My wife purchased a block of elm burl for me and one side is still covered with bark. I would like to turn this and leave the bark somewhat intact. The problem is the whole thing was waxed. How do I remove the wax from all the bark inclusions before I finish? Any help would be appreciated.
Heat the wax. Boil it so that your wood is completely under the water. Skim off the wax as it rises to the top before taking the wood out. You can also heat the wax with steam, hairdryer, or heat gun. Anything that'll heat the wax up will do it eventually.
- Andrew
Peter,
Once I tried a heat gun (the industrial hair dryer type of thing). It melted a lot of it and burned the small amount of residue (is a little darkness on the bark a problem?) and seemed to pretty much get rid of it. I can't say for sure if it worked perfectly because the rest of the project was a disaster and never got finished. But, I will try the approach again the next time I am faced with the same problem.
David
Boiling may be the best way to REMOVE the wax, but it might loosen the bark as well. If the wood was cut in the winter, there's less chance of that happening because the sap is down and the bark is more solid because there's no new growth under the bark.
Heating with a heatgun or whichever will melt the wax, and it will soak into the bark--might be a problem with whatever finish you'll use.
Cut off small pieces for testing, see which works best.
Seems to me there is a solvent for wax, but can't remember what it is.
Ken Grunke
My can of wax "contains aliphatic hydrocarbons," according to the label. Makes it soft,
Nice nonpolar solvent would do, I should think.
I've been very successful using mineral spirits. I've soaked a piece in it, used an old toothbrush to soften and get out the waxy buildup in little corners and crevices and that worked fine on a piece of maple burl.
Good luck
-- George L. Tanty Santa Fe, NM
OK. Why?
- Andrew
It certainly might do that but it's not a sure thing. You don't want to boil the thing as if you were fixing ribs. Boil it just enough so that the wax floats out. You're not going to get all of it out and you don't need to in many cases. Just get enough of it off there so it doesn't show. If the bark does separate, just glue it back on and continue. No big deal. In fact, I often would rather have the bark come off beforehand so that I can make sure it'll stay put when I really really want it to.
Good luck,
- Andrew
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