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polishing

updated thu 26 feb 98

 

Marie Gibbons on mon 23 feb 98

Clayarters . . .

I would like to polish some terra sig. pieces, have read about bees wax and am
interested in trying. Could someone "bee" an advisor and tell me how bees wax
is applied and buffed for best results?

I have also read about using furniture polish, what is the opinions on
preference between furniture polish and bees wax?

TIA

Marie Gibbons

Liz Willoughby on tue 24 feb 98

>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>Clayarters . . .
>
>I would like to polish some terra sig. pieces, have read about bees wax and am
>interested in trying. Could someone "bee" an advisor and tell me how bees wax
>is applied and buffed for best results?
>
>I have also read about using furniture polish, what is the opinions on
>preference between furniture polish and bees wax?
>
>TIA
>
>Marie Gibbons


Hello Marie, I have used a "beeswax furniture paste polish" with good
success. After the piece is sawdust fired it is rubbed with a cloth to
remove any debris, and a small amount is dotted on the pot, and rubbed with
a soft cloth. I prefer the beeswax polish to ordinary paste wax, as you
get a softer, richer sheen, as opposed to a high shiny polished surface.
Best regards, Liz

Liz Willoughby
R.R. 1
Grafton, Ontario, Canada
K0K 2G0
e-mail lizwill@phc.igs.net

Vince Pitelka on tue 24 feb 98

>I would like to polish some terra sig. pieces, have read about bees wax and am
>interested in trying. Could someone "bee" an advisor and tell me how bees wax
>is applied and buffed for best results?
>I have also read about using furniture polish, what is the opinions on
>preference between furniture polish and bees wax?

Marie -
I have not used pure beeswax. I do not like to use waxes, because I get too
much buildup of material, concealing the true nature of the terra sig. I
imagine if you warm the beeswax it should go on very thin, which will give
the best results. Hopefully there are others who have experience with beeswax.

I have tried paste-wax in the past, and they results were terrible - a pasty
white finish, especially on a polished terra sig (buffed with soft cloth or
rubbed with grocery-bag plastic), which is pretty porous in comparison to a
burnished finish.

I have used Tung oil, which is a furniture finishing oil. It gives good
results, but produces a little TOO much shine for me. If you want to try
it, be sure to get pure Tung oil, and not the stuff which has quick-dry
additives.

Oil-base furniture polishes like Lemon Pledge work well. With all of these
products, apply the polish or oil, and wipe the excess off and polish the
surface IMMEDIATELY. Do not ever let it dry in place, as the directions may
indicate for use on wood. If you let it dry on clay, you will get a waxy
deposit in all the recesses which will be VERY hard to remove.
- Vince

Vince Pitelka - vpitelka@DeKalb.net
Home 615/597-5376, work 615/597-6801, fax 615/597-6803
Appalachian Center for Crafts
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166

Lili Krakowski on wed 25 feb 98

Beeswax comes from bee hives. It has a lovely smell
(I think) but some people hate it. It needs to be mixed with some sort of
solvent to make it spreadable. The solvents mostly are some petroleum
derivatives. Expensive furniture polishes INCLUDE beeswax. No idea
what proportions. I would look at the catalogs of "better" woodworker
supply houses, but also magazines on antiques that should have ads for
upscale polishes. HOWEVER a friend uses Butcher's wax. As I do not do
terra sig, have no idea if this is really good. However I DO polish the
furniture, and urge you to wear rubber gloves while getting polish
on your hands.

On Mon, 23 Feb 1998, Marie Gibbons wrote:

> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> Clayarters . . .
>
> I would like to polish some terra sig. pieces, have read about bees wax and am
> interested in trying. Could someone "bee" an advisor and tell me how bees wax
> is applied and buffed for best results?
>
> I have also read about using furniture polish, what is the opinions on
> preference between furniture polish and bees wax?
>
> TIA
>
> Marie Gibbons
>

Lili Krakowski

David Buck on wed 25 feb 98

Liz Willoughby wrote:
>
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> >----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> >Clayarters . . .
> >
> >I would like to polish some terra sig. pieces, have read about bees wax and a
> >interested in trying. Could someone "bee" an advisor and tell me how bees wa
> >is applied and buffed for best results?
> >
> >I have also read about using furniture polish, what is the opinions on
> >preference between furniture polish and bees wax?
> >
> >TIA
> >
> >Marie Gibbons
>
> Hello Marie, I have used a "beeswax furniture paste polish" with good
> success. After the piece is sawdust fired it is rubbed with a cloth to
> remove any debris, and a small amount is dotted on the pot, and rubbed with
> a soft cloth. I prefer the beeswax polish to ordinary paste wax, as you
> get a softer, richer sheen, as opposed to a high shiny polished surface.
> Best regards, Liz
>
> Liz Willoughby
> R.R. 1
> Grafton, Ontario, Canada
> K0K 2G0
> e-mail lizwill@phc.igs.net

Fine woodworking shops like Lee Valley Tools sell a number of fine
waxes which might work. When I bought some carnauba wax several years
ago it came with recipies for waxes. I made some hard paste wax from
the carauba wax, bees wax left over from my beekeeping days, pariffin
wax, linceed oil and turpentine. This wax works well on wooden pens and
other items made on the lathe. Such waxes sould do well on raku pots as
well. Several coats of wax may be needed.

David B. Buck
Nepean, Ont.