Can anyone say why I should not simply clean thouroughly a polished item
that needs a bit of polish, then rub a rag with some beeswax polish
over the area to be polished, followed by simply going round with a
electric paintstripper set on hot 1cm away from the surface, at a speed
of 30cm/sec?

It melts the polish into the wood, and gives a nice finish, much faster,
and no rubbing.

The wood is not overheated (you can do the same thing to your hand with
little effect) and it just seems lots easier.

If the item is not too scuffed up, no wax needs added.

Ian Stirling wrote in message ...
Can anyone say why I should not simply clean thouroughly a polished item
that needs a bit of polish, then rub a rag with some beeswax polish
over the area to be polished, followed by simply going round with a
electric paintstripper set on hot 1cm away from the surface, at a speed
of 30cm/sec?

It melts the polish into the wood, and gives a nice finish, much faster,
and no rubbing.

The wood is not overheated (you can do the same thing to your hand with
little effect) and it just seems lots easier.

If the item is not too scuffed up, no wax needs added.
Sounds like more work than applying the polish as it was designed. The
alternative is to use a product like Briwax that has a fast solvent and
contains a balance of hard and soft waxes. Those based on white
spirit/turpentine often suffer from "trapped" solvent where the surface
dries but the underneath stays tacky.

On Thu, 22 Apr 2004 22:47:20 GMT, Ian Stirling
wrote:

Can anyone say why I should not simply clean thouroughly a polished item
that needs a bit of polish, then rub a rag with some beeswax polish
over the area to be polished, followed by simply going round with a
electric paintstripper

Because waxes need to be mechanically buffed - it aligns the mechanicl
structure of the plates in the wax, giving a shine.

If you do this entirely by heat or solvent, then you'll get a matt
finish. For some purposes, this may be all you need. A little gentle
wiping does help with getting an even thickness though.
--
Smert' spamionam

"Andy Dingley" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 22 Apr 2004 22:47:20 GMT, Ian Stirling
wrote:

Can anyone say why I should not simply clean thouroughly a polished item
that needs a bit of polish, then rub a rag with some beeswax polish
over the area to be polished, followed by simply going round with a
electric paintstripper

!

Because waxes need to be mechanically buffed - it aligns the mechanicl
structure of the plates in the wax, giving a shine.

If you do this entirely by heat or solvent, then you'll get a matt
finish. For some purposes, this may be all you need. A little gentle
wiping does help with getting an even thickness though.
--
Smert' spamionam

"Andy Dingley" wrote in message


Because waxes need to be mechanically buffed - it aligns the mechanicl
structure of the plates in the wax, giving a shine.

If you do this entirely by heat or solvent, then you'll get a matt
finish. For some purposes, this may be all you need. A little gentle
wiping does help with getting an even thickness though.

You might as well use vaseline or any grease. If the surface was shellac
laquered then that might turn to toffee on you. You might get a problem
with other natural finishes not likely though but possible.

Polish is as polish does. As with car wax, wax polish is a cutting
paste. It is the finest of finishes but still an abrasive.


--
Posted via Mailgate.ORG Server - http://www.Mailgate.ORG

On Sat, 1 May 2004 23:02:17 +0100, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:

electric paintstripper

!

Short and to the point.

I once found myself wearing a freshly waxed leather jacket, whilst a
well-known chemical psychopath toasted me down with a hot air gun.
Then I remembered that we'd dissolved the beeswax in cyclohexane, a
solvent where the jar is labelled "f**king flammable", not just the
usual acetone . It wasn' t the smartest thing I've ever done.

Andy Dingley wrote:
On Thu, 22 Apr 2004 22:47:20 GMT, Ian Stirling
wrote:

Can anyone say why I should not simply clean thouroughly a polished item
that needs a bit of polish, then rub a rag with some beeswax polish
over the area to be polished, followed by simply going round with a
electric paintstripper

Because waxes need to be mechanically buffed - it aligns the mechanicl
structure of the plates in the wax, giving a shine.

If you do this entirely by heat or solvent, then you'll get a matt
finish. For some purposes, this may be all you need. A little gentle
wiping does help with getting an even thickness though.

Odd.
I get a gloss finish.
Maybe this is due to speed.
The cooling rate probably exceeds 600C/second.

Michael Mcneil wrote in message ...
"Andy Dingley" wrote in message


Because waxes need to be mechanically buffed - it aligns the mechanicl
structure of the plates in the wax, giving a shine.

If you do this entirely by heat or solvent, then you'll get a matt
finish. For some purposes, this may be all you need. A little gentle
wiping does help with getting an even thickness though.

You might as well use vaseline or any grease.

Neither of which are solids, which is why they're not used to finish
furniture.

Polish is as polish does. As with car wax, wax polish is a cutting
paste. It is the finest of finishes but still an abrasive.

