intrex Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Hello All, Almost everything I make these days seems to be finished with carnuba wax. It leaves a really nice finish, is hard and durable and completely non toxic/food safe. Generally I hang a finished piece on a wire then heat it with a small hand torch and touch the piece with hardened wax all over until it is finished. On small pieces I seem to spend about as much time wire brushing and waxing them as forging. In a effort to spend more time actually forging rather than finishing I am looking for new ways to finish pieces. I have a shaker that is almost built which I am hoping will partially get me out of the business of wire brusing everything with the angle grinder. Has anyone here ever tried heating up a container of bees or carnuba wax up to liquid and then hot dipping pieces into it? I am imagining this might leave a much thicker wax finish but would be significantly quicker on curvy pieces with scrolls and twists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 I tried dipping and don't recommend it at all. It was just a PITA, you have to melt the wax, keep it melted and not overheat it. Garage sale crock pots work a treat but . . . still. Dipping is okay if you don't want to have the iron too hot, but then you have to hang it over the pot to drain.Sometimes I like a black waxed finish so the piece is darned hot and I get wax fires occasionally. Having that happen in a pot of molten wax MIGHT cause a problem. Still, if you're blacksmithing you ought to be able to keep your cool around a fire, just put the lid on the pot. Still it's a potential flash fire. You have to wipe pieces off anyway so that's a wash. Oh yeah, molten wax contaminates sooooo much faster and thoroughly than a bar, can, etc of cold wax. I've been using Trewax brand carnuba floor wax for years and the cotton rag I use to wipe parts down after waxing has become so saturated with wax I just wipe the pieces with the rag. It's fast easy and if the rag catches fire just stomp it out. An audience gets a kick out of me doing the fire dance with a flaming piece of old wash cloth stuck to my foot. Heck, it's kinda fun. <grin> That's just my take on dipping in hot wax, more PITA than it's worth but that's just me. YMMV Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpankySmith Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 I can't believe I'm disagreeing with Frosty (!!!!!! :( ) but I recently accidentally dropped a small, very hot piece in my open container of Johnson's Paste wax and now it's my go-to finish. It instantly melted the wax, of course, I pulled it out and let it dry, then buffed it on a special covered sponge I use for such purposes - GORGEOUS. A very hard and quite brilliant finish, not to mention that it colored the steel dark, much like quenching in oil. I'm in love with this finish now. On larger pieces too big to go in the can I brush it on when it is hot enough to accept it but not so hot as to basically evaporate on contact. Now on pieces that have a lot of crooks and crannies I don't know that I'd go this route, as it might be a pain to polish, but my polishing sponge can get into most places. I'm not sure there's that much difference between applying the wax while the piece is still hot versus heating it and then applying it? But someone who knows more about the process than I could probably tell you if there is a difference. At any rate, that accidental drop was fortuitous, at least for me. I like! BTW, as far as having to keep the wax melted on something, if I'm going to be brushing it on I just dip something hot in the can, instant pool of wax ready to brush. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimsShip Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 I've used the floor wax idea too, but that wouldn't be food safe. I've never used Canuba oil. I've always it would be great to have a thread that would offer different techniques and recipes for for finishes with pics to show the results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohio Rusty Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 I do that all the time!!. I just finished 20 small wall/beam hooks. They were forged to shape then wire brushed down to clean metal. The wax is a combination of beeswax, boiled linseed oil and japan dryer.The wax was melted by the heat of the forge to liquid, then each hook was well heated (no color) and dunked into the liquid wax. It would smoke for a moment. They were then pulled out and laid aside until cool. The heated hooks absorbs the wax coating into the pores on the surface making them fairly rust resistant. The heated hooks also keeps your beeswax liquid. It's quick, fast and easy to coat metal pieces with melted wax leaving them with a nice finish. If you want a nice food safe finish, make a mix of beeswax and mineral oil. I use mineral oil on metal flatware to prevent rust and woodware for eating.Ohio Rusty ><>The Ohio Frontier Forge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 JIm: Carnuba is food safe, it's what they use for the shiny coating on pills so they go down easy. You might have to exercise your Googlefu but pure carnuba is available and makes a very hard finish.Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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