As a Dane, i appreciate you spreading the word about our traditional finishes 🙂 That said, i have never seen soap applied just like that. First of all, the soap we use is soap flakes, but if you cant get that i guess what you showed works. Just make sure it is pure soap with a high grease content. For floors, you just wash them with a solution of the soap flakes, but for furniture i usually prepare a thick almost gel form of flakes and water. I then apply this generously to the wooden surface and let it sit for a while, and then wash it off with clean water.
Castile Soap comes in liquid form, as well as flakes and bars, but that aready has water in it. Soap flakes arent used as much with the proliferation of front loading washing machines, but it saves on the grating and cutting of bars.
Swede here: 30 years ago my wife and I bought a dining room set, in a modern version of late 18th / early 19th century style. The table is finished with soap (which we haven't reapplied...😳) and is still very good and smooth 😊!
What I've been doing recently is using a really small slow cooker in my shop for preparing heated waxes/finishes. A few crock pot brands make dip or queso warmers about 16oz in size. They heat up quickly, prevent me from making too much at a time, and I found mine in a thrift store for literally $1. And since it's a dedicated device, I never have to worry about contaminating any of my kitchenware.
Wow! Something I can finally speak about with some personal experience. I'm a beekeeper among other things. I've been mixing my own beeswax finish for years. I have used food grade mineral oil. One cheap option if you trust is mineral oil (by the gallon) meant for horses. A gallon is 20-30 bucks and should last you a decade. My country folk engineering method of application is to put the piece to be finished in my junky SUV to heat up in the summer and start applying finish after is has sunbaked/heated up for a good part of the day. Now this might not be good for fine woodworking, but that's not what I've done. Man, it just drinks up that finish. A walnut mantle I simple put outside on a hot day and it absorbed so much heat, I could barely touch it bare handed. Again, drank it up like a dehydrated camel. Put about 10 coats on it and it's the simplest and sexiest woodworking project I ever make. Somehow I lucked out in working it to have a perfect sapwood arch in the piece. I do the same with my wooden spatulas. They're smaller, so I slather it on and put them in the Prius under the trunk glass. They get supers hot and soak it up. Peace out! Caution, a walnut bench I made was put outside and gets water spots if left outside. Never said I a smart woodworker.
Erik, yesterday I made a pot of 'wood butter' from beeswax and coconut oil. While I was clearing up I was rubbing it on my mouth. I had a cold sore and my bottom lip was VERY scaly. This morning? My bottom lip was KISSABLE! And I did all my friend's wood handled kitchen utensils. After which my hands felt WONDERFUL. Let's leave the chemically treated products on the shelves and go natural. I made the spoon butter for my first spoon that I'd made (excuse me while I laugh at your sense of humour!) and my little spoon looks LOVELY!
I've been making 'period' finishes for wood and leather for a while and my favorite is an equal parts mixture of flaxseed oil and beeswax, sometimes with a tablespoon or so of terpentine. Historically it would sometimes be boiled with oxides (like bronze, iron or lead oxide) to make it cure faster. Boiled linseed oil from the hardware store is actually not boiled. Its flaxseed oil that has be altered with heavy metallic solvents and preservatives and often contains some solution of cobalt and manganese. I strongly recommend boiling your own flaxseed and beeswax mixture at home. Apply it to warm wood once a day for a week, once a week for a month, once a month for the first year, and once a year for the life of the tool (assuming the tool gets a lot of use and spends a lot of time outside and exposed to heat and sun, dirt, weather and moisture). This builds a durable, deep penetrating finish that is easy to grip, smells great, and increases the durability and life of tool handles by years. I have inherited a shovel and a splitting axe with thier original handles that have been treated/maintained in this way that have been used continuously on a farmstead for nearly a 100 years.
I believe the hardware store 'boiled' linseed oil is why linseed oil has a bad reputation. According to the Solvent Free Paint site, it still has the proteins in it, which causes it to mold badly. The oil should sit in tanks until the proteins have settled out and the remaining liquid is then pumped off. They say the hardware store stuff could be explosive it you tried to boil it. I use lots of raw linseed oil produced in the Nordic countries.
@@Obscurity202 yeah, I would never recommend heating or modifying anything that is a finished product that you buy from the store. But if your combining a pint of beeswax and a pint of flaxseed oil with a tablespoon of turpentine and you do it at an appropriate temperature there's really not much of a risk compared to most other things we do. Just do it slowly, do it outside, don't do it over an open flame, use a thermometer so you don't exceed the flash point, keep the lid to the pot near by to extinguish the flames and an oil safe extinguisher near by just in case.. it's not what I would call a safe activity, but I've been doing it for years with 0 problems. Even if you don't know what you're doing, 20 minutes on Google makes it pretty easy to mitigate the risks. Just pay attention to what you're doing. People have been heating volatile and oily substances for thousands of years so it's not like there's a part of this equation that is unknown.
I like the laid back method of teaching, great music and real down to earth methods. Old school methods are hard to find and I like how hand rubbed oil finishes look on furniture.
I just found your channel recently. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. I have learned a lot about wood finishing from your extremely well-produced videos.
