Wax Removal

[Jim McDonald]

Just bought a chunk of Brazilian Cherry (8X8X2) that I am going to try to make into a box using methods from Steve Good's video. The wood is going to be beautiful.

It seems to have been dipped in wax on the end grain--I presume to prevent checking while drying--and the question is can I remove the wax some way to maximize the amount of useable wood, or do I just loose about 1/2" where the wax has overlapped the sides?

I know I can scrape the majority and thought mineral spirits might dissolve the rest, but I'm not sure. I figure the accumulated knowlege on this board has some ideas on solving (or dissolving) this.

[minowevie]

good question Jim, I will be watching this thread. your friend Evie

[miniwoodworker]

First, put your wood in the freezer for a little while. Then scrape off as much wax, as possible, while it's cold. Use a hand scraper, if you have one. A piece of broken window glass makes a good scraper. Wear gloves, and work with care. With these, you should be able to get most of the wax off everything except the end grain. That'll depend on how rough the grain is.

Let the wood come back to room temperature. Use a med-hot clothes iron and paper towels to wick out more of the wax. Lay the towel on the wood and heat with the iron. Keep changing the towel and repeat on each edge until you can't remove any more wax.

Now's the time for mineral spirits. Dampen a pad of paper towels or cotton T-shirt and dab at the wax. You don't want to smear it onto the clean wood. Keep at it until you don't see any more wax. Let the spirits evaporate. Still see the wax line? If so, try more spirits. Final step is to wipe down the whole piece with fresh mineral spirits. That'll help, some, to even out the tone of the wood.

I can't promise that this will work 100% because I don't know the type of wax used nor what, if any, other ingredients may be in the wax. (Bees Wax, parafin (sp), coloring, etc.)

Oh, btw, use an oil based finish on your final product. That'll help blend in any lingering effect from the wax. Water based finish may not adhere completely.

One more BTW - be sure to spread those mineral soaked paper towels to dry. Let the solvent fully evaporate before disposal.

Hope this helps.