Removing wax coating from wood blank

Paper towels on it, apply iron (heat) to melt wax. Regardless of what you do I imagine some wax will seep into the wood.

-------------------------------------- Don't know what the shape is of the item you are trying to remove wax from, but if it's wood, freeze the wax, then chip it off.

Almost anything else you try will allow the softened wax to penetrate the wood fibers.

Lew

Scrape it off with a card scraper.

scott

I assume this is too short and has too little thickness to do a couple of light passes through a planer. In that case do what Lew suggested, refreezing as necessary, but use a card scraper, or cabinet scraper, to do it.

Deb

Paul wrote:

cut the edges on the

bottom surfaces, and due

those two surfaces. I

of walnut that I will

just leaving the block

spirits? Thanks.

The block measures 3 1/2" X 6" X 2". I don't have any scrapers, unless you want to count the 12" metal scale I was using after I used the putty knife on it. I do have some old Stanley planes that I've sharpened the blades on. Might see if I can get down a little further with one of those so I can sand it. But then I'm not an expert at using planes either.

Fast, and it takes less solvent to clean the wax from a scraper than from a wooden blank.

You can use a plane blade as an ersatz scraper. Just take the blade out, use it by itself and hold it at a tilted-forward angle like a card scraper. Not as fast and effective as a regular card scraper with a burr, but it'll do.

Recently I had a table I was trying to refinish. Every coat of stain or varnish generated miniature bubbles. Even removing everything with paint remover/mineral spirits/acetone/lacquer thinner/etc, and sanding was insufficient.

Turns out the table had teeny dents in the wood that had been filled with furniture polish/wax. One poster here suggested Xylene.

BINGO!

That was the preferred solvent for the wax on my table.

Might be worth a try.

Do you also have a file and a screwdriver shaft? Make a scraper. It's not rocket science.

Hey, I got it. Used one of my Stanleys on it, then sanded, sanded, and sanded. Talk about doing it the hard way. When I get ready for a finish on it, I'll be back :-) Thanks.

Before finishing any wood, I usually take a cloth with lacquer thinner on it to rub down every square inch of wood, just to make sure there is nothing on the wood, including my greasy fingerprints. Regular mineral spirits works well, too, but I like LT better.

-- Age is always advancing, and I'm pretty sure it's up to no good. --Harry Dresden