (with organic vapor cartridges)and have plenty of ventilation. I have made wax mixtures using toluene to dissolve beeswax and carnuba.

Re: carnauba wax removal

3/19/05, 5:26 AM #4

John Trant (Baltimore/WashDC)
Guest

Try mineral spirits first

John Trant (Baltimore/WashDC)

>Most paste waxes (most of which contain carnuba wax) are thinned with mineral spirits. I would rub most of the wax off with a rag wetted with MS and then apply your Danish oil (which is mostly MS also) as soon as you want. Wax is not going to stop the MS from freely penetrating into the wood.

John

Re: carnauba wax removal

3/19/05, 5:41 AM #5

Earl
Guest

Re: carnauba wax removal

Earl

>I, too, have often removed all kinds of wax with mineral spirits. If it is stubborn, staturate it with mineral spirits and then scrub it with 4/0 steel wool. It won't scratch the wood, but will loosen the wax. Just wipe it off real well with a cloth when you are done.

Earl

Re: carnauba wax removal

3/19/05, 12:59 PM #6

Larry
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356 posts

Registered: 1/6/04

Re: carnauba wax removal

Larry

>Just checked my "Laboratory Techniques in Botany" text. To clear wax completely from embedded & sectioned material use xylene (hardware store, paint section), absolute alcohol (ethyl), or tertiary butyl alcohol. Submerge & let soak several hours. Change solution a few times. When changing the solution I would also wipe the wood till it stopped "bleeding" before re-submerging.

Re: carnauba wax removal

3/19/05, 2:04 PM #7

Ron in Drums PA
Guest

Yes on MS

Ron in Drums PA

>DNA should also work

Re: carnauba wax removal

3/19/05, 10:14 PM #8

MikeinCapeMay
Guest

I mentioned

MikeinCapeMay

>Acetone because it's what I and many others use to remove wax from fiberglass boats. In fact, one of the steps before bottom painting a fresh hull is to use acetone on the hull to remove mold release wax. As well, it's good for removing paste wax from hulls. Toulene, Xylene, MEK and acetone will all remove wax, my thought is that acetone may be the least aggressive of these. I didn't realize that MS would do the job as several mentioned, having that in mind, it may be the friendliest, best course.

carnauba wax removal

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