I've been a carpenter/woodworker my whole life. I've been using beeswax for years. Heated up in a small boiler. With a heat gun. I've seldom seen it mentioned in other vids............ I never do social media. I have never subscribed to any channel. Ever. I've seen thousands of woodworking vids, but yours Sir, I find very interesting. I think your vids are great. Almost makes me want to,............(dare I say it?).........subsc.............
I use a beeswax olive oil paste wax finish for a lot of my personal pieces. I’ve recently added shellac as a durable finish (not water proof but close enough). I’m looking into tung oil with a citrus solvent next. Ideally I want it to be as low VOC as possible.
@brianm.9451 I really like it. I use tung, beeswax, and citrus oil solvent. If I wanted it a bit "harder" or shinier, I add a bit of carnuba wax too. You just have to heat it longer.
Welcome to the delemer of "I don't subscribe to RUclips a because.. yet, I want to see ENC 's next video drop". Enjoy watching a maestro distill his learnt knowledge and accumulated experiance to enable others to excell to his level (I would love to physically attend his classes ~ too many K's and time zones away). How you can pay it (subscription) forward is to ask a question of Eric that extends him and also expands the "knowledge base" of the subscribers... knowledge needs to be shared and Eric does this in spades
I’ve been watching you on and off for a couple of years now. I don’t mean to shit on your earlier work, because there was good stuff in there, but I must say that over the last year or so the fit and finish of your videos has come to match the quality of your woodwork. You’re now must-see TV for me. Between the improvements in presentation, more confident speaking, and some pretty interesting and thoughtful topics I am really enjoying your stuff.
So I made a thing but more importantly I used your 1:1:1 beeswax/oil/terp recipe and WOW. Buttery smooooth as advertised. Unless there is a specific customer request I can't talk them out of or an exterior project that demands it, I'm done with store bought finishes. Pigments are next. Thanks for sharing your knowledge, please keep it coming!
Nice tutorial on making the soap finish. It's definitely one I want to try. For my beeswax finish prep I picked up a mini crockpot for a few dollars at the thrift store to handle the melting and mixing for my cutting board butter. It's a "set it and forget it" process, not as quick as the heat gun but you don't have to worry about fire or handling a hot jar. You can start with the oil base to get it warmed before adding the beeswax shavings. I also put a small foil pan from the dollar store in the crock pot to aid in cleanup. You can use those over and over for the same type of mixture.
I make a mix of Bees wax, Carnuba flakes, and mineral oil. It's fantastic for furniture but it's also fantastic for cutting boards/charcuterie boards too. I change the mix depending on my use but generally speaking the first coat is thin so it really sinks into the wood pores then the last coat is almost like your soap mix where it's more waxy/fluffy? Great stuff 👍
You can also use walnut oil to finish wood. You just apply it until it stops soaking into the wool. You sand it with a sanding sponge just like when you are finishing lacquer. You keep applying in coats until it no longer soaks into the wood. It is one of the smoothest finishes I have done. It also works when your cabinets in the bathroom gets a little worn out. It makes them look like new. It is sold in the grocery store and the safest finish I have found.
Soap finish is (was) really common in rustic furniture in southern Germany, too. Espacially kitchen tables are often soaped. If it gets dirty, you simply use common soft soap "Schmierseife" to clean it. Really nice Video 👍
Even made a chest of drawers and finished it with soap. It was a project I finished in my third year as a cabinet maker. That was in the Netherlands, even made a few chest for the kitchen, finished with soap, and regarding cleaning: use soap 😂 PS, at 65, I never understood why 'the old methods' went out of fashion.
The old methods going out of fashion. Too much to write in one comment. In general people were taught to trust in science, any new development was hailed as an improvement. Crisco really caught on big, but we know hydrogenated oils are terrible for health. Homogenized milk was such a great thing because you no longer had to shake the milk bottle! We were taught that new is better. New and improved. People are drawn to maintenance free. The plastic finishes were touted a tough and indestructible. Everyone thinks they must have laquer on kitchen cabinets because it is the only thing that will hold up. Someone said if you think any finish is tough, just give a 3 year old a nail, and turn them loose on that finish. Now we see people going back to some of the old ways. I now mow with a scythe instead of a gas mower. A lot of old ways are really better, but they don't make big profits for corporations who don't care a whit about you, only what is in your pocket. They want you to believe nothing can match their 'proprietary' product.
I totally agree, that soap finish is one of the most underrated finishes - I’m using it regularly for years, the surface gets very smooth almost like silk and if it gets a bit dull just soap it again
In the UK we use a thing called “saddle soap” to clean and polish the horse harnesses (leather). It’s a special soap and the colour is similar to beeswax. Seems like the same idea as the wood polish. It leaves a lovely shine.
Nicely done Erik. I have never used the soap, but I do make my own waxes with variations of beeswax, carnauba wax, and microcrystalline wax, and tung oil is my preferred oil as opposed to mineral oil (which NEVER dries). Microcrystalline is very pleasing tactile finish also and has some very nice UV protection. Carnauba wax is like putting a turtle shell on whatever it gets finished with. HIGHLY DURABLE, and very easy to correct in a client's home.
