In my last post, I went over some of the pros and cons of my favorite waxes. Some smell far too strong, most have carcinogens, and the ones I really like are just far too expensive. I come from a long line of thrifty women, so paying $34 for 10 oz. of Cece Caldwell's wax was really grating at me. That's $3.40 per oz. folks. Fine chocolate is cheaper. It was really cutting into my profit margin, too. So, I started researching obsessively, 'cuz that's what I do. I came across several things that were kind of helpful, but no recipes I could try as it. I'm nothing if not picky. I wanted all natural, or at least as close to that as possible, affordable, soft enough to apply with a brush, yet harden enough to buff to a soft sheen. I looked up Cece caldwell's ingredients, did a little more research as to the purpose of each ingredient, and then just went for it. I just started melting it together, keeping track of amounts, and adding more of this and that until I got what I wanted. Grating the beeswax block is the only part that was work. I gave up on that and just start chunking it with a knife and that worked, too. It was fun, and more importantly, it was a success. For most of you occasional refinishers, this would be a bit much. But if you go through as much wax as I do, have fun with my recipe! Here's the breakdown of ingredients:
- 8 oz. beeswax $6.75 etsy
- 16 oz. boiled linseed oil $4.00 home depot
- 8 oz. olive oil $3.00 HEB
- 4 oz. carnauba wax $6.50 amazon
- 12 oz. D-limonene $7.92 amazon
- 30 drops lavender oil $2.00 health food store
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48 oz. wax $30.17 = $.63 an oz.
Sooooo much cheaper! I gave you the price for the exact amount that I used, when in reality I ordered enough to make 2 batches for most ingredients, some many batches.
Again, that's $3.40 per oz. vs. $.62 an oz.
How did it turn out? Great! Applies nicely with a brush, smells great. I don't need to worry about fumes. Works very similarly to Cece Caldwell's wax - by that I mean I apply it, let it soak in for a few seconds, and wipe it off. It is ready to buff in about 5 minutes. Dries harder than Annie Sloan. The only thing I would change is ordering white beeswax instead of yellow - I just wasn't paying attention, didn't think it would matter, and maybe using plain vegetable oil instead of olive oil, just for color. The end result would be a lighter colored wax. I did try my wax on Old White, and it warms it up a tiny bit (like Minstead wax does), but I liked it just fine. It also works well with Annie Sloan dark wax.
Here's a pic of how it turned out:
It filled two plastic paint tubs from Home Depot. Good luck and let me know if you have any questions!
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