wax questions

[Slow Puffs]

I just googled "carnauba wax". It seems that it is used in car waxing compounds like "Turtle Wax". There is a pure one called "Mother's Carnauba Wax". Is this the carnauba that many use on pipes? If not, where do you you buy it and under what name? And what is the purpose of putting this wax on your pipe?

Where do you buy "beeswax"? at an candle making supply shop?

I've looked around my supplies and all I can find in brebbia that I use on my pipe stems with the majic eraser.

 

[gandalfpc]

Mothers Pure Carnuba is good to use - for beeswax you can get good stuff cheap on ebay - natural yellow is best unless you are waxing your meers, then you probably want the white food grade beeswax (also on ebay)

Purpose for briar is a nice protective finish, for meers it is crucial in the coloring process.

Also good to dab a bit of beeswax on the end of the stem, to slow the wear of the stummel

 

[Slow Puffs]

I'm thinking of just dropping into a local store... I'm not an eBay kind of guy :lol:

 

[gandalfpc]

Local arts and crafts stores should have beeswax as well as candle stores (pure beeswax candle = hunk o' beeswax with a wick

I actually have a few bricks of beeswax laying around, a lifetime or twos supply - can send you a small chunk that should last you years if you PM me

 

[Slow Puffs]

Local arts and crafts stores should have beeswax as well as candle stores (pure beeswax candle = hunk o' beeswax with a wick

I actually have a few bricks of beeswax laying around, a lifetime or twos supply - can send you a small chunk that should last you years if you PM me

Thanks gandalpc, I've had a similar offer a while ago. I have a number of my pipes ready to be waxed and polished and I want to get at it today or tomorrow...

So I guess from your offer, I shouldn't buy the special on 10 pounds of beeswax if I come across it :lol:

 

[gandalfpc]

I go through paraffin by the 10lb block, and dipping your meers will require a pound or so of white beeswax, but for the standard beeswax and carnuba you will find a block the size of your fist to be all you need

 

[Slow Puffs]

I go through paraffin by the 10lb block, and dipping your meers will require a pound or so of white beeswax, but for the standard beeswax and carnuba you will find a block the size of your fist to be all you need

Okay, now you got me confused. Is "paraffin" the same as beeswax?

 

[gandalfpc]

No - paraffin is another type of wax - used for sealing jars and tins - not something that most people use, but I am somewhat fanatical about my cellar

 

[Sasquatch]

PM sent, SP.

 

[Anonymous]

Carnauba wax bar....."The Beall Tool Tool company, Newmark, Ohio...... or Pipe makers emporium. (This is a solid block so you will need to buff it on)
Bees wax we get here at most Fine art and craft stalls!

good luck!

 

[Hunter5117]

Pure carnauba is really hard and generally can't be polished to a high shine without some sort of polishing wheel to generate the speed and heat required to melt it. Car wax and others contain carnauba mixed with other stuff to make it soft and workable.

I buy pure carnauba at the local woodworking supply store. Couple of dollars for a block the size of a bar of soap. It lasts a long time unless you drop it like I always do cause it shatters like a bar of Macintosh toffee when you slap it on the table (Puffs, I bet you remember that, not sure if it is just a Canadian thing or not).

Anyway, I keep a cotton wheel on my bench grinder charged with carnauba, nothing shines better or lasts longer. Carnauba is non-toxic so I polish my whole pipe with it including the stem (I think they use it to make chocolate hard and shiny)

 

[Slow Puffs]

Thank you all.

A fellow BoB nearby here in Alberta has come to my rescue. Thanks Sasquatch

 

[Raid]

Another novice question but is it possible to use pure beeswax only to polish pipes? Carnauba wax is sort of a hard to get here, but i have bee farms near i live and some years ago i got a 200 gr piece of pure beeswax there. I haven't used it with pipes, but i've waxed some washroom shelfs i made with a mixture of beeswax, tar and turpentine.

 

[Sasquatch]

It's possible, but the finish is not real shiny and not real hard.

 

[StephenDownie]

Another novice question but is it possible to use pure beeswax only to polish pipes? Carnauba wax is sort of a hard to get here, but i have bee farms near i live and some years ago i got a 200 gr piece of pure beeswax there. I haven't used it with pipes, but i've waxed some washroom shelfs i made with a mixture of beeswax, tar and turpentine.

Part of the problem with bees wax is the low melting point. Any heat and it tends to disappear along with the shine. Unfortunately pipes put off a bit too much heat to make it a lasting finish. At best you'll end with a matte finish.

 

[Anonymous]

Agreed!!!!!

 

[Buddy Springman]

I just use neutral shoe polish and the pipes are so smooth they are easy to drop. There are those who've had trouble with it - don't know how, I just don't intentionally do the top of the bowl.

Buddy