I don't use heat in my beeswax/turp mix. I shave the wax with a sure-form planer, like a cheese grater, filling the shavings in an old jelly jar and pour turpentine about 2/3s up the jar. It then sits on the shelf for a couple of days to become a creamy emulsion that I use for wax finishes and screw lubricant. I place my assembly screws in there like a bunch of snow monkeys in a hot spring, pulling them one by one as needed.
I haven't seen anyone else use the beeswax finish before. I use wax + olive oil to a soft paste, rub it in then get a clean paper towel and rub like heck so it heats up and that lets you get that super smooth finish. I love the look of it on pine and it feels so good to the touch.
That's a simple version of what's called "paste wax". There are endless varieties of pastewax, and lots of people make their own formula but the simplest is wax + oil. People say to avoid some oils since some oils go rancid quicker than other and might start smelling bad, but like every woodworking topic there is a lot more talk than actual good info.
I make a wax mix, using beeswax + carnauba wax (Brazil wax / palm wax) with a little of mineral oil. I use the heat gun on it, just like you did with the beeswax. It become really gorgeous. (Do I need to say I'm Brazilian?) Great video. One more follower.
Thanks so much for this. I love the old, tried and true ways. I’ve never tried soap, but I will. My go to finish has been beeswax and walnut oil (1:3 or 1:4). Keep up the great work!
I recently completed a console table and I used tea light candles for the finish. I rubbed the candles in an area, hit it with a propane torch really quickly to melt it but not burn the wood. I use repeated the process until I got the depth and sheen that I wanted and buffed with a microfiber cloth wrapped around car buffing pad on my drill. It was $3 for 100 tea lights and I used 4 tea light candles for the entire table. It's economic and it looks good. And since I have kids.. I dont have to worry about liquids soaking into the table because the wax repels everything.
The soap blew my mind: so cool and that will be the next one I try! Also, it seems more common to and I use ~ a 3-4:1 oil:beeswax. Thanks for the informative video!
Loving the videos on finishes. As someone who is trying to be a little more professional, im working on learning how to get away from the film finishes i have been using in the past.
Lovely info and pleasant presentation! I'll be trying out a soap finish for sure. 17:36 -- your planer may need some sanding followup to get rid of the ridges
I've know about soap for a few years, Chris Schwarz has mentioned it a few times. I should find a reason to try it one of these days. I use beeswax and tung oil frequently, I keep a couple of containers with different mix ratios on hand. I did have a first a couple of years ago. I gave a neighbor a turned bowl from a tree from her property, finished with beeswax, and she hated the smell.
What is the heat resistance on these finishes? Are they useful on furniture that sits in very hot environments? Additionally, since the bees wax is a bit sticky then would you recommend 4 game pieces? Ie. Like 4 a chess board &nd chess figures?
I have been using the beeswax-oil-turp (well, I use mineral spirits instead of turpentine because I really dislike the smell of turpentine) for a while now, since viewing your older video on your fave finish. Initially it was a bit thin, so I added beeswax to get the consistency I want, but the point is that it is an awesome finish for all sorts of things, from carvings to shop furniture to kitchen doohickies to actual real household furniture that I let my guests see and use. And it is a cinch to prepare and apply. It is my go-to finish now.
I finished a table for my cousin with turpentine and beeswax, and a few years ago he said of all his furniture that one was the most durable and wanted to know what I used, and I thought, wow no glass rings? So it’s more durable than I ever imagined
Hi Eric. I'm getting closer to putting some kind of finish on my project. I've just tried the soap cream on some offcuts. I'm going to try beeswax/oil/turp on another offcut tomorow, and am going to see where to go from there. Thanks a lot for sharing!
Interesting fact, soap as well as candles used to get used lots on the sliders and bottoms of drawers (also on zippers). They just rubbed a bar over the wood. Works a treat to reduce friction if you got antiques that have no metal sliders. Making wood slightly damp when the wood is very dry (just with a damp cloth nothing more) will pull soap in allot deeper.
Soap helps, but some furniture wax makes drawers really slide good. Johnson's was a good low cost choice, and kept nearly forever. I still have a can from when stores stamped prices on products with purple ink. It was 72 cents. Now I hear Johnson's has stopped production. Sad! There are other brands of wax, but they are more pricey.
Love this. I just tried your DIY finish (poly/oil/turp) and it was easy to make and so easy to apply. It was for a dining table so curious to see how it holds up... its for my family so I will see that first hand. Look forward to trying one of these. Thank you!
Thank you, Erik! This was great. I’ve settled on beeswax for most small things I'm making, and for larger projects that i want a more durable finish, tung oil, with a coat of beeswax applied after the tung oil cures. I love the feel and look of them, and it’s all natural! It’s great to hear validation of my decision in your video!
Had my first opportunity to play with citrus oil recently, and I have to say, it is so much better than mineral spirits. As a bonus, it redissolves stain in a very mild manner, making it easy to blend and even out darkness with a light touch. However, once the substrate is coated, the stain is much more mobile. Additionally, applying stain over a treated piece is like painting with water colors. Sorry to ramble, but new materials always get me.
