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Removing Carnauba Wax

Discussion in 'Woodturning Discussion Forum' started by Lou Jacobs, Oct 13, 2020.

  1. Lou Jacobs

    Lou Jacobs

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    I have a piece that I applied carnauba wax to. The finish came out beautifully with a hard, high gloss shine, but I’d like to remove it. It is too glossy and plastic looking for this piece. I’d like to put on an oil finish instead. Is there a solvent that anyone has experience with that would save me from having to turn off the finish? It is on hard (sugar) maple, so is not imbedded in the grain so much as on the surface of the wood.
     
    Lou Jacobs, Oct 13, 2020
    #1
  2. john lucas

    john lucas AAW Forum Expert

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    Mineral spirits will take it off. When I get a piece that is too glossy I scrub it with 4/0 steel wool and which makes it very satin. If I want it shinier then I rub Johnson's paste wax on it.
     
    john lucas, Oct 13, 2020
    #2
  3. Lou Jacobs

    Lou Jacobs

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    Thanks John! I’ll give that a shot. It is also lighter than I’d like it to be, and I think walnut oil will give it a bit more color.

    shinybowl2a.jpg
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 16, 2020
    Lou Jacobs, Oct 13, 2020
    #3
  4. Lou Jacobs

    Lou Jacobs

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    John, thanks so much. Mineral spirits and 0000 steel wool did it.
     
    Lou Jacobs, Oct 13, 2020
    #4
  5. robo hippy

    robo hippy

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    I believe turpentine will also do the trick. That is the solvent for Kiwi neutral shoe polish, which is carnuba wax.... Hmm, spell check doesn't know what carnuba is... It is also the solvent in Butcher's Wax, a product used on bowling lanes, and carnuba based.

    robo hippy
     
    robo hippy, Oct 13, 2020
    #5
    Emiliano Achaval likes this.
  6. odie

    odie

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    Also, Danish Oil comes in several shades of walnut color......:D

    -----odie-----
     
    odie, Oct 13, 2020
    #6
    Charles Cadenhead likes this.
  7. Gerald Lawrence

    Gerald Lawrence

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    Alcohol dissolves wax. Try Renaissance Wax for a less shiny surface.
     
    Gerald Lawrence, Oct 13, 2020
    #7
  8. Bill Boehme

    Bill Boehme Administrator Staff Member

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    Would you like to buy a vowel? (Hint: buy the letter "a"). There's three a's in carnauba ... that's my mnemonic for remembering how to spell it.
     
    Bill Boehme, Oct 14, 2020
    #8
    Charles Cadenhead and hockenbery like this.
  9. Emiliano Achaval

    Emiliano Achaval Administrator Staff Member

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    I have turpentine in the shop, what an awful smell... I use it as little as possible.
     
    Emiliano Achaval, Oct 14, 2020
    #9
  10. robo hippy

    robo hippy

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    Hmm, I kind of like turpentine smell. I thought it is derived from tree sap, but not positive on that. Better than mineral spirits or lacquer thinner...

    robo hippy
     
    robo hippy, Oct 14, 2020
    #10
  11. Lou Jacobs

    Lou Jacobs

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    Yes, it’s a pine sap distillate. I was just cutting some southern yellow pine this morning and it smelled distinctly like terps. I like the smell also, but not sure I’d want it permeating my bowls. The smell of the mineral spirits lingered on the bowl yesterday, but is now all gone.
     
    Lou Jacobs, Oct 14, 2020
    #11
  12. Bill Boehme

    Bill Boehme Administrator Staff Member

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    There is odorless mineral spirits, but the quality seems to vary.. Sometimes it's odorless and sometimes it smells like the regular mineral spirits.
     
    Bill Boehme, Oct 14, 2020
    #12
  13. Ed Jarvis

    Ed Jarvis

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    is your woodfast lathe a 908?

    Ed
     
    Ed Jarvis, Oct 16, 2020
    #13
  14. odie

    odie

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    Yessir......M908, 16" swing long bed.

    -----odie-----
     
    odie, Oct 17, 2020
    #14
  15. Davey Jones Johnson

    Davey Jones Johnson

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    I think most solvents will dissolve/wash it off lacquer thinner, acetone, toulene and espically MEK. acetone is said to be the fastest evaporatin.. ofcourse they are very flammable. like the flash point of MEK is 24 degrees F
     
    Davey Jones Johnson, Oct 23, 2020 at 10:18 AM
    #15

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