Waxes
- Especially popular for finishing old furniture. Can also be used as a polish for all kinds of decorative pieces. Is used regurarely for maintenance treatments depending on the wood type. The time in between waxing is shorter at first but once the wood ages, less waxing is required.
- Several thin layers of wax are applied / rubbed on the wood. Wax is left to dry so that the wood gets a protective layer that protects the wood from moisture and dirt. It is recommended to do a sanding process with steel wool in between the waxing layers.
- Don’t wipe a recently waxed layer with a moist cloth; it will make the wax feel sticky. Wipe the stains with mineral turpentine. If needed, you can use wood turpentine as a solvent when using natural wax. You can use mineral turpentine as a solvent for waxes from the store.
- Tools: rag, cloth, pieces of foam etc.
- Natural waxes: beeswax and carnaubawax
- Readymade waxes from the store: Osmocolor, different antique waxes and parafinwaxes.
The readymade waxes can have linseed oil. Linseed is self-flammable. When a rag with the wax is left to dry, it will start to heat as oil evaporates, this can cause other surrounding things to caught on fire. It is recommended to burn rags, air dry them store them in a sealed metal jar or put them into a large bucket of water for 2 days. After that you can drain the water normally and throw them in the trash.
Depending on the wood, wax ban be absorbed up to 2 cm inside the wood. Wax makes a repellent surface on the woods surface, which does not only repel dirt and dust. It also repels other finishing materials. It is wise to know that waxing is the final finish on the wood since nothing goes through a dry wax layer.
Oils
- Natural substances
- Solvent: Wood turpentine if needed, parafinoil and mineral turpentine.
- Tools: Brush, rag, cloth, pieces of foam etc.
- Spread like wax.
Drying oils: linseed oil, tung oil, poppy seed oil, fish oil, canola oil
- Drying oils are good for oiling tools like wooden spatulas and wooden cutting boards.
- Cold-pressed linseed oil and poppy seed oil are proven to be very good oils due to their high pH-levels.
- It is recommended to use pinene turpentine as a solvent for tung oil. It dries faster than linseed oil and the surface will get a more dirt repellent layer.
Non-drying oils: Cotton-seed oil, castor oil, wakbut oil and paraffin oil
- Non-drying oils are not recommended to be used as is, but by adding driers or other excipients they become usable for drying.
- Parafin oil is the only mineral oil listed. It has gotten is popularity from its light tone, other oils have more or less yellow tones. Synthetic paraffin oil is recommended even for oiling docks.