waxes

eligius1427 - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 - 5:10pm

Hi all, I'm going to be trying my first wax finish in a couple of weeks and was wondering what everyone thought was the best wax/formula to use. Gerald used a mix of butcher brand bowling alley wax, linseed oil, thinner and jap drier, and I found a premixed(?) wax from Sculpt Nouveau that is "specially formulated" with additives to help protect the metalwork(I found this on www.sculpt.com)

http://www.sculpt.com/catalog_98/patina/ColoredWax.htm#iron.

Tinted or clear? The job is an indoor rail with a burnished finish. I don't mind if the color leans towards the blackened steel look, but other than that no other colors.

Suggestions?

Jake

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How Glossy

warren - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 - 8:02pm

Jake,
I guess the first question is how glossy? Next question is how are you going to buff the wax and are you going to buff?

Just from my personal experience wax is just not enough, wears off and requires some maintenance.

I might look at going with the linseed oil, thinner and Jap dry mix as a primary coat. This will give it some sealer and some protection. Then go with the Butchers Bowling alley wax as a top coat. You can heat and thin the wax with thinner so you can spray on or use as is. You will have to buff all of the corners some to keep the lines clean. For that I use a horse hair shoe polish brush. Gives a nice luster. Without buffing it is like you polished your shoes and did not shine.

warren
http://www.metalrecipes.com

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Hi Warren, from the picts it

eligius1427 - Wednesday, June 11, 2008 - 12:24am

Hi Warren, from the picts it looked like the shindig was a lot of fun.

Will the wax mix darken the steel at all? The client would like an aged look and right now the burnished pieces are pretty shiny. I believe Gerald used a 78%wax, 20% linseed, 2% thinner and Jap drier, any thoughts to these ratios.

Jake

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