waxi problems

[Chris]

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??

[Jim Weisgram]

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.

[Chris]

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

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

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?

[B A R R Y]

Is the polyurethane fully cured?

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

[ztifpatrick]

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

[B A R R Y]

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.

[Joe]

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

[Chris]

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.

[Joe]

As long as you don't heat it back up with the friction......

jc

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[Nova]

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

[Chris]

[Nova]

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."

[Chris]

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

[Joe]

Glad it turned out.

jc