Need advice - problem with wax

[Ronn W]

I made a veneered box with ebony and satin wood.  I did a high gloss finish with shellac ( french polish).  I decided to add a little protection withs some wax.  I am very dissappointed with the results.  After letting the shellac cure for about 4 days I applied the wax very lightly with cheese cloth and after waiting the required amount of time used a power buffer.  Some small areas are no longer clear but are slightly milky.  Some areas are no longer as smooth and shiny as they were before waxing.  Any suggestions, please.  If there is way to remove the wax, I would open to that suggestion.  I don't mind having to restore the french polish if I have to  but I would have to get the wax off first.  The wax used was Varathane Classic Paste Finishing wax in a yellow and hsite can with black lettering.  It is a semi soft paste wax.  On Monday I will call the manufacturer for their thoughts.  But any advice would be appreciated.

Picture before wax:

Pics after wax:

[wtnhighlander]

Beautiful box!  Have you tried wiping it down with mineral spirits to remove the wax?

[Ronn W]

On 7/31/2022 at 9:02 AM, wtnhighlander said:

Have you tried wiping it down with mineral spirits to remove the wax?

I haven't tried anything yet.  This moring I will try several solvents on a test piece that also has wax over shellac to see what happens.  I am really nervous about ruining this box because I was really happy with it before the wax fiasco.

[Ronn W]

So far both mineral spirits and naptha "seem" to remove wax without affecting the shellac underneath.  But the french polish under the wax is so smooth and shiny that I am not sure that I really have removed all the wax.  How can I tell?

[Ronn W]

OK,  So I test sanded the practice pieces where I used 1) mineral spirits and 2) Naptha to remove the wax.  I test sanded both lightly just to see if the sanding dust was shellac dust (which will vacuum off the sand paper) or wax (which will gum up the sandpaper)  Both came up with just shellac dust.  For the heck of it (because a read it on the internet), I tired removing the wax form another area with alcohol. The sand paper gummed up right away - which I expected because I was not removing the wax but mixing the shellac and wax together.  So as a final test I sanded the  areas where I had successfully removed the wax and redid the french polish.  This area is right next to an area the has french polish without wax so the I can compare.  After 2 - 20 minutes sessions the test area is nearly as shiny as the original.  So, I guess that ends the testing - on to the box.  I will remove the wax with naptha, sand with 400 grit and try to redo the french polish.  don't see why it won't work but I'm nervous about it.  This is to be a gift.

I think that my waxing problem was too aggressive buffing with the power buffer in combination with no building up enough shellac during the polishing.

[wtnhighlander]

Ronn, if there is time, I would also give the shellac several more days to cure. In my (admittedly limited) experience using shellac, the time it takes to cure to full hardness can vary quite a lot from batch to batch. But there is no finish that compares to a well-executed french polish, IMO.

[Mark J]

Nice box!  I'm glad your fix is working out.

[pkinneb]

On 7/31/2022 at 8:19 PM, wtnhighlander said:

Ronn, if there is time, I would also give the shellac several more days to cure. In my (admittedly limited) experience using shellac, the time it takes to cure to full hardness can vary quite a lot from batch to batch. But there is no finish that compares to a well-executed french polish, IMO.

I agree I would let it dry for a longer time as well, probably weeks if not a month. 

Ronn regardless the box is beautiful! Awesome job as always!!

[Chestnut]

Interesting and good information here. I'd be interested to hear how the fix works on the box after you get it done.

I wonder if heat from buffing didn't contribute to some of the issues as well.

[woodprox]

Great project!

[Ronn W]

Well,  I am trying to resotre the shellac French polish finish.  Most the the surface restored to a shine easily but the areas in th photos that are dull are not shining up so well.  I have reduce the size of the dull areas but they are being stubborn.  The dull areas are smooth. There is shellac on them but just not shiny. I will keep trying

[Tom King]

Nice box!!

What type of pad did you use on the power buffer, at what rpm?  What type of buffer?

I'm thinking it would be easier to use a different wax.  I had never heard of that one.   I expect you've removed it all by now anyway.

[Ronn W]

On 8/2/2022 at 3:42 PM, Tom King said:

What type of pad did you use on the power buffer, at what rpm?  What type of buffer?

It's a cheap Ryobi buffer from a big box store.  The wax looks great on a practice piece that I did.  But the buffer is not well balanced - it's bounces and the pad probablyl beat up the edges and corners  - and I think I was tooo aggressive with it.  I talked to tech services at Rust-o leum (Varathane) and, depite what it says on the can they recommend buffing only by hand.  The dull spots are now minimal.  I am rworking on the french polish repair only once day for a few minutes so that I can't removed any of the previous days' work.  The dull spots are slowly disappearing.  Very frustrating but I will get there.

[Tom King]

Sounds like you're getting it.

Shiny is easy with modern automotive coatings.  Super shiny with buffing.

Bug juice used to be all there was.  Maybe furniture makers will someday catch up with auto finishers.

[roughsawn]

Update, Ronn?

[Ronn W]

It's done.    I managed to resotre the french polish.  So it looks like the first pic in this tread.  There a a couple of small spots near corners that just will not get as shiny as the rest but really not noticeable unless you are looking for it.  I am letting the shellac cure while I decide if I want to wax the box.  For sure it will be hand buffed if I wax it.