# was waxing my dining room table a mistake?



## FrankL (Feb 22, 2013)

I bought a Restoration Hardware Trestle table made from "100 year old pine boards". They suggested I wax it so I applied 3 thin coats of Briwax. Within two weeks I had rings all over the surface. Should I remove the wax, and polyurethane it, tung oil over it, or what? I want this table to last a lifetime. I'm frustrated already. Thanks


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## WillemJM (Aug 18, 2011)

Wax is great, but not for a table top if you will be putting cups on the top with condensation. I have pieces that are 70 years old, with only wax and they have stood the test of time, but put anything with moisture on them and the rings will be there.

I've had success wiping the wax with mineral spirits or thinners and then spraying either dewaxed Shellac seal coat, or lacquer.

Good luck.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Briwax is a good pine finish but not good where moisture is involved. You could keep applying briwax to get rid of the rings but the only long term solution would be to strip the table with a paint and varnish remover and refinish it. Tung oil is a good finish but is a slow drying finish and requires many coats over several months to actually have a finish on it. The quickest product you could use would be a polyurethane. Giving the fact that you may not be able get 100% of the wax off I would use a oil based polyurethane mixing the first coat 50/50 with mineral spirits. 

For now I would just keep waxing it. Paint removers don't work well below 70 degrees so I would wait until warmer weather.


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## FrankL (Feb 22, 2013)

*temperature*

Ha! No problem there. I live in New Orleans! It's always over 50'.


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## ricko (Feb 17, 2013)

is it moisture ? white marks ? YOU could try iron and damp cloth. I have had good luck but you must be very very carefull as not to soften , or go thro finish .


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

Frank, I live 45 min north west of you in Gonzales.

Water lifts the wax and will make those rings / stains every time.

I second what WillemJM above said but I wouldn't go with lacquer as I wouldn't trust that all of the wax was removed and lacquer over wax ain't no good like dat.

It's not necessary to strip the table. Wipe it very well with mineral spirits then apply 100% dewaxed shellac sealer. You can apply polyurethane over the sealer to give better protection if you chose to.

Be sure to apply the same finish to top and bottom of the table top, our local humidity swings can cause problems otherwise. 

Good luck,

Jean


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## FrankL (Feb 22, 2013)

*thanks keep em comin*

All so helpful Thanks. Can I use mineral spirits only on affected areas and then wax again? (and get some coasters too:icon_smile. Will that remove the existing rings or is it not possible to spot fix? I don't think I'm gonna like polyurethane on such a rustic piece.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

I wouldn't use wax at all, or try to fix the problem by adding more.Wax is not a protective finish for how you will be using the table. You will always have that problem by using it.

I would remove the wax, and apply a barrier coat of dewaxed shellac. There are film finishes that finish satin or on the flat side if you prefer. Other than that a pure oil finish might satisfy you although it won't offer the same protection as a film finish.









 







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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

FrankL said:


> All so helpful Thanks. Can I use mineral spirits only on affected areas and then wax again? (and get some coasters too:icon_smile. Will that remove the existing rings or is it not possible to spot fix? I don't think I'm gonna like polyurethane on such a rustic piece.


 Normally with Bri-wax you can just apply another coat with coarse steel wool and it will take out the white spots if it's in the wax alone. If the moisture has gone through it into the wood then it would take some sanding.


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## Bill White 2 (Jun 23, 2012)

PLEASE don't put poly of a classic table.
Bill


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## Heath6789 (Jun 23, 2015)

Hi-- I have a similar issue. I waxed my table too and can't seem to remove it. I just posted a topic. I'll try and link to it.


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## Heath6789 (Jun 23, 2015)

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=98017


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## Bill White 2 (Jun 23, 2012)

Solvent (mineral spirits/naptha), wipe, reapply, wipe, etc. Might take ya a while to remove all wax, but keep washin' and wiping. It'll come off.
Bill


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## sancho57 (Oct 23, 2011)

In a situation like this I would use a product called polyvine. It's a water based varnish. One of their products will give a feeling of a traditional wax finish.

What I do is give it a quick rubbing of wax to. Not necessary but it's what I do

http://us.polyvine.com/index.php?option=com_locator&view=directory&layout=gmap&Itemid=315&lang=en-US


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