[TheForge] Re: oil/paraffin coating

[Mike]

> You wouldn't be thinking of carnuba wax would you?  That's just
> Johnson's paste wax.

Just for the record:

Carnauba (with an "au") is a very hard natural wax derived from a
Brazilian variety of palm.  It's not "just" Johnson's paste wax.  Pure
carnauba (well, relatively pure -- there are several grades) comes in
hard, almost rocky chunks and there's nothing pasty about it.
Commercial products containing carnauba wax have other waxes, solvents
or other stuff added.

Carnauba gives a very nice finish.  I mix it with beeswax, linseed oil
and a little turpentine to a consistency that isn't pasty but is soft
enough to be manageable. Usually apply it on warm metal or with the
aid of a torch to flow it on, then buff a bit when it's cold.  There's
a tendency for it to collect in crevices and remain as visible whitish
traces of crud. That can usually be cured by a little heat to the
affected crevice.

And just at the moment, I'm down to my last chunk and don't know where
to get more easily.  The chemical supply house I bought it from is
long gone.

- Mike

-- 
Michael Spencer                  Nova Scotia, Canada       .~. 
                                                           /V\ 
mspencer@tallships.ca                                     /( )\
http://home.tallships.ca/mspencer/                        ^^-^^

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