Custom Blending Paste Wax in the Shop ( handout from Groopshop)

Here is a revised version of my handout at Groopshop.

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Custom Blending Paste Waxes in the Shop

Don Williams

Martin O’Brien in absentia

 

The fundamental thing about paste waxes is that they are a solution, consisting of a solvent (or solvent blend) into which is dissolved a solute (or blend of solutes).  For the most part furniture relevant paste waxes are super concentrated solutions consisting of roughly 1/3 part wax or waxes to 2/3 part solvents like turpentine or naphtha.  Sometimes other additives are included, these may be soluble in the solvent, such as low molecular weight acrylic resins or oil-soluble dyes, or suspensions like abrasives or pigments.

No single paste wax solution is satisfactory for all applications.  Some require ease of use, some higher in-use performance, and these two are often mutually exclusive.  We overcame this problem with the invention of “Mel’s Wax” emulsion, a stoopid-easy-to-use but premium high performance product while at the Smithsonian, but that is a subject for another time.

In order to keep the variables down to a mere multitude, for today’s exercises we will concoct recipes blending variations of the following components:

 

Waxes

Beeswax

Carnauba wax

Shellac wax

Microcrystalline 190 wax

 

Solvents

Turpentine

Naphtha

T.R.P.S.

Odorless mineral spirits

 

Additives

Dry earth pigments

Lithography pigments

Crayons for coloration

Rottenstone

Arkon P-90 acrylic resin

 

We will start with these basic recipes and head off down the rabbit trail from these points.  We can mix them and then apply them to sample boards, and evaluate them tomorrow after they have flashed off and been buffed with linen, flannel, and bristle brushes.  All recipes were prepared in heated containers warm enough to melt the waxes but not hot enough to risk burning them.  I melt the wax first then add the solvent.  My favorite set-up for melting is to use a fixed temperature (165 F) fondue hot plate and a Corning sauce pan.

It is important to remember two points.  1) if the paste wax is difficult to apply and distribute evenly over the surface, that is a solvent proportion issue.  If there is not enough solvent, applying paste wax is nearly impossible.  2) if the dried wax film does not buff out well, or rubs off too easily, or has some other fault, that is a wax blend issue.

 

Recipe #1 – the old favorite soft paste wax, a bit smelly for my preference (turned out very nice to apply, performance was satisfactory)

2 parts beeswax

1 part naphtha

3 parts turpentine

 

Recipe #2 – a nice harder surface (very difficult to apply, nearly impossible to get an even distribution; solvent fraction was too low; another 2 or 3 parts of solvent would have made all the difference)

3 parts beeswax

1 part carnauba

2 parts naphtha

2 parts turpentine

 

Recipe #3 – a nice clean intermediate-to-hard surface that is less stinky than #2  (very difficult to apply, nearly impossible to get an even distribution; solvent fraction was too low; another 10 portions of solvent would be worth trying)

12 parts beeswax

4 parts shellac wax

12 parts naphtha

3 parts turpentine

 

Recipe #4 – slightly hard with a little “slickness”  (very difficult to apply, nearly impossible to get an even distribution; solvent fraction was too low by at least 100%)

100 parts beeswax

10 parts carnauba wax

1 part acrylic resin beads

50 parts naphtha

30 parts turpentine

 

Recipe #5 – trying to split the difference (applied pretty well but another 2 or 3 parts of naphtha would have been perfect, performance was excellent)

5 parts beeswax

1 part microcrystalline 190

7 parts naphtha

 

Recipe #6 – trying for better performance (applied pretty well but another 2 or 3 parts of naphtha would have been perfect, performance was excellent)

5 parts beeswax

1 part shellac wax

1 part microcrystalline 190

7 parts naphtha

 

Recipe #7 – MartinO’s favorite (applies and performs beautifully)

1 part beeswax

2 parts odorless mineral spirits

 

Recipe #8 – harder but more difficult to buff out, otherwise excellent performance

115 grams beeswax

15 grams shellac wax

15 grams carnauba wax

2 grams Arkon P-90 acrylic beads

250 grams t.r.p.s solvent

 

 (Bonus) Recipe #9 – so darned nice I might start manufacturing this one.  Really.  This was sold at Mike’s Mostly Honest Auction and I am awaiting feedback from the buyer before proceeding.

115 grams beeswax

8 grams shellac wax

8 grams carnauba wax

1 gram Arkon P-90 acrylic beads

250 grams naphtha solvent