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| Wood Polishing |
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| Beeswax Polish Bees make honey and wax. The bees produce heat and liquid wax forms in the eight glands under their wings. As this wax comes into contact with air it solidifies into minute, delicate wafers. With these wax wafers, the bees construct cells to hold their larvae and honey. The resulting comb, melted down, and cast into blocks, is the raw material of beeswax polish. Beeswax melts at 147 degrees F. It is one of the harder waxes, and it is the best wax for making polish. It gives a soft sheen to furniture and floors and has only one disadvantage; it is a little sticky. To give a more reflective gloss to your polished surface you will need to add to beeswax a small amount of another natural wax, called carnauba wax, which is a vegetable wax from the wax palm tree; it makes beeswax less sticky. Beeswax is fairly hard and in order that it can be spread over a surface it has to be softened. A solvent, such as turpentine, is added as it has a clean smell and brings out the aroma of the beeswax. Mineral spirits can be substituted for turpentine. When the wax / solvent mixture is used, the solvent evaporates, leaving only a thin film of wax behind. Recipe: Heat 100g beeswax until it melts. Raise the temperature to about 160 degrees F. Heat turpentine in a separate saucepan to about 160 degrees F. Maintaining both liquids at the same temperature, slowly pour solvent into the wax, beating the two together. Pour blended wax into tin cans to harden. Carnauba wax is taken from a Brazilian palm tree. The tree's wax-covered fronds are laid out in rows to dry and turned several times. The wax begins to flake and then the fronds are threshed by beating with sticks so that the wax falls off. These wax flakes are melted and cast into rough blocks. It has a melting point of 182 degrees F, giving great hardness and gloss to polishes. Beeswax polish cleans and polishes the surface in one operation, and is pleasant to use. Apply a thin coat of polish, allow it to dry thoroughly , then buff with a duster. It is better to apply three or four thin coats, polishing after each, than one thick coat. |
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