Kev Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 I have had two blocks of pure beeswax in my bits box for a while, so decided to do something with it. I chopped some up, melted with some olive oil, cooled and now have made myself what appears to be a lovely guitar wax for use on my oil finished basses. Started by rubbing some in to my Warwick bass and buffing off, seems to do a cracking job. Anyone else do this? I am wondering if there are any pitfalls to using a polish that is quite literally just pure beeswax and olive oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhysP Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 Depends on the olive oil - lots of cooking oils have things added to them to make them more flame retardant. Also, cooking oils will go rancid, which is probably why you don't see them added to polishes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 You might be better adding a light, refined mineral oil instead of a vegetable oil. Baby oil might fit the bill! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 I've always found pure beeswax based waxes get a little sticky underhand. Ones with Carnubra in seem to dry harder. For the price of a tin of Briwax that will last you 10 years of waxing warwicks and you *know* works I don't know what the benefit would be of making your own... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4stringslow Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 (edited) I think it's more traditional to dissolve beeswax in turps (turpentine) to use as a wood finish, the point being that the beeswax is carried into the wood grain by the turps which then evaporates leaving just the wax behind. Olive oil is never going to evaporate and will likely leave things sticky and oily. http://cambridgetraditionalproducts.co.uk/blog/turpentine-versus-white-spirit-in-beeswax-furniture-polish Edited February 15, 2016 by 4stringslow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nostromo Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 (edited) [quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1455470595' post='2979370'] For the price of a tin of Briwax that will last you 10 years of waxing warwicks and you *know* works I don't know what the benefit would be of making your own... [/quote] Re the BRIWAX . . . . which one do you recommend for cleaning up a Bass ? . . . . they seem to market loads of different products . . . most of which don't look like they'd be suitable for polishing up a bass ? . . . however one's called "Briwax Sheradale" . . . . is that the stuff ?. . . . or is it just the Briwax original . . . which seems to be coloured ? Beyond that and re the original post . . . . I'd say Beeswax = Good for wood . . . . Olive Oil = Not so good . . . . ? Edited February 15, 2016 by Nostromo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 [quote name='Nostromo' timestamp='1455526072' post='2979728'] Re the BRIWAX . . . . which one do you recommend for cleaning up a Bass ? . . . . they seem to market loads of different products . . . most of which don't look like they'd be suitable for polishing up a bass ? . . . however one's called "Briwax Sheradale" . . . . is that the stuff ?. . . . or is it just the Briwax original . . . which seems to be coloured ? Beyond that and re the original post . . . . I'd say Beeswax = Good for wood . . . . Olive Oil = Not so good . . . . ? [/quote] I use the original which you can get in clear... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manton Customs Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 (edited) Most waxes (e.g Liberon and Briswax) are a blend of waxes such as Beeswax and Carnuba. Though there is nothing wrong with just Beeswax Briswax offer so many colours in case you are using it on a porous piece of wood which has not been grain filled. So whatever wax is left stuck in the grain will not be glaringly obvious if you get the right colour. The best wax out there (in my opinion) is Renaissance wax, which is refined from crude oil and was developed for the British Museum. It outperforms all other waxes in durability and makes the wood feel lovely . Perhaps best of all is that surfaces which have been treated with it will not show fingerprints like other waxes will! Edited February 15, 2016 by Manton Customs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted February 16, 2016 Author Share Posted February 16, 2016 I only thought to do it as I already had the beeswax and oil it would cost me nothing. It has left my Warwick looking rather lovely and feels good, however I think I'll probably just buy a tin in the future don't like the idea of the word 'rancid' associated with my basses haha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazed Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 Just use beeswax. Olive oil can go 'off' Fine mineral oil is better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scojack Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 I use a mixture of beeswax and pine turpentine, i wouldn't use the olive oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer of the Bass Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 It took me a while to work out that Briwax have two different lines of wax polish in almost identical looking tins. "Briwax Original" contains Toluene, which is really unpleasant if used in a poorly ventilated area and will strip a Tru-Oil finish right off (which confused me as several people had recommended using Briwax with Tru-Oil), while "Briwax" uses less unpleasant solvents. The only visible difference seems to be the word Original on the tin, and many shops will sell the two interchangeably. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland Rock Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 I tried it on my fretless board but kept getting this buzz... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 I managed to track down a 8oz bottle of Lemon Oil for about £7 recently - looks like a lifetimes supply with the amount you need. I've also got a tin of Cuprinol clear wax which has a "very high VOC" warning - apparently contributes to atmospheric pollution. Who would have believed furniture polish contributes to Ozone depletion?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 [quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1455691551' post='2981440'] I tried it on my fretless board but kept getting this buzz... [/quote] Don't tell me - you're here all week... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_Stu Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 (edited) [quote name='4stringslow' timestamp='1455494404' post='2979655'] I think it's more traditional to dissolve beeswax in turps (turpentine) to use as a wood finish[/quote] This, with real turpentine, not the manufactured stuff ^ and you can use pure olive oil as a wood finish, I've done it many times on wooden bowls that will be used for food. But - of which there's always one - the trick is to do the polishing while the bowl is still on the lathe. I assume it's the high speed turning that seals the oil in. Edited February 21, 2016 by Big_Stu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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