wax, oil, wax, oil?

[tvrgeek]

Been doing some preference testing on planes and saws. Candle wax vs oil can ( as in Paul Sellers). I already found JPW does not last long enough on soles and blades.

I have concluded I favor the wax method. Seems to last. Oil can gets into the pores, but as my refurb/maintenance method uses a heat gun to gently melt a wax layer and buff it in, I think I am getting the deep pore protection that oil can give.

So I can ditch the can and give me back a few square inches of my tool tray. Just my preference. Always worth trying the various traditional methods.

I am testing hydrophobic treatments on ceramic tiles ( shower ) and will test them on and aluminum tool tops. Does Rain-X work better than Slick Cote? If hydrophobic, do they give rest protection like wax does?

Your experiences and preferences?

 

[holcombej]

At 72, I don’t want anything that might make my shower slick. Seal the grout really well and be done.

 

[malacoda]

I'm still fairly new to woodwork, so my experience is still minimal. The only fine woodworking projects so far have been walnut countertops (plank-style) for our kitchen and a walnut aquarium stand that is still in progress. Oh, and a few tools — rabbet plane, spokeshave, and a few japanese hammer handles.

That said, I've done quite a bit of planing on walnut the past year on the counter tops and stand, and have tried paraffin wax and an oil pot with 5W synthetic motor oil.

So far, I prefer the oil pot. Just so much quicker and easier to swipe the plane across the pot between strokes on the wood than stopping to rub wax on.

I've also tried the oil pot with saws. Quick and works well enough for me on long hand saws and panel saws. But on my back saw I find the finer sawdust sticks to the oil rather than dropping free and creates friction in the thinner kerf.

 

[tvrgeek]

At 72, I don’t want anything that might make my shower slick. Seal the grout really well and be done.

Walls. Epoxy grout so sealed.

 

[Jvsquare]

I tend to clean up my tools at the end of the day with an oiled cloth, but in the heat of work I go for the paraffin stick. So both, I guess.

 

[JNCarr]

Most coatings respond differently to liquid water vs water vapor. My GUESS is Rain-x and slick coat are designed for wet water. How they transmit vapor is another story. They may be absolutely fine or absolutely terrible. It will be interesting to see what your test shows.

 

[JNCarr]

I just looked up the MSDS for Rain-x and it is a low molecular weight hydroxy-terminated PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane - think silicone). The hydroxy group is what makes it want to stick to glass windshields and the PDMS is what makes it shed water. Because it is low molecular weight it will act as a surfactant, which means it may sluff onto wood surfaces and negatively affect stains/finishes. Suggest you also do stain/finishing tests before broadly applying to tools.