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Remove wax from live edge slab prior to resin casting

M

Matthew Ferriter

Joined
Apr 19, 2018
Messages
84
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88
Location
Chapel Hill, NC
I am hoping to create a turning blank from a live-edge slab and dyed resin. Most of the live edge slabs available online are wax coated. Is there any way to remove the wax coating using solvents before I build my blank? I don;t think the resin will stick if I leave the wax coating in place.

Thanks in advance.
 
Never tried that. Mineral.spirits will.remove wax but never tried to get it off of waxed bark.. perhaps a toothed brush and lots of elbow grease.
 
john lucas said:
Never tried that. Mineral.spirits will.remove wax but never tried to get it off of waxed bark.. perhaps a toothed brush and lots of elbow grease.
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Thanks. I assume that folks who do this sort of thing find/buy them without any wax applied. There must not be much of a market for unwaxed chunks of wood.
 
You'll never get 100% of the wax off the blank unless you remove some wood with it. Wax is heated to a melting point, and that leads to the wax going into the pores of the wood. Personally, I've never seen a natural edge slab dipped in wax. I've only seen dried slabs that are used in furniture.
 
Alchohol will take off many waxes.

You may be better off working with local wood that you either acquire with your saw or as a gift from another turner.
There are lots of wood available in chapel hill area. Connect with a local club.

There is always a good amount of wood at our local meetings a wide range of wet to too dry

I do lots of NE pieces without casting from local wood that I cut or get given to me.
 
What type of wood are you wanting to cast? Maybe a member here can supply you the wood without any wax.

Also, check out the forums at www.woodbarter.com for other woodworkers who can supply wood just about anyway you need. WB is a great place to get tips on just about anything to do with woodworking including resin casting.
 
I think that MEK, lacquer thinner, and possibly acetone and xylene should work. However, as Richard said, you can't get 100% clean because a solvent is likely to carry some wax deeper into the wood. If you remove as much wax as possible then you could put the wood in a warm oven (200° F or less) for about 20 to 30 minutes to get any residual wax on the surface to soak deeper into the wood.
 
Lacquer thinner works but you need a fair amount and you will have to scrub considerably. I remove wax from (flat) slabs of wood in the shop on a regular basis but I can't imagine trying that on other than a flat surface. I should also caution that you must do this in a well ventilated area and be wearing a proper respirator.
 
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