Thanks Erik. I am a chemist by day and woodworker by night and weekends. I generally dislike commercial finishes. In an effort to keep their specific formulas secret, their (material) safety data sheets are maddeningly vague to me. As such, I prefer to often make my own like you have done. I often will also use the Tried and True partially polymerized linseed oil and beeswax.
I had forgotten about soap until this video. The town I grew up in had a old hotel that Russian Jews turned into apartments when they fled to the US during WWII. That hotel had some absolutely beautiful woodwork throughout and those older guys used soap as the finish and yes it's silky smooth. I miss those people, they had lots of stories that helped me appreciate what we had here. Eventually those people died of old age and the hotel was torn down but someone went in and took all the wood trim and furniture out to preserve and likely sell, building materials were at that time well over 100 years old and a lot of furniture was as well. All of it had that soap finish. I sure hope whoever has it now kept that finish and knows the history of the pieces.
Chris Schwarz mentioned soap finishes in a video years ago. I’ve wanted to try it but never did. For 2023 I resolved to use more VOC free (or low VOC) finishes. For personal projects I use a beeswax olive oil combination. It’s food safe and I love the satin feel. I also use shellac thinned with mineral spirits for durability.
I made a jar of beeswax and tung oil last year that will probably last me a lifetime. Living in Turkey, I just set it in a south facing window for awhile.
I am mostly a bowl maker. My favorite finish for my bowls is walnut oil and some carnauba wax. Kind of surprised that you didn't mention carnauba wax. Main reason I prefer it to bees wax is because it offers far better water protection than bees wax. For furniture, if I wanted a carnauba wax finish, I would use Kiwi neutral shoe polish which is carnauba and turpentine. Another variation is Butcher's wax, they have 2 and one is a 'bowling alley wax, and the solvent is turpentine. The walnut oil is very slow to cure, like a week or so. Oh, you forgot some thing. When you where whipping the soap mix, you should have cued in the old Devo song, "You must whip it, whip it good!"
I use the walnut oil from the Doctor's Woodshop. Mostly because he is also from Oregon. Also a fine product from Mike Mahoney, an internationally known turner. Never worked with tung oil, which is also a nut of some sort. Without driers, it takes a long time to cure. The Doctor, PHD in chemistry, 'microagregates' his carnauba wax. Not sure exactly what that means, he explained it once, but his wax mix will go on without needing solvents or heat to get it to flow and/or spread around evenly.
And yet another teaching from my dude that I’ll absolutely keep in the toolbox for the rest of my days. Thank pal. Question though, if you happen to see this… if I have already applied 1 coat of odies oil to a walnut bandsaw box could I use the soap finish overtop? The odies was applied a week ago and is completely buffed down. I’ll wait another couple weeks for the recommended full cure as well.
"Sweden is in the Western world"-- yes it is, as is Denmark. Ahhh, don't feel bad- I lived in Switzerland for a few years, and my family routinely confused Switzerland and Sweden LOL Anyway- thanks for the vid. I'm just starting out in woodworking, and your videos have been very helpful. The ones you've done on finishes are really great- that's the one thing I never really considered initially. I had the "build the thing" mindset at first, but understand that's only part of the whole. Keep on.
I make both beeswax finishes with three variations, natural turpentine (from pine sap) as a thinner, boiled linseed oil (as in heated and polymerised oil not synthetic driers from the art supply shop). Thirdly I have been making a hard wax variation with carnuba wax. It has a higher melting point so longer in the double boiler but very effective for desktops and high use surfaces. I get the carnuba wax from a local finishing company (in Australia) All of these have zero VOCs, smell wonderful, and totally foodsafe.
Thanks, I’m going to do soap on my dining table since it’s just a stained pine build. I don’t need it to last forever because I’m a novice and I’m sure I’ll do something nicer in 10 years when I have the skills.
Great topic Eric.. An old electric fry pan is a great prep tool for these style of finishes. You tend to end up with a bench covered in beeswax but coupld be worse.... HAvn't tried the soap finish.. but no wit has been raised... Hmmm. Keep up the great stuff.. and yes go make a thing!
I have just built my first shooting board and I was at a crossroads on whether to apply finish to it or not. I certainly did not want to use several coats worth of my expensive oil on it. I'll now just finish it with soap and call it a day. Thanks!
For anyone wondering how this may turn out, I did it. Short story short, it worked fine. My shooting board is all made out of plywood and 3 coats were needed. One can tell frequent reapply will be required, especially the surface where the plane rides. The finish is not very slippery, so wax is still needed in that same area. I was satisfied enough to use the same finish on my sharpening stones board.
I have used beeswax as a finish on a flat surface but I also service my own skis. So I used an old iron (not the one I use for my skis) and hotwaxed it with beeswax, scraped t back (and collected the scrapings for reuse) and buffed it the same as I do with my skis.
Love the Saturday morning drop. Watched while having breakfast and a home made espresso. Now it’s time to clean up the shop after delivering a project last night. Next project starts when the shop is back to clean….and after this video, I’m thinking that some sort of beeswax finish will be applied. Keep it up bro.
