I waxed an oak table I made with liberon wax. Used wax many times before,
and found a good deal of elbow grease was required to bring up a shine, but
no complaints, I like it.. This time I can't get it to that point. It is a
wipe on poly finish with 2 coats of wax on it. I thought it was fine until I
put a strong light on it at an angle, it looked as though I had not finished
buffing the wax, sort of smeared but fine to the touch. So maybe I made a
mistake, I thought too much wax, I wiped it down with mineral oil, no help
though. Any suggestions??

On Wed, 9 Jan 2008 22:04:17 -0500, "Chris"
wrote:

I waxed an oak table I made with liberon wax. Used wax many times before,
and found a good deal of elbow grease was required to bring up a shine, but
no complaints, I like it.. This time I can't get it to that point. It is a
wipe on poly finish with 2 coats of wax on it. I thought it was fine until I
put a strong light on it at an angle, it looked as though I had not finished
buffing the wax, sort of smeared but fine to the touch. So maybe I made a
mistake, I thought too much wax, I wiped it down with mineral oil, no help
though. Any suggestions??


Once you've applied and buffed the wax, what remains is a layer a few
molecules thick. So I don't think you are likely that you have too
much wax built up, once you do get it buffed out.

I haven't used Liberon wax so I don't know how much carnauba vs.
beeswax (more carnauba means more durable but also much more work to
buff out).

How does the surface without wax look with the light at an angle? If
the poly isn't as smooth as it needs to be, you may be seeing that
effect. When I've used wipe on finishes I found I needed to rub out
the surface to get the look the way I wanted it.

Once you've applied and buffed the wax, what remains is a layer a few
molecules thick. So I don't think you are likely that you have too
much wax built up, once you do get it buffed out.

It's true that it's not thick,but hard as hell to rub out, maybe too much
time has elapsed now (3 days)


I haven't used Liberon wax so I don't know how much carnauba vs.
beeswax (more carnauba means more durable but also much more work to
buff out).

Not sure of the mix, I looked by couldn't get the info on Liberon Black
Bison Paste Wax

How does the surface without wax look with the light at an angle? If
the poly isn't as smooth as it needs to be, you may be seeing that
effect. When I've used wipe on finishes I found I needed to rub out
the surface to get the look the way I wanted it.


There isn't any unwaxed surface to look at now, but it seemed fine, I prolly
had 6-7 coats of wipe on poly on there 1st. Maybe I can just flood the
surface with mineral oil & dissolve the wax, start again?

Chris wrote:

There isn't any unwaxed surface to look at now, but it seemed fine, I prolly
had 6-7 coats of wipe on poly on there 1st.

Is the polyurethane fully cured?

If it's new, wait a while, then lightly wax it again and buff.

On Jan 10, 7:07*am, B A R R Y wrote:
Chris wrote:

There isn't any unwaxed surface to look at now, but it seemed fine, I prolly
had 6-7 coats of wipe on poly on there 1st.

Is the polyurethane fully cured?

If it's new, wait a while, then lightly wax it again and buff.

It was wipe on, so it drys fast, but cured? I only left it a day
before waxing.

wrote:
On Jan 10, 7:07 am, B A R R Y wrote:
Chris wrote:

There isn't any unwaxed surface to look at now, but it seemed fine, I prolly
had 6-7 coats of wipe on poly on there 1st.
Is the polyurethane fully cured?

If it's new, wait a while, then lightly wax it again and buff.

It was wipe on, so it drys fast, but cured? I only left it a day
before waxing.


If you haven't used that combo before, the wax may have attacked the finish.

I'm not familiar with the exact product you're using, but I've had otehr
products, like BriWax, attack a finish that wasn't properly cured.

wrote in message
...
On Jan 10, 7:07 am, B A R R Y wrote:
Chris wrote:

There isn't any unwaxed surface to look at now, but it seemed fine, I
prolly
had 6-7 coats of wipe on poly on there 1st.

Is the polyurethane fully cured?

If it's new, wait a while, then lightly wax it again and buff.

It was wipe on, so it drys fast, but cured? I only left it a day
before waxing.

When you sanded the poly before putting the wax on, did you get super-fine
white powder, or little gumballs? If gumballs, it wasn't fully cured. A
rub out method I took off the fww website I use before putting the wax down
goes like this:

light sand with 320
rub down with 0000 steel wool
moderate sanding with 400
vigorous rub out with med. scotch brite pad
apply wax with 0000 sw and buff out.

