Wood Wax Conundrum?

[Casper]

While taking the MiL out for mother's day this weekend, I ran across a bee's wax product I have never seen before or tried. Shop owners said they've used it on everything for years and love it. I stood there reading the label and found a few oddities.

Label Link:

1. No list of ingredients. Odd but ok. Maybe it is nothing but bee's wax but I doubt it.

1. Says great on Antiques, Furniture, Oak and more. But the warning says, "Do Not Use on Wood". Say what?

I read it and then querried the shop owners, who were shocked when they read the label. Apparently they never read it before. One owner has been using the stuff for over 25 years.

Never ceases to amaze me what people miss on a daily basis.

So is it just bee's wax or more? Or only legal CYA jargon?

Figured if the owers were still standing after decades of use, can't be too unsafe. Both owners were pretty antique themselves.

[John McGaw]

The fact that it says "SHAKE WELL BEFORE USING" is a dead giveaway -- being a solid, beeswax doesn't need shaking and if you shook beeswax until doomsday you wouldn't accomplish anything so there has to be some sort of solvent involved. It would be interesting to sniff the contents to see how many petroleum distillates you can detect. Even better would be to identify the maker and demand that they provide an MSDS as they are legally required to do. Is there any identification as to the actual maker? Full name, address, anything?

[dpb]

...

It actually says don't use on "linoleum wood" or, iow, printed surfaces for the obvious reason (it's got to have goodly amount of solvents to dissolve what wax there is in the product in.

Also, the label also says it is "The Original Bee's Wax (with) Natural Bee's Wax" where the (with) is in smaller print.

Google is your friend...

A search did _not_ find a link to MSDS, though, is there a lawyer in the house?

[Ed Pawlowski]

It says "Old world formula" so that implies there are ingredients. Here is says "with natural bees wax" so it may be only 1%.

May be good stuff but they certainly exploit the bees.

[dpb]

On 05/14/2017 12:18 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote: ...

Well, we don't know the contract terms with the worker bee union... :)

[notbob]

Bees have been exploited since man first discovered 'em!!

Does anyone, here, actually believe bees make that honey fer ppl?

nb

[dpb]

On 05/14/2017 1:24 PM, notbob wrote: ...

[Sonny]

I think they forgot to put a comma between linoleum and wood.

.... or, iow, printed surfaces

If you click "Caution do not use or get on any tile, linoleum, wood floor, tub or shower floor."

I would never use it to clean a TV or computer monitor screen, either.

It says don't use a microfiber cloth (polyesters, polyamides), for application. If you wipe upholstered furniture with it, then it will likely affect (ruin?) the nylon thread, used for most/much of upholstery sewing.

Original Bee's wax? That might be Aunt Bee's original formula.

Sonny

[Markem]

He is a Bear silly (Christofer Robbin would say)

[J. Clarke]

Your google-fu is not strong, grasshopper.

Verbatim search for "original bee's wax msds" found as the first hit

[krw]

Sure, they were put on the Earth for our use, right? ;-)

[John Grossbohlin]

It looks like it may say "Caution: Do not use on tile, wood, or linoleum floors." Was that the full wording? If so, it is likely because it will make them very slippery. I know that Demi Lovato slipped on a floor on which someone used furniture polish. She broke her leg...

[Colin Campbell]

The bee it is a busy soul, It has no time for birth control. That is why in times like these, There are so many sons of bees!

Cheers, Colin

[Leon]

Slippery when wet.

[Spalted Walt]

Not so much anymore:

[Markem]

Dustin Johnson slipped on stairs missed the Masters.

Wonder if before Ms Lovato broke her leg did someone wish her good luck.

[John Grossbohlin]

She was walking into her own apartment so I doubt it...

[Casper]

A tiny bit more on the bees knees...

You'll need to scroll down a little but here is a tidbit on it...

A company blurb but no real ingredients listed...

It is listed on a number of 'green' or 'earth friendly' sites...

Apparently even connoisseurs approve of it (whatever that means)...

I've not found an actual list of ingredients but numerous sites, including the manufacturer site, states it contains no oils... "This is the ?The Original Beeswax Polish?, an old world original beeswax polish in aerosol form, and the only beeswax polish in aerosol that contains no oil."

Still unable to locate a real MSDS, especially one dating back to the

70's. I take that bad photo copy dated 2-27-2006 with a grain of salt.

Another oddity is other sites state you can use microfiber cloths... "Maintain Original Beeswax Polish by wiping surface with a soft cloth, dust mitt or microfiber cloth." *See connoissuer link.

If this stuff is so good and popular, why don't I see it in more stores. I found it in an antique shop that's really more of a tiny mini-flea market. I've been to hundreds of antique shops and never saw this stuff before. Don't recall ever seeing it on Antiques Roadshow either and I've watched tons of those episodes.

[nailshooter41]

All of those things should be a warning.

If you were a real antiques dealer as opposed to someone that just sold old crap, you wouldn't trust a piece to a product you don't know. Worse, despi te your efforts, you can't even find out what is in it. In many cases, the best value on an antique piece of furniture is based on the retention of t he original finish.

Think how stupid you would feel if you put a product on a valuable piece an d it lifted, clouded, or blistered the original finish and the price of you r piece dropped 75%! What gets me is that will the Google-fu that has been used on this product that no one has been able to find a definitive, compl ete list of ingredients and solvents.

It would make me run away from it!

Robert

[John McCoy]

Colin Campbell wrote in news:ofcbl3$p1a$2@dont- email.me:

Technically, no - almost all bees are female...

John