turtle wax polishing compound

[Toddler]

I've sprayed the final coat of clear satin lacquer on the box DaveO built with my interfere . . . uh . . help .

I've rubbed it down with 0000 steel wool between coats, but don't want to use that after the final coat and was wondering about the turtle wax polishing compound??? Will it work well, and if it will, should I use it with the steel wool or a rag?

Thanks,

Todd

 

[DaveO]

I would use regular old paste wax. I use the Minwax flavor. Spray your final coat of lacquer on lightly, let it cure for a day, and then rub a light coat of wax on the box. Let that haze over and hand buff it with an old, soft T-shirt.
Dave

 

[Toddler]

will do. Have to go get the felt pads at homedepot tomorrow anyway.

Thanks Dave.

 

[woodguy1975]

Personally I wait more like 4-5 days before rubbing out the final coat and waxing. I use Briwax which is pretty agressive and can eat into top coats that aren't fully cured.

John

 

[Eaglesc]

Am the only one who uses Butchers Bowling alley paste wax?

 

[Toddler]

So the Minwax or Briwax are actually abrasives? Not just a coating?

I didn't realize that.

Todd

 

[walnutjerry]

Am the only one who uses Butchers Bowling alley paste wax?

No Eagle you are not the lone ranger on the Butchers Bowling alley wax, I use it too:icon_thum

Jerry

 

[froglips]

As I recall, automotive wax products contains things like silicon which are bad for wood.

Are you looking for a wax top coat or a polishing compound? I believe they are different animals.

Jim

 

[sapwood]

I don't know much about finishing, but that doesn't keep me from passing on what I got from Jeff Jewitt class a while back :lol:

He doesn't like the Briwax brand paste wax.
Recommends "medical pads" for buffing and french polishing . . . buys them in bulk.

Todd, I'm assuming you would have access to those pads. Give them a try and tell us how it goes :mrgreen:

And thanks folks for the tip on Butchers Bowling alley paste. :icon_thum
Where do you get it?

Roger

 

[DavidF]

Personally I wait more like 4-5 days before rubbing out the final coat and waxing. I use Briwax which is pretty agressive and can eat into top coats that aren't fully cured.

John

Me too a week at least then I put on the Briwax with a wirewool pad.

 

[DaveO]

So the Minwax or Briwax are actually abrasives? Not just a coating?

I didn't realize that.

Todd

I don't know about Briwax, but the Minwax Paste wax isn't an abrasive, but it does contain solvents that could affect a un-cured finish. It's a top coat in my eyes. I have very often applied the Minwax paste wax within hours of applying a final coat of Deft rattle-can spray lacquer and have never had any problems with the lacquer coat.
Dave

 

[DavidF]

I don't know about Briwax, but the Minwax Paste wax isn't an abrasive, but it does contain solvents that could affect a un-cured finish. It's a top coat in my eyes. I have very often applied the Minwax paste wax within hours of applying a final coat of Deft rattle-can spray lacquer and have never had any problems with the lacquer coat.
Dave

I leave the longer time if I am going to either just cut back the surface as with the wire wool and wax or longer still if I am going to rub out the surface with Micro mesh or pumice etc before waxing.

 

[DaveO]

I'm not talking about cutting with steel wool, rubbing out or buffing with pumice. Just applying the wax with a soft cloth and buffing off the excess. I would agree if you are doing more than just applying the wax like I mentioned you should wait longer. I add the wax for more of the tactile experience than anything, stuff just feels better waxed, I have all the gloss level I need from the initial finish, the wax is just the cherry on top.
Dave

 

[DavidF]

I'm not talking about cutting with steel wool, rubbing out or buffing with pumice. Just applying the wax with a soft cloth and buffing off the excess. I would agree if you are doing more than just applying the wax like I mentioned you should wait longer. I add the wax for more of the tactile experience than anything, stuff just feels better waxed, I have all the gloss level I need from the initial finish, the wax is just the cherry on top.
Dave

Then wax away Dave, wax away:lol: :lol:

What is they say "wax on, wax off"

 

[Toddler]

hmmm, only have until saturday morning when my wife flies to NH for the surprise party. Have to think about this a little.
Todd

 

[Howard Acheson]

I've sprayed the final coat of clear satin lacquer on the box DaveO built with my interfere . . . uh . . help .

