Wax Question

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dexter0606

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Joined
Jun 11, 2009
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525
Location
Cambridge, ON
Help!
Lately I've started using "Conservator's Wax" from Lee Valley, which is supposed to be the equivalent of Ren Wax to finish off my pens.
But now it seems to ruin my finish for me. After polishing it on the lathe, my once glossy finish becomes dull and cloudy.
I just did what I thought was a beautiful deep finish on an Asian Ebony but after applying the wax it dulled right up.
As a finish on my pens I do anywhere from 6 to 10 coats of BLO/CA finish on the lathe. Sometimes I polish with Hut plastic polish but not all the time.
With the pen still on the lathe, lathe off, I apply the wax. After a few seconds of drying I turn on the lathe and polish with a soft cloth.
What am I doing wrong?
Jeff
 
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dexter0606 said:
Help!
Lately I've started using "Conservator's Wax" from Lee Valley, which is supposed to be the equivalent of Ren Wax to finish off my pens.
But now it seems to ruin my finish for me. After polishing it on the lathe, my once glossy finish becomes dull and cloudy.
I just did what I thought was a beautiful deep finish on an Asian Ebony but after applying the wax it dulled right up.
As a finish on my pens I do anywhere from 6 to 10 coats of BLO/CA finish on the lathe. Sometimes I polish with Hut plastic polish but not all the time.
With the pen still on the lathe, lathe off, I apply the wax. After a few seconds of drying I turn on the lathe and polish with a soft cloth.
What am I doing wrong?
Jeff
Click to expand...
Without seeing your pen I can only speculate but you're putting wax on a plastic pen for one thing! When you do a CA finish, you end up with a "plastic" finish so don't think of it as putting wax on your wood pen because it's not wood anymore! Using a plastic polish should be all you need.

I don't understand how simply applying wax to a CA finish will dull a beautiful deep finish, I've never seen or heard of that but have never tried the wax you are using.

I use a CA finish on almost all of my wood pens and after buffing the CA, the last thing I do is hand wipe the blank with a soft cotton towel, sometimes giving it a shot with Novus #1 polish to take the static cling away, but I don't wax them. My can of Ren wax has sorta gone by the wayside along with my micro mesh pads. I get no complaints about the shine on my pens.
 
You may not be doing anything wrong. The problem could be the wood, and not the wax. Some species have enough, and the right kind of natural oils, that it will kill the gloss on any finish rather quickly. Ebony has been one of those for me. A bright gloss is reduced to a satin finish almost overnight, and it has nothing to do with what finish is on the wood.

There is nothing in Renaissance or any of the other microcrystalline conservators waxes that will destroy the gloss of any finish. One of the good things about them is that they are neither acidic nor caustic. Some brands of wax, such as Briwax, use Toluene as a solvent, and that can damage some finishes rather quickly.
 
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