Sunday, January 11, 2015

How to make a natural wood finish using beeswax and olive oil







This is an eco friendly finish and it is really easy to make.

All you need is some beeswax and olive oil.

First of all I took a piece of wax and converted it into savings with a cheese scraper. This way the wax will melt faster.

I take a coffee pot and add the olive oil and the wax. I used 1 part wax and 3 parts oil. The mixture will be thicker if you add more wax and thinner if you add more oil.

The mixture should be melted slowly using bain marie. To do that I placed the coffee pot inside a container with hot water and medium heat.

After the mixture melted I added it to a container. I stirred it from time to time and when It cooled down it became creamy.

The finish is ready and can be applied on wood using a cloth.


I want to give my special thanks to my friend Costas Rellos. Costas is a Greek honey producer and provided me with the beeswax.

3 comments:

  1. Now, you could make a cutting board finish by using mineral oil instead of Olive Oil. Why? Olive Oil has a tendency to go rancid after a few months, which imparts a weird flavor to the food one is cutting. You could use walnut oil too, but that is really expensive.

    My recipe is a 3:2 mixture - of mineral oil (food grade) to bees wax (food grade). I also use this as wood finisher for other wood around me, such as wooden photo frames, wooden bowls, oak furniture, etc.

    You can use it straight out of the jar (I use 1 pint mason jars) without heating it, or heat it and use it more as an oil.

    The way I mix it up is melt the bees wax in the microwave. Safer and easier in the mason jar (without lid of course). I melt in 30 sec intervals, stir and re-heat. I add the oil after the wax is melted.

    Pretty much we are on the same wavelength! Thanks Ionrooted.

    -roo

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