I've rubbed it down with 0000 steel wool between coats, but don't want to use that after the final coat and was wondering about the turtle wax polishing compound??? Will it work well, and if it will, should I use it with the steel wool or a rag?

Thanks,

Todd

Yes, turtle wax polishing compound will work. So will DuPont polishing compound. Just don't use a rubbing compound. That is too abrasive.

Give it at least a week to firmly harden up. Wet sand it with 600, then 1200 grit with water or mineral spirits as a lubricant. To get the high gloss finish, use the polishing compound and a power buffer. Be real careful not to sand through or polish through. Lacquer is a very thin finish and I use at least six coats (more often eight) to ensure I have enough film thickness to work with.

For the highest gloss, finish with a swirl remover.

 

[McRabbet]

Todd,

As mentioned earlier, Turtle Wax -- and many other automotive waxes -- containes silicone, which is never wanted anywhere in your shop because it will ruin any finishes that you may want to put onto other wood. It will cause fisheye among other bad results and can easily be transferred to other woods by a rag or sandpaper of whetever. Keep it away from your shop and use it on cars only (read this in Fine Woodworking many years ago).

Rob

 

[Howard Acheson]

>> Turtle Wax -- and many other automotive waxes -- containes silicone,

True, but polishing compound is just a mild abrasive (think rottenstone) in a waterbased emulsion. It contains no wax or silicone. It's designed for rubbing out painted surfaces. It is sometime called white polishing compound to differentiate if from the pinkish tan rubbing compound. Rubbing compound is a more agressive abrasive.

 

[Howard Acheson]

So the Minwax or Briwax are actually abrasives? Not just a coating?

Todd

No, neither Minwax or Briwax contain any abrasives. The difference is that Briwax uses toluene as it's solvent while Minwax--and most other furniture paste waxes--use mineral spirits or naptha.

The toluene is a very strong solvent and can damage oil based finished surfaces that have not completely cured. Complete curing of oil based finishes can take three to four weeks but I would not use Briwax on an oil based surface that was less than a year old. Briwax was developed to to re-finishing and restore antiques and old furniture. The toluene will not damage shellac or lacquer finishes--only oil based and waterborne finishes. The toluene is a fairly effective and agressive surface cleaner so Briwax is best left to the furniture restorers it was developed for.

A few years ago Briwax came out with a second formulation that uses a mineral spirits thinner and it very similar to other standard furniture paste waxes. It's called Briwax 2000 and is safe to use on finishes that are less than a year old.

Hope that clears up some of the questions here.

Oh, BTW, oil based finishes and waterborne finishes should not be waxed for 3-4 weeks. Shellac and lacquer can be waxed within a few days.

 

[DavidF]

No, neither Minwax or Briwax contain any abrasives. The difference is that Briwax uses toluene as it's solvent while Minwax--and most other furniture paste waxes--use mineral spirits or naptha.

The toluene is a very strong solvent and can damage oil based finished surfaces that have not completely cured. Complete curing of oil based finishes can take three to four weeks but I would not use Briwax on an oil based surface that was less than a year old. Briwax was developed to to re-finishing and restore antiques and old furniture. The toluene will not damage shellac or lacquer finishes--only oil based and waterborne finishes. The toluene is a fairly effective and agressive surface cleaner so Briwax is best left to the furniture restorers it was developed for.

A few years ago Briwax came out with a second formulation that uses a mineral spirits thinner and it very similar to other standard furniture paste waxes. It's called Briwax 2000 and is safe to use on finishes that are less than a year old.

Hope that clears up some of the questions here.

Oh, BTW, oil based finishes and waterborne finishes should not be waxed for 3-4 weeks. Shellac and lacquer can be waxed within a few days.

A YEAR!! that's an incredibly long time; what is the science behind that? I would have thought that all hardening/cross linking that was going to take place had finished within 5 or 6 weeks. I have used briwax over target coatings wb lacquer after 1 week and there didn't appear to be any bad results; was I just lucky or are some newer wb finishes different?