Love your videos. Nice job. Tung has no VOCs and is great food safe finish ( pure tung oil, not big box tung oil finish). I mix with limonene ( lemon oil) for a great cutting board finish. Have to let it cure for a few days to a few weeks but it is much more durable than mineral oil. I have also been experimenting with tung oil linseed mixes. It was not clear in my research if boiled linseed has zero VOCs but I it is very low (possibly due to some heavy metal additives to hasten the drying time). Lin tung and besswax are a nice mixture for not only wood finish but wax for cast iron tools.
There are a few companies that make "true" boiled linseed oil (i.e. w/o heavy metals). Tried and True Danish Oil and Allbäck Purified Boiled Linseed Oil are the two that I know of.
How do these finishes react to dust? Specially the pure beeswax, which as you said stays a little bit tacky, does it grab on to dust or is it easy to clean?
Suggestion #3 : try to melt along about 5 to 15% of raw carnauba wax, and you’ll have a waterproof/strong/lasting beautiful finishing ( you can add some anilin or even some betume into to ger some nice coloring) That’s and old trick from Brazilian cabinet makers. By the way, I love your channel.
Lanolin (don't mix it with coffee) in soap, great for finish and skin conditions. As a sheep farmer's son... farmer's "handcream" ~ just go out into the paddock and rub your hands through through the ewe's (or ram's) fleece
I would love to see these put to the test against some more common surfaces finishes like rubio monocoat and epoxy. I've been looking for a low voc finish that can take the everyday uses like a dining table
I literally just got done making a food safe paste wax for a cutting board I made. It's 1.5 parts beeswax to 4 parts mineral oil. I got the recipe from a guy at work. Melt, mix, and let it cool. It's supposed to be a buffable finish, so we'll see how it works. From my experience making polishing compounds, I may experiment with adding a little powdered acetic acid (vinegar) to harden it a bit if I'm not satisfied with the hardness of the finished product.
just a question regarding a 'soft buttery' finish like soap, how easy is it to clean? I live in a dry dusty climate and it is quite a challenge to keep dust from accumulating on stuff, inside and outside. We have several air filters inside the house as well. Could you address how easily a soft buttery finish sheds dust? It is one thing to make stuff and quite another for the customer to maintain it. As an aside, I do enjoy your channel which I recently discovered. You address some techniques that I wonder about. Keep up the good work.
One cannot avoid dust, but tung oil dries to a resistant finish, so option 3 would prevent dust settling into the wood grain. The best clean is a slighly damp microfibre cleaning cloth that double-flocked, i.e. has a short scrubbing pile on one side, and a long dusting pile on the other. Use the short side to wipe away dust out of the wood grain and the long long side to finish. And a beeswax oil to finish. Also people have mentioned canuaba wax + beeswax. Most car polish pastes have that in. And one commenter mentioned using Kiwi neutral shoe polish paste in the tin because thats canuaba wax + turps. Experiment.
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As a Dane, i appreciate you spreading the word about our traditional finishes 🙂 That said, i have never seen soap applied just like that. First of all, the soap we use is soap flakes, but if you cant get that i guess what you showed works. Just make sure it is pure soap with a high grease content. For floors, you just wash them with a solution of the soap flakes, but for furniture i usually prepare a thick almost gel form of flakes and water. I then apply this generously to the wooden surface and let it sit for a while, and then wash it off with clean water.
Castile Soap comes in liquid form, as well as flakes and bars, but that aready has water in it. Soap flakes arent used as much with the proliferation of front loading washing machines, but it saves on the grating and cutting of bars.
I'm surprised that you didn't point out that Danes are from Denmark, not Sweden.
Before "soap flakes" there was (and still is) "lanolin"
@@darren4392 😁 i didn't understand it like that, though. I think he meant that the soap finishing technique has spread to other Nordic countries...
@@williammaxwell1919 exactly! Our soap flakes has a high lanolin content (which is why they are also used for washing wollen sweaters and such).
Two of my hobbies just collided! I'm a soap maker and amateur woodworker.
first rule of wood club? never talk about wood club!
@@ocelot-makesbut then would do I know how much wood the wood chuck chucked if the if the would chuck could chuck wood?
oh no man, you don't like soaping down your wood too, do you?🙀😼
I just got back from Soap maker Amateur woodworker town and everyone there had heard of you!
Swede here: 30 years ago my wife and I bought a dining room set, in a modern version of late 18th / early 19th century style. The table is finished with soap (which we haven't reapplied...😳) and is still very good and smooth 😊!
What I've been doing recently is using a really small slow cooker in my shop for preparing heated waxes/finishes. A few crock pot brands make dip or queso warmers about 16oz in size. They heat up quickly, prevent me from making too much at a time, and I found mine in a thrift store for literally $1. And since it's a dedicated device, I never have to worry about contaminating any of my kitchenware.
I use a wax heater for my hide glue, I suppose that would work for beeswax preparation. Kind of like a double boiler when I put water in pot.
