Nick O Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 so I am trying to use bees wax for coating my iron creations but when I do this I really mess up my stuff I use a propane turkey burner to heat up my metal and rub it on some spots it will work well but others I am left with a straw yellow color left by the wax not tempering marks also my metal gets tempering marks on the steel and its all discolored if anyone knows how to do this please let me know Nick O Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panday Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 You're using too much. Too much heat, too much wax. Sometimes less is more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 Ayup, too hot and too much wax. Try applying when it's JUST too hot to hold for more than a second in your bare hand. Use the same rag and after a little while it'll have enough wax impregnated in it to finish your work. Then use a clean rag to wipe off the excess. After a while the wiper rag will be impregnated and become the applicator rag. You can also thin the wax with turpentine. Try for a shoe polish consistency or a LITTLE thinner. this will make it liquefy at a muck lower temperature and be much thinner so it'll penetrate better. The turps will evaporate quickly in open air, especially if hot and leave a nice thin even coating. You can add all kinds of things but simple works really well so don't mess with the polymerizing oils till you've had experience with the simple stuff. I mixed up a batch according to Alex Bealer in "The Art of Blacksmithing" and it worked well enough but have since just used paraffin or bees wax as it comes. My most recent favorite is Trewax "carnuba" paste wax. I'll save you the long ramble about it. The short story is there are a LOT of commercial products available and most work nicely on iron. More good ones than bad ones in fact. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 I'll second Frosty's Trewax. can't get it here so had to import some from the U.S. but it was worth it. Great stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terr Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 I put a beeswax coating on a bottle opener I made recently and decided to try something a little different. I heated it to a dull gray (past all of the pretty tempering colors) and rubbed the wax on very lightly. What I liked about this was it turned a nice black color due to the wax burning. After it cooled, I then buffed it for a little while with some leather. I have to say I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Controlling the amount is key for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yahoo2 Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 I have been wondering if the natural carnauba wax with the brown tint that feast-watson make would be a comparable replacement for trewax for Aussies. it is in the big hardware stores (according to the interweb) next time I make it to civilization I might pick up a tin and try it. It wont go to waste cos I need some for some timber work I am doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SReynolds Posted May 2, 2016 Share Posted May 2, 2016 You know....you just gotta laugh. I mean about information. It's just dumb. For real. The Homesteaders Blacksmith book ( me thinks it called Blacksmithing for the Homesteader??) does CLEARLY state to apply bees wax at a RED HEAT. You have ALL been doing it WRONG!!!! Now get back out there and RE-heat that project to a nice reddish glow and apply it correctly. darn-it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted May 2, 2016 Share Posted May 2, 2016 Try both ways and then use what works best for you, in your shop, on your project. If applied to HOT metal the wax can catch fire. Try the application at "smoking heat" where the wax just smokes a bit from the heat. The wax will then run into the small areas. Easier to buff or wipe off any excess wax while the metal is warm rather than after it is cold. I have a metal container of the thinned wax that melts and liquefies when enough small parts are dipped into the container for coating. Dipping makes the application easier and the excess just runs (drips) back into the container. Buff to remove any excess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norrin_radd Posted May 2, 2016 Share Posted May 2, 2016 I like the Trewax too. I actually made some half and half trewax/beeswax for the last bottle openers I made. I liked how it coated. I just heated up hot to the touch. I think the next time I will put them in the toaster over for a few minutes at a low heat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SReynolds Posted May 2, 2016 Share Posted May 2, 2016 Darn right it catches fire! In a BIG WAY too. Holy cow! ! ! ! We- are- on- fire! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 1 hour ago, SReynolds said: Darn right it catches fire! In a BIG WAY too. Holy cow! ! ! ! We- are- on- fire! That's what makes my demos so popular! Bealer's mix of 1/3 wax, 1/3 turpentine and 1/3 soot made for some pretty good WOOFS! And smelled nice to boot. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 Paraffin wax is part of a family of hydrocarbon compounds known as alkanes with the general formula of nH2n+2 that are solid at room temperature. Beeswax is a mixture of several compounds with the base compound very similar to paraffin. Beeswax has a melting range of 144° F to 147° F. Both paraffin and beeswax have a flash point of 400° F. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 I didn't have bees wax when I mixed up Bealers recipe and pieces finished with it have been hanging outside here for a good 15 years without rust. If anybody is going to apply wax above it's flash point it has a very high energy density, BTUs per gl. it WILL burn the crap out of you with just a brush of the flames. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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