Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Ifrit617 on July 17, 2012, 04:24:36 pm
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Hi everyone,
I have an old bow that needs to be refinished. The original finish was 5 coats of beeswax, but it needs to be sanded down, re-stained, and refinished. If I sand down the surface of the bow and re stain it, will spray on poly hold up as the new finish? Input would be great. Thanks.
Jon
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If you can remove all the wax it will but I doubt you will be able to do that. You probably won't be able to restain it either. I've never used wax as a finish so this is just a guess on my part.
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You will need to remove the wax before resealing it, the stain won’t take well if at all through the wax either. Get some grease and wax remover, I use a 3m product I get from Napa and clean the bow with it before sanding to remove the wax then sand and finish as you wish.
Richard
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My response assumes there is something under the bees wax if not and the wax is worked into the pores of the wood you may not be able to remove all of it.
Richard
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Removing beeswax is next to impossible, especially if it has been heated in. If you sand down to a level were your sandpaper dont clutch up with wax you might be able to both stain and poly the bow. Your chance of succes are slim in my opinion...sorry.
I would drop stain and continue using wax...its a great finish when heated in;-)
Cheers
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Okay maybe that will be what I have to do... Thanks for the replies. I live in a very humid area and I am not sure how ell a beeswax finish will hold up to the humidity.
Jon
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Take a look at this thread. (http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,33432.0.html) It'll answer some of your questions.
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Thanks Darksoul. I now have my answer. :'( thanks.
Jon
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okay so I decided to just leave the finish as is and apply a few more coats of beeswax. I have some 100% beeswax candles which I believe will work?
I plan on melting the wax, brushing it onto the bow while still hot, then heating with a heat gun set on low to melt the wax into the wood, repeating until the wood is thouroughly saturated. Then I plan on buffing with with fine steel wool. Is this the proper way to apply it? Once this is done can I apply acrilyc paint over the wax or should the small section of the bow be painted before I apply the wax? Let me know.
Thanks.
Jon
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I agree wit Dark Soul. Reapply the beeswax but I'd use a hair dryer. I think the heat gun may change the tiller. Jawge
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Bees wax is usually made into a creamey polish by mixing it with turpentine, white spirit or some similar solvent.
Grate it with a cheese grater (Don't let wife see this) put it in a jar with a little solvent and leave overnight, warm it and stirring it it will help it dissolve. Maybe try it in the food blender >:D
Del
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1/2 beeswax and 1/2 mineral oil makes an awesome wood finish, easy to apply and beautiful. Heat it in and reapply often and you'll be all right.
Gabe
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1/2 beeswax and 1/2 mineral oil makes an awesome wood finish, easy to apply and beautiful. Heat it in and reapply often and you'll be all right.
Gabe
this is a great finnish, it's also food safe for wood bowl's and cup's and such, Bub
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I can try the mix, but am curious, will beeswax work on its own or does it have to be mixed up first?
Jon
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I can try the mix, but am curious, will beeswax work on its own or does it have to be mixed up first?
Jon
Dunno, I'd think it would be hard to apply solid without risk of overheating the bow, and even then it will dry as a thick layer I'd have thought.
If it it goes on thick and lumpy it's going to be a pain to get off and will also use a lot of wax, don't think it will penetrate any better either.
Let us know how you get on.
Del
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Step 1: I rub on 100% beeswax with a piece of leather, you have to rub hard so that friction warmth melts the wax for an even distribution. You can leave it at that...but it wont have penetrated the pores and will only protect agains light showers. You bow will now have a glassy luster and fell a bit like plastic to the touch.
Step 2: At this point (after first application) I fully heat threat the belly of my bows. This liquifies the wax and it penetrates quite deep. Afterwards the bow feels like wood again, but it will bead water. At this point I do step 1 again. You dont need to do a full scortching heat threatment...but a simple, quick liqufidation with a hair dryer gives a poorer result imo.
Just my experience with wax....take it or leave it;-)
Cheers
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I think I'm gonna test both methods on a scrap piece of wood then see what works..
Del will definitely let you know...
Anybody have suggestions on when to paint?
Jon
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I believe that wax is proably the best water repellent, eben better than the poly finsihes. I would try amonia if I wanted to remove it. I believe amonia will disolve most waxes.
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I have one last question. I tested the wax finish on a scrap piece of wood, looked real nice. I used my heat gun set at 350 degrees to melt it in. I am concerned however that the heat gun will damage the bow when I heat the wax into the wood. It will only be on a concentrated part of the bow for 1-2 seconds to melt wax in, so no concentrated heating. I can touch the wood immediately after warming the wax in so I know it doesn't get that hot. I don't think it will hurt the bow (I will be waxing belly, back, and sides), but just wanted to make sure.
Thanks.
Jon
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I would think you'd be ok if you're keeping the wood cool to the touch. I have used beeswax as a finish on all my bows so far. I've never used a heat gun, but have had good success putting the bow out in the sun before and after applying the wax to heat it up a little and I've rubbed with an old peice of leather for friction. That's always worked well for me.
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I used pretty much the same method for the top coat on my test piece but heated the wax into the wood on the other coats to get a deep seal. Seemed to work good.
Jon