Furniture polish recipe

[E&MBees]

I would like to have a go at making some polish for my husband to use when woodworking. Does anyone have a recipe they would be willing to share?

Many thanks.

 

[understanding_bees]

I would like to have a go at making some polish for my husband to use when woodworking. Does anyone have a recipe they would be willing to share?

Many thanks.

May I share an idea which worked well for me. I had a particular project, quite a few years ago, where I wanted to use a natural finish for wooden keys on a marimba I was building (a percussion instrument related to the xylophone). I needed to use something which protected the finish of the wood, but which could not chip off in the future, as might happen with lacquer, especially as these keys are struck repeatedly when then instrument is played.
I used Tung oil, but as good as it is it takes a lot of time for it to soak into wood. I mixed it 50/50 with mineral turps, which enabled a thin layer to be applied, and also enabled the oil to penetrate more deeply into the wood.
I presume that you may be looking for a recipe which uses beeswax, because you have asked your question on a beekeeping forum. I do not have a particular recipe, but would suggest that a soft paste made from beeswax and a suitable solvent may be suitable for your needs. Beeswax is insoluble in many solvents, but does dissolve in Isopropyl alcohol, which is also known as rubbing alcohol. I would be interested to know what kinds items you are talking about, because this may influence the kind of recommendation I would make, about which type of polish to use.

 

[Speybee]

I hope this is helpful.

 

[Murox]

Real turpentine is the key ingredient, works a treat.
Another durable but time consuming finish can be achieved with linseed oil, turpentine and good quality match varnish. Its applied hot/warm rubbed in and left to dry for a day or two them repeated multiple times. A 30 / 70 mix of old and turps will work but the amount of yacht varnish is less than a third to begin with and is slowly increased with each successive coating - at least 10

Dry wood at all stages and hot application away from damp draughts is important. The wood absorbs the mixture and the varnish is carried deep into the wood and slowly builds ups.The finish is in the wood rather than on top. Its laborious work and the mixture is of course highly flammable, warm it in a bain marie . Do not crumple up the cloths you used to rub it in and leave them carelessly around - lay them out open and airy to dry, then throw away. They have the potential to self combust under the right conditions.

 

[E&MBees]

I hope this is helpful.

Brilliant. Thank you. Hubby will be pleased.

 

[Swarm]

Depending on the application he intends for it but if as a furniture polish that shines to mirror finish, you could try ...

250 ml pure turpentine.
120g pure bees wax.
12g carnauba wax.

Melt wax in bain marie and warm turpentine (I put the container in a saucepan of boiling water)
Add the melted wax and stir well before pouring into polish tins. Allow to cool and set.

 

[Colin B]

I would like to have a go at making some polish for my husband to use when woodworking. Does anyone have a recipe they would be willing to share?

Many thanks.

Here's my furniture polish recipe which I have used for years and sell at farmers markets. It's an old traditional recipe.

Equal parts of beeswax, turpentine & linseed oil makes a good softish polish. You can change the consistency by adding more or less beeswax but always keep the turps & linseed oil in equal parts. (More bees wax harder polish, less beeswax softer polish).
You can also add a scented oil such as lavender oil if you want a scented polish. Personally I prefer the true old fashioned smell of linseed oil & beewax.

Make sure you use good linseed oil and importantly pure turpentine. Do not use turpentine substitute from the likes of B&Q.

Good luck
Colin

 

[E&MBees]

Here's my furniture polish recipe which I have used for years and sell at farmers markets. It's an old traditional recipe.

Thanks Colin for your recipe.

Emily

Equal parts of beeswax, turpentine & linseed oil makes a good softish polish. You can change the consistency by adding more or less beeswax but always keep the turps & linseed oil in equal parts. (More bees wax harder polish, less beeswax softer polish).
You can also add a scented oil such as lavender oil if you want a scented polish. Personally I prefer the true old fashioned smell of linseed oil & beewax.

Make sure you use good linseed oil and importantly pure turpentine. Do not use turpentine substitute from the likes of B&Q.

Good luck
Colin

 

[bingevader]

If you don't like the idea of using turpentine, then linseed oil works.
Our assoc. used to give a recipe that was one part turpentine, one part linseed and one part bees wax.
I've been substituting another part linseed instead of the turpentine, so it's two to one, oil to wax, and that works well.
I put it on the hives too.

 

[Hebeegeebee]

It's not easy to get real turps now as pretty much everyone sells turps 'substitute' and it is NOT a substitute. After my old hardware shop ceased to be (I expect we all have a former hardware shop in our own towns, sadly) I had to go online to get some recently.

 

[HarryO]

I made up a small tablet of beeswax “polish”. Using a few drops of mineral oil (it’s what they use in baby oil also called liquid paraffin) mixed into warmed to liquid beeswax. The more you add the softer it gets. Mine solidified into a small cake / tablet just slightly harder than shoe polish and I used it on my walking boots. I do not know if it is ok for wood but unlike vegetable oils will not go rancid. I suppose people use boiled linseed.
I think I tried mixing beeswax with glycerine once but I cannot remember what the result was!!

 

[Nige.Coll]

There is a thread somewhere in the dark cupboard of this forum by hedgerowpete that has every recipe known to man on it lol.

 

[Angry_Mob]

There is a thread somewhere in the dark cupboard of this forum by hedgerowpete that has every recipe known to man on it lol.

https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/threads/bees-wax-furniture-polishes-part-one.9167/https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/threads/bees-wax-uses-medical-and-balms.9168/

 

[E&MBees]

I’m about to embark on making some polish. Is it ok to warm the turps in a stainless steel jug, or would glass be better.

 

[Swarm]

All you need do to warm the turpentine is stand whatever utensil you use in boiling water. I use a pyrex jug in an old saucepan.

 

[E&MBees]

At last, I have managed to make some furniture polish!
Thanks to everyone who has provided advice.

 

[Erichalfbee]

At last, I have managed to make some furniture polish!
Thanks to everyone who has provided advice.

Lovely
Doesn’t it smell nice?
A tip. Store it sealed in a plastic bag. The smell leaks out of the tin and taints everything