I've never known a furniture polish that contained abrasives.

Ian Stirling wrote in message ...
Odd.
I get a gloss finish.
Maybe this is due to speed.
The cooling rate probably exceeds 600C/second.
Beeswax isn't hard enough to be termed gloss. It's valued for lustre/glow
but other waxes are much shinier.
Not suitable for fabrics either because its melting point is too low.
Microcrystalline waxes combine a dull finish with high melting point

"stuart noble" wrote in message
...

Ian Stirling wrote in message
...
Odd.
I get a gloss finish.
Maybe this is due to speed.
The cooling rate probably exceeds 600C/second.
Beeswax isn't hard enough to be termed gloss. It's valued for lustre/glow
but other waxes are much shinier.

That's true. As a maker of beeswax polishes I agree 100%.

To get the deep, hard shine demanded by modern people who don't know any
bett ... er who have modern tastes, I add 10% carnauba wax to my polish.
That makes the melting point of the polish higher so that fingerprints don't
show.

Not suitable for fabrics either because its melting point is too low.

Well, again, it depends on the finish you require.

Microcrystalline waxes combine a dull finish with high melting point

And are unsuitable for finishes on more 'traditional' items.

Mary

"stuart noble" wrote in message
...

Michael Mcneil wrote in message ...
"Andy Dingley" wrote in message


Because waxes need to be mechanically buffed - it aligns the mechanicl
structure of the plates in the wax, giving a shine.

If you do this entirely by heat or solvent, then you'll get a matt
finish. For some purposes, this may be all you need. A little gentle
wiping does help with getting an even thickness though.

You might as well use vaseline or any grease.

Neither of which are solids, which is why they're not used to finish
furniture.

Polish is as polish does. As with car wax, wax polish is a cutting
paste. It is the finest of finishes but still an abrasive.

I've never known a furniture polish that contained abrasives.

Furniture polish is applied to wood - a relatively soft material. Car
polishes are very diffeent, the ground they are finishing is hard.

Mary

"stuart noble" wrote in message


You might as well use vaseline or any grease.

Neither of which are solids, which is why they're not used to finish
furniture.

Polish is as polish does. As with car wax, wax polish is a cutting
paste. It is the finest of finishes but still an abrasive.

I've never known a furniture polish that contained abrasives.

What do you think evens out the imperfections in the finely ground
almost finished product? I suggest someone take this to Google or
something similar before any more silly comments are made.

As for using vaseline which by the way imparts a nice finish -to oak for
one timber, I never said it was a polish. I was comparing its use to the
OP's idea of heating the wax finish.

I have sen engine oil used as a finish on plywood. It looked OK. I doubt
it was much use theough as oil in wood tends to soften it. I don't know
what long term effect it may have had on the ply.

Does anyone know why some French Polish is called garnet? Or am I
misremembering something from my dim and distant?


--
Posted via Mailgate.ORG Server - http://www.Mailgate.ORG

snip


Furniture polish is applied to wood - a relatively soft material. Car
polishes are very diffeent, the ground they are finishing is hard.

Mary





Car polishes and car buffing compounds are frequently used on high end
furniture to give an ultra high sheen. The polish of course only affects
the underlaying finish, be it a stoved car paint or a furniture
lacquer, not the structural element of the piece.


Paul Mc Cann

In article lgate.org,
says...
snip

Does anyone know why some French Polish is called garnet? Or am I
misremembering something from my dim and distant?




I think you are referring to Garnet Shellac. It refers to the colour and
is also called Orange Shellac. Blonde or bleached shellac is the same
material with this (natural) color removed.

Paul Mc Cann

Michael Mcneil wrote in message ...
I've never known a furniture polish that contained abrasives.

What do you think evens out the imperfections in the finely ground
almost finished product?
Ground what? IIRC silitin is the mineral that used to be added to car
polishes when they were made from wax. Abrasives serve no purpose in a wood
finish.
As for using vaseline which by the way imparts a nice finish -to oak for
one timber, I never said it was a polish. I was comparing its use to the
OP's idea of heating the wax finish.
Wax is a solid, vaseline is not. Vaseline stays forever greasy, dirt sticks
to it, and it really has nothing going for it that I can think of.
I have sen engine oil used as a finish on plywood. It looked OK.
Well try it on your furniture then.

Paul Mc Cann wrote in message ...
I think you are referring to Garnet Shellac. It refers to the colour and
is also called Orange Shellac.
Now there is a finish for oak. Garnet has a distinctly mauve hue which
combines with the yellow of the wood to give a coldish brown. The raw
material also contains a proportion of wax, which is often removed in the
finer grades. The wax itself fetches a premium price for some reason, which
proves the bees haven't quite cornered the market in animal waxes.