Comments on: Easy wood polish!

by: Nathaniel

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:31:10 +0000

Google says that line is from an old SNL skit, not UHF.

by: rho

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:38:13 +0000

I use a similar recipe, with a bit more wax than oil, to make a wax for sewing twine when I'm using my sailmaker's palm. You thread the needle, double the thread, and run it through the block of wax.

Next you should try making your own tallow. It's fun, keeps forever if you try it out well, and useful for a number of oddball things. Keep it in a cow's horn for extra points.

by: iworm

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:49:02 +0000

Heh. This takes me back to my early childhood (which is back a fair old way...) My grandmother used to make her own wood polish. One of the key ingredients was, and I remember this most distinctly, fag ash (for US readers: that's cigarette ash - stop tittering) of which she had a permanent and copious supply. Mixed it all up and kept it in White's Lemonade bottles. It worked too - everything gleamed. Not sure if all the furniture smelt of ciggies though, as the whole place did anyway.

by: Boxy

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:56:23 +0000

Excellent! After all these years of reading your posts I finally have something to contribute.
I've done a fair bit of experimentation on polish, waterproofing and preservatives over the years and now have a handful of products which when combined in different amounts can handle just about anything.

Beeswax, or cheap petroleum wax.
Carnauba wax.
Stockholm tar (pine tar)
Mineral oil.
Neats foot oil, for leather and low temperatures.
Paraffin (kerosene)
Hairdryer (yes you read that right)

Beeswax is obviously best for quality items, Carnauba wax added in small amounts makes the polish tougher. Not too much though or it becomes brittle. Add paraffin to spread thinner coats.

Carnauba wax is very brittle and is usually used as an additive for polish for quality furniture and as a beeswax additive for candles.

Stockholm tar is very stinky (imagine concentrated pine scent) but the smell does fade eventually, so best used for outdoors or items you can store for a few weeks in a shed or such.
Also its very dark and works as an excellent stainer. (makes pine a similar shade to mahogany) adding a little to a mix works well.

The oils - only use neats foot oil for leather or for minus degrees C. (probably not useful for Oz) but mineral oil is not advised for leather no matter the temp.

Paraffin is used here as a thinner.

A hairdryer is needed for proofing leather, you make the mix in a pan and rub it over and over into the leather. after a while, use the dryer to heat the wax/oil/tar mix and it will be absorbed.

Ps. cats dont like strong pine scents.

Use of Paraffin as a thinner up to you.

Boxy.

by: Dunx

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:02:43 +0000

Cool. I will add that to the rather more involved recipes in The Eccentric Cubicle (which is an excellent book which I am pretty sure you would enjoy: here's my review). Thank you.