Wow! Something I can finally speak about with some personal experience. I'm a beekeeper among other things. I've been mixing my own beeswax finish for years. I have used food grade mineral oil. One cheap option if you trust is mineral oil (by the gallon) meant for horses. A gallon is 20-30 bucks and should last you a decade. My country folk engineering method of application is to put the piece to be finished in my junky SUV to heat up in the summer and start applying finish after is has sunbaked/heated up for a good part of the day. Now this might not be good for fine woodworking, but that's not what I've done. Man, it just drinks up that finish. A walnut mantle I simple put outside on a hot day and it absorbed so much heat, I could barely touch it bare handed. Again, drank it up like a dehydrated camel. Put about 10 coats on it and it's the simplest and sexiest woodworking project I ever make. Somehow I lucked out in working it to have a perfect sapwood arch in the piece. I do the same with my wooden spatulas. They're smaller, so I slather it on and put them in the Prius under the trunk glass. They get supers hot and soak it up. Peace out! Caution, a walnut bench I made was put outside and gets water spots if left outside. Never said I a smart woodworker.
Erik, yesterday I made a pot of 'wood butter' from beeswax and coconut oil. While I was clearing up I was rubbing it on my mouth. I had a cold sore and my bottom lip was VERY scaly. This morning? My bottom lip was KISSABLE! And I did all my friend's wood handled kitchen utensils. After which my hands felt WONDERFUL. Let's leave the chemically treated products on the shelves and go natural. I made the spoon butter for my first spoon that I'd made (excuse me while I laugh at your sense of humour!) and my little spoon looks LOVELY!
I've been making 'period' finishes for wood and leather for a while and my favorite is an equal parts mixture of flaxseed oil and beeswax, sometimes with a tablespoon or so of terpentine. Historically it would sometimes be boiled with oxides (like bronze, iron or lead oxide) to make it cure faster. Boiled linseed oil from the hardware store is actually not boiled. Its flaxseed oil that has be altered with heavy metallic solvents and preservatives and often contains some solution of cobalt and manganese. I strongly recommend boiling your own flaxseed and beeswax mixture at home. Apply it to warm wood once a day for a week, once a week for a month, once a month for the first year, and once a year for the life of the tool (assuming the tool gets a lot of use and spends a lot of time outside and exposed to heat and sun, dirt, weather and moisture). This builds a durable, deep penetrating finish that is easy to grip, smells great, and increases the durability and life of tool handles by years. I have inherited a shovel and a splitting axe with thier original handles that have been treated/maintained in this way that have been used continuously on a farmstead for nearly a 100 years.
I believe the hardware store 'boiled' linseed oil is why linseed oil has a bad reputation. According to the Solvent Free Paint site, it still has the proteins in it, which causes it to mold badly. The oil should sit in tanks until the proteins have settled out and the remaining liquid is then pumped off. They say the hardware store stuff could be explosive it you tried to boil it. I use lots of raw linseed oil produced in the Nordic countries.
Be very careful boiling oils at home
ie probably just don't
@@Obscurity202 yeah, I would never recommend heating or modifying anything that is a finished product that you buy from the store. But if your combining a pint of beeswax and a pint of flaxseed oil with a tablespoon of turpentine and you do it at an appropriate temperature there's really not much of a risk compared to most other things we do. Just do it slowly, do it outside, don't do it over an open flame, use a thermometer so you don't exceed the flash point, keep the lid to the pot near by to extinguish the flames and an oil safe extinguisher near by just in case.. it's not what I would call a safe activity, but I've been doing it for years with 0 problems. Even if you don't know what you're doing, 20 minutes on Google makes it pretty easy to mitigate the risks. Just pay attention to what you're doing. People have been heating volatile and oily substances for thousands of years so it's not like there's a part of this equation that is unknown.
Thank you Douglas for this recipe, I just had to replace an otherwise good shovel because the handle rotted ... I should've been doing this 🌳
I like the laid back method of teaching, great music and real down to earth methods. Old school methods are hard to find and I like how hand rubbed oil finishes look on furniture.
I just found your channel recently. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. I have learned a lot about wood finishing from your extremely well-produced videos.
I've been a carpenter/woodworker my whole life. I've been using beeswax for years. Heated up in a small boiler. With a heat gun. I've seldom seen it mentioned in other vids............ I never do social media. I have never subscribed to any channel. Ever. I've seen thousands of woodworking vids, but yours Sir, I find very interesting. I think your vids are great. Almost makes me want to,............(dare I say it?).........subsc.............
I use a beeswax olive oil paste wax finish for a lot of my personal pieces. I’ve recently added shellac as a durable finish (not water proof but close enough). I’m looking into tung oil with a citrus solvent next. Ideally I want it to be as low VOC as possible.
@brianm.9451 I really like it. I use tung, beeswax, and citrus oil solvent. If I wanted it a bit "harder" or shinier, I add a bit of carnuba wax too. You just have to heat it longer.
Welcome to the delemer of "I don't subscribe to RUclips a because.. yet, I want to see ENC 's next video drop". Enjoy watching a maestro distill his learnt knowledge and accumulated experiance to enable others to excell to his level (I would love to physically attend his classes ~ too many K's and time zones away).
