Liquid Finishing Wax

[JoshW]

I am experimenting with different post electrolysis sealing treatments. I tried spay on poly (turned out nice) and spray shellac (terrible but thankfully easily reversible) and also some dark liquid Watco Finishing Wax. Of all of them, the liquid wax looks the best because it darkens the metal somewhat without turning it jet black. Has anyone else tried liquid wax and if so what are the downsides? It seems really easy when compared to boiling hard paraffin wax, which I haven't tried yet.

Josh

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Minelab PRO-FIND 35 Waterproof Pinpointer Metal Detector for Experts with Tone ID & Adjustable Sensitivity - Grab it through Amazon!

[sjvalleyhunter]

I would suggest Renaissance Wax. It’s a fantastic preservative and only about $15 on Amazon. I have not personally used it on metal right after electrolysis to see if it will prevent flash rusting, but my guess is that it would.

 

[JoshW]

Thanks, I will try that.

 

[Tpmetal]

i bake object in oven to drive off all water and apply renaissance wax while still warm so it soaks in

 

[JoshW]

Thanks. I bought a heat gun today to try that with the wax. Figured I could use one anyway for other things.

 

[JoshW]

Thought I would post an update to this post. I did get Renaissance Wax and it looks like it will work well on items that need a clear coat. One challenge I was trying to solve was that I usually soak items in Evaporust after electrolysis to get all the remaining rust off. That works great for the rust and it prevents it from flash rusting for weeks even after the treatment. The issue is it strips the black patina off of the iron and leaves it with a dull grey color. Today I tried applying a solid paste wax (dark color) with a heat gun and was really pleased with the results.

Josh

 

[sjvalleyhunter]

Thanks for the update and those look like they turned out good. Trying to get Renascence wax into every nook and cranny of a shell fragment would be difficult. For some reason I was envisioning that you were working with items that have a smooth surface when I suggested the Renascence wax.

If you are still looking for other methods to try, then a good old fashion paraffin wax soak may be your best bet. Aquachigger on YouTube has a great video that many view as the gold standard as a “how to” video on iron relic preservation. If you use his method, the wax boil will push out any water from the items so you shouldn’t have to use Evaporust, and thus avoiding the color change too. Here is a link to that video.



Update: if that video link doesn’t work (it’s not for me when I click on it), then just go to YouTube and search “Aquachigger wax” and it should be the first video that pops up. The title is “Preserving Iron Relics: Hot Wax Treatment.”

 

[JoshW]

Thanks! That is a great video.

Josh