What wax should I use?
- Thread starter machingu
- Start date
What Sunray said, especially if it is a milsurp or otherwise collectable.
However, if you do want to use wax to give a shiny finish, or for extra protection, you can use a museum quality non-organic paste wax. It can be taken off with mineral spirits. Musuems use it, and it is safely removable and shouldn't damage the collectability.
There are several brands, the most famous being "Renaisance". Brownells carries it, and you can probably find it online or at antique stores. Lee Valley Tools also stocks a Canadian made product called "conservator's wax", comes in a 125ml can for around $20, (this is what I use).
If your gun is not a collectable milsurp, there is also an orange oil and beeswax product that you can get at home depot (don't remember the name unfortunately).
However, if you do want to use wax to give a shiny finish, or for extra protection, you can use a museum quality non-organic paste wax. It can be taken off with mineral spirits. Musuems use it, and it is safely removable and shouldn't damage the collectability.
There are several brands, the most famous being "Renaisance". Brownells carries it, and you can probably find it online or at antique stores. Lee Valley Tools also stocks a Canadian made product called "conservator's wax", comes in a 125ml can for around $20, (this is what I use).
If your gun is not a collectable milsurp, there is also an orange oil and beeswax product that you can get at home depot (don't remember the name unfortunately).
If it is not a collectible then pretty much any paste wax including Simoniz, will do just fine. They are all designed to do the same thing and mineral spirits will strip pretty much all of them. Besides, whatever you use to strip the wax will not touch the linseed finish as long as it was a complete job. A lot of people stop at a few coats thinking the job is done but a proper "linspeed" finish takes from 12 to 16 coats the last 5 or 6 being hand rubbed till it becomes too warm for the hand and move on. Once that is done it polishes the surface of the wood and cures the linseed oil. Done all the way it should look worn smooth and feel like silk. Gives a very nice satin gloss in the end. Been doing this almost 40yrs and although its a lot of work to do properly, it looks good for a long time and is an easy patch job if something gets dinged. Paint stripper will only slightly dull the finish it is that tough.