How you can pay it (subscription) forward is to ask a question of Eric that extends him and also expands the "knowledge base" of the subscribers... knowledge needs to be shared and Eric does this in spades
50/50 beeswax pellets and food-grade mineral oil
I’ve been watching you on and off for a couple of years now. I don’t mean to shit on your earlier work, because there was good stuff in there, but I must say that over the last year or so the fit and finish of your videos has come to match the quality of your woodwork. You’re now must-see TV for me. Between the improvements in presentation, more confident speaking, and some pretty interesting and thoughtful topics I am really enjoying your stuff.
the last finish reminds me of the finish i use from Jonathan Katz-Moses, 4 parts beeswax, 1 part mineral oil. I use that finish all the time, love it!
I have to try a soap finish, it looks really nice.
So I made a thing but more importantly I used your 1:1:1 beeswax/oil/terp recipe and WOW. Buttery smooooth as advertised. Unless there is a specific customer request I can't talk them out of or an exterior project that demands it, I'm done with store bought finishes. Pigments are next. Thanks for sharing your knowledge, please keep it coming!
Nice tutorial on making the soap finish. It's definitely one I want to try. For my beeswax finish prep I picked up a mini crockpot for a few dollars at the thrift store to handle the melting and mixing for my cutting board butter. It's a "set it and forget it" process, not as quick as the heat gun but you don't have to worry about fire or handling a hot jar. You can start with the oil base to get it warmed before adding the beeswax shavings. I also put a small foil pan from the dollar store in the crock pot to aid in cleanup. You can use those over and over for the same type of mixture.
I make a mix of Bees wax, Carnuba flakes, and mineral oil. It's fantastic for furniture but it's also fantastic for cutting boards/charcuterie boards too. I change the mix depending on my use but generally speaking the first coat is thin so it really sinks into the wood pores then the last coat is almost like your soap mix where it's more waxy/fluffy? Great stuff 👍
You can also use walnut oil to finish wood. You just apply it until it stops soaking into the wool. You sand it with a sanding sponge just like when you are finishing lacquer. You keep applying in coats until it no longer soaks into the wood. It is one of the smoothest finishes I have done. It also works when your cabinets in the bathroom gets a little worn out. It makes them look like new. It is sold in the grocery store and the safest finish I have found.
if you are a wood worker of 3+ years you have touched sooooooo much wood, man i love your channel
Soap finish is (was) really common in rustic furniture in southern Germany, too. Espacially kitchen tables are often soaped. If it gets dirty, you simply use common soft soap "Schmierseife" to clean it.
Really nice Video 👍
Even made a chest of drawers and finished it with soap. It was a project I finished in my third year as a cabinet maker. That was in the Netherlands, even made a few chest for the kitchen, finished with soap, and regarding cleaning: use soap 😂 PS, at 65, I never understood why 'the old methods' went out of fashion.
I think it's because people think it's too much work. IDK though.
The old methods going out of fashion. Too much to write in one comment. In general people were taught to trust in science, any new development was hailed as an improvement. Crisco really caught on big, but we know hydrogenated oils are terrible for health. Homogenized milk was such a great thing because you no longer had to shake the milk bottle! We were taught that new is better. New and improved. People are drawn to maintenance free. The plastic finishes were touted a tough and indestructible. Everyone thinks they must have laquer on kitchen cabinets because it is the only thing that will hold up. Someone said if you think any finish is tough, just give a 3 year old a nail, and turn them loose on that finish.
Now we see people going back to some of the old ways. I now mow with a scythe instead of a gas mower. A lot of old ways are really better, but they don't make big profits for corporations who don't care a whit about you, only what is in your pocket. They want you to believe nothing can match their 'proprietary' product.
Because marketing rules the npc and soap is cheap
Erik, he who has touched alot of wood. Priceless.
I totally agree, that soap finish is one of the most underrated finishes - I’m using it regularly for years, the surface gets very smooth almost like silk and if it gets a bit dull just soap it again
Had no clue! Thanks for this sir!
In the UK we use a thing called “saddle soap” to clean and polish the horse harnesses (leather). It’s a special soap and the colour is similar to beeswax. Seems like the same idea as the wood polish. It leaves a lovely shine.
Nicely done Erik. I have never used the soap, but I do make my own waxes with variations of beeswax, carnauba wax, and microcrystalline wax, and tung oil is my preferred oil as opposed to mineral oil (which NEVER dries). Microcrystalline is very pleasing tactile finish also and has some very nice UV protection. Carnauba wax is like putting a turtle shell on whatever it gets finished with. HIGHLY DURABLE, and very easy to correct in a client's home.
I don't use heat in my beeswax/turp mix. I shave the wax with a sure-form planer, like a cheese grater, filling the shavings in an old jelly jar and pour turpentine about 2/3s up the jar. It then sits on the shelf for a couple of days to become a creamy emulsion that I use for wax finishes and screw lubricant. I place my assembly screws in there like a bunch of snow monkeys in a hot spring, pulling them one by one as needed.
Superb presentation. Thanks for sharing.
