protective wax for bone or wood artifacts

[BillA]

looking for a protective wax for artifacts of bone or wood, such would also shine up duller rocks

have tried melted parrifin from candles which seems not too permanent and is rather impure; for rocks and shells
mineral oil evaporates quickly, used as the solvent for inorganic wax pastes
have not tried carnuaba or beeswax (straight)

products for curators emphasise the use of micro crystalline wax which has smaller crystals, less oil, and a higher melting temperature
micro crystalline wax can be had solid (Jacquard), as a paste wax (Chestnut), or as blended curator-type waxes (Reniassance, Liberon)

anyone have some experience with different waxes ?

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

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

[joshuaream]

Renaissance wax might be a good choice for those hachas, but outside of lacquer or resin you would need to periodically apply. It depends on the stone. Some light grey rocks just turn dark grey, they aren’t going to turn into jade.

I have used it on some types of Mayan pottery where you want to protect blue color (which fades quickly as it is exposed to the air.) I have also used it on metal relics for the same reason (preserving dug patina but not accelerating it.)

I find a lot of celts like that at my sites in Venezuela (or used to before it went to heck) and some are covered in a patina that makes things look chalky. A couple of months in a bucket with mineral oil will leave them polished looking for a long time. The same goes for Florida points, a long soak lasts a while. And then future soaks seem to last even longer.

Some people soak Tairona carnelian beads in cedarwood oil (heat an pressure) and they stay polished looking for years. The same process is used for emeralds and other gemstones by forcing oil deeper into the stone. I wouldn’t try tossing it in a pressure cooker, but some people do that for some specimens.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A History of Mining on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska - Grab it through Amazon!

[catherine1]

I have used Gomers on all my bone artifacts. You don't want to expose them to light for any length of time anyhow. I keep my bone, and bear teeth displays covered at all times, unless you are showing them to somebody. No problems so far. I have found that if the artifact is in poor condition you need to use more glue in the mixture to stabilize it. Using more glue will make it glossy, but its better than it falling apart........

 

[catherine1]

I have used Gomers on all my bone artifacts. You don't want to expose them to light for any length of time anyhow. I keep my bone, and bear teeth displays covered at all times, unless you are showing them to somebody. No problems so far. I have found that if the artifact is in poor condition you need to use more glue in the mixture to stabilize it. Using more glue will make it glossy, but its better than it falling apart........

 

[sms28]

I would recommend butvar-76 it can be hard to find sometimes but that is what I use on most of my fragile artifacts. The process to do it is the same as duco and acetone but the b-76 can be re desolated with acetone so you don’t have to worry about it being too permanent.