Leave a great finish, even for poly.

jc

When you sanded the poly before putting the wax on, did you get super-fine
white powder, or little gumballs? If gumballs, it wasn't fully cured. A
rub out method I took off the fww website I use before putting the wax
down goes like this:

light sand with 320
rub down with 0000 steel wool
moderate sanding with 400
vigorous rub out with med. scotch brite pad
apply wax with 0000 sw and buff out.

Leave a great finish, even for poly.

jc

Sounds like a good plan. The poly sanded to dust, not gum balls. I like the
smell & feel of wax, but it can add some work if your not careful. How about
a buffing attachment on a drill? Might help to rub it out.

"Chris" wrote in message
...



When you sanded the poly before putting the wax on, did you get
super-fine white powder, or little gumballs? If gumballs, it wasn't
fully cured. A rub out method I took off the fww website I use before
putting the wax down goes like this:

light sand with 320
rub down with 0000 steel wool
moderate sanding with 400
vigorous rub out with med. scotch brite pad
apply wax with 0000 sw and buff out.

Leave a great finish, even for poly.

jc

Sounds like a good plan. The poly sanded to dust, not gum balls. I like
the smell & feel of wax, but it can add some work if your not careful. How
about a buffing attachment on a drill? Might help to rub it out.
As long as you don't heat it back up with the friction......

jc

Chris wrote:

I waxed an oak table I made with liberon wax. Used wax many times before,
and found a good deal of elbow grease was required to bring up a shine, but
no complaints, I like it.. This time I can't get it to that point. It is a
wipe on poly finish with 2 coats of wax on it. I thought it was fine until I
put a strong light on it at an angle, it looked as though I had not finished
buffing the wax, sort of smeared but fine to the touch. So maybe I made a
mistake, I thought too much wax, I wiped it down with mineral oil, no help
though. Any suggestions??



What type of wood, how many coats of wipe on poly and which Liberon wax?

--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA

Oak, 6-7 coats of wipe on , then used Liberon Bison paste wax,

"Nova" wrote in message
news:a3zhj.6097$Z61.1445@trnddc07...
Chris wrote:

I waxed an oak table I made with liberon wax. Used wax many times
before, and found a good deal of elbow grease was required to bring up a
shine, but no complaints, I like it.. This time I can't get it to that
point. It is a wipe on poly finish with 2 coats of wax on it. I thought
it was fine until I put a strong light on it at an angle, it looked as
though I had not finished buffing the wax, sort of smeared but fine to
the touch. So maybe I made a mistake, I thought too much wax, I wiped it
down with mineral oil, no help though. Any suggestions??

What type of wood, how many coats of wipe on poly and which Liberon wax?

--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA

"Nova" wrote in message

What type of wood, how many coats of wipe on poly and which Liberon wax?


Then Chris wrote:

Oak, 6-7 coats of wipe on , then used Liberon Bison paste wax,


I would think 6-7 coats of wipe on poly would seal the oak enough to
prevent excess wax filling the pores, so ... (from one of the web sites
selling Liberon's products):

"Application:
Apply Bison Fine Paste Wax sparingly with a cloth on a delicate / French
polished surface or with ultra fine steel wool (Liberon grade 0000) when
a deeper penetration is required. Allow to dry for 20 minutes, or until
touch dry, and then buff with a clean cotton cloth or furniture brush.
Repeat the operation on new or very dry wood as it may require two or
more coats. For a better finish buff with a Liberon Furniture Brush once
the last coat has dried."


http://www.jpennyltd.co.uk/shopping/....php?id=9&=SID

--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA

light sand with 320
rub down with 0000 steel wool
moderate sanding with 400
vigorous rub out with med. scotch brite pad
apply wax with 0000 sw and buff out.

Leave a great finish, even for poly.

jc

This fixed it, though I started with 220, then the rest. Only took 10
minutes or less. I was more careful putting on the wax this time, making
sure it was light coats. Came up fine.

Thx

"Chris" wrote in message
...


light sand with 320
rub down with 0000 steel wool
moderate sanding with 400
vigorous rub out with med. scotch brite pad
apply wax with 0000 sw and buff out.

Leave a great finish, even for poly.

jc

This fixed it, though I started with 220, then the rest. Only took 10
minutes or less. I was more careful putting on the wax this time, making
sure it was light coats. Came up fine.

Thx

Glad it turned out.

jc