I haven't seen anyone else use the beeswax finish before. I use wax + olive oil to a soft paste, rub it in then get a clean paper towel and rub like heck so it heats up and that lets you get that super smooth finish. I love the look of it on pine and it feels so good to the touch.
That's a simple version of what's called "paste wax". There are endless varieties of pastewax, and lots of people make their own formula but the simplest is wax + oil.
People say to avoid some oils since some oils go rancid quicker than other and might start smelling bad, but like every woodworking topic there is a lot more talk than actual good info.
Yeah that "rub like heck" part is gonna get really intesinve on big tabletops and intricate spots
Use printer paper or the rolls they use for newsprint.
I make a wax mix, using beeswax + carnauba wax (Brazil wax / palm wax) with a little of mineral oil. I use the heat gun on it, just like you did with the beeswax. It become really gorgeous. (Do I need to say I'm Brazilian?)
Great video. One more follower.
Thank you, appreciate your video, will try out all the finishes you brought forward.
Thanks so much for this. I love the old, tried and true ways. I’ve never tried soap, but I will. My go to finish has been beeswax and walnut oil (1:3 or 1:4). Keep up the great work!
I recently completed a console table and I used tea light candles for the finish. I rubbed the candles in an area, hit it with a propane torch really quickly to melt it but not burn the wood. I use repeated the process until I got the depth and sheen that I wanted and buffed with a microfiber cloth wrapped around car buffing pad on my drill. It was $3 for 100 tea lights and I used 4 tea light candles for the entire table. It's economic and it looks good. And since I have kids.. I dont have to worry about liquids soaking into the table because the wax repels everything.
The soap blew my mind: so cool and that will be the next one I try! Also, it seems more common to and I use ~ a 3-4:1 oil:beeswax. Thanks for the informative video!
Your face when you tried to put your hand in the jar!!!!! Excellent video again and the sculptures were amazing!!!
Loving the videos on finishes. As someone who is trying to be a little more professional, im working on learning how to get away from the film finishes i have been using in the past.
I love when you do these videos. I make frames for my artwork and I like experimenting with different finishes. I’ll definitely try these.
Thank you for another great learning experience. I love the idea of those finishes because my finishing place is where my furnace is. Gonna try them!
Thanks for the video Eric, really interesting.👍👍
Lovely info and pleasant presentation! I'll be trying out a soap finish for sure.
17:36 -- your planer may need some sanding followup to get rid of the ridges
I've know about soap for a few years, Chris Schwarz has mentioned it a few times. I should find a reason to try it one of these days. I use beeswax and tung oil frequently, I keep a couple of containers with different mix ratios on hand. I did have a first a couple of years ago. I gave a neighbor a turned bowl from a tree from her property, finished with beeswax, and she hated the smell.
Not only is this an eye-opening, informative and useful video, but the comments below have all kinds of gems I want to try. Bookmarked!!
One of the most interesting wood finish videos out there. Thanks mate!
What is the heat resistance on these finishes? Are they useful on furniture that sits in very hot environments? Additionally, since the bees wax is a bit sticky then would you recommend 4 game pieces? Ie. Like 4 a chess board &nd chess figures?
I've used old wax shoe polish as a finish and colorant all in one, with the help of a heat gun. Mine is variable temperature, so I can keep it set low
Enjoyed that one - thanks for taking the time to get it out there+++++++
Best vids going right now, I look forward every week. Entertaining and great content. Thanks!
Loving these finishing videos. I’m still waiting to try some dyes/toners. Can’t wait.
I used Chris Schwarz’s recipe for a soap finish on some nightstands I built and it’s a beautiful finish. I reapply it about once a year.
I was late to the party on this video. But I still made it. Great video as always. Now time for me to top off my cup.
I have been using the beeswax-oil-turp (well, I use mineral spirits instead of turpentine because I really dislike the smell of turpentine) for a while now, since viewing your older video on your fave finish. Initially it was a bit thin, so I added beeswax to get the consistency I want, but the point is that it is an awesome finish for all sorts of things, from carvings to shop furniture to kitchen doohickies to actual real household furniture that I let my guests see and use. And it is a cinch to prepare and apply. It is my go-to finish now.
I finished a table for my cousin with turpentine and beeswax, and a few years ago he said of all his furniture that one was the most durable and wanted to know what I used, and I thought, wow no glass rings? So it’s more durable than I ever imagined
Well didn’t know about soap finish im off to make and give it a try , cheers
Hi Eric.
I'm getting closer to putting some kind of finish on my project.
I've just tried the soap cream on some offcuts.
I'm going to try beeswax/oil/turp on another offcut tomorow, and am going to see where to go from there.
Thanks a lot for sharing!
I also use a shellac flakes dissolved in everclear. It's a great sealer prior to the beeswax mixture. Of course you know all this. Thanks for sharing.
I absolutely love the information in these videos. Your insight makes this channel invaluable 🔥
Interesting fact, soap as well as candles used to get used lots on the sliders and bottoms of drawers (also on zippers). They just rubbed a bar over the wood. Works a treat to reduce friction if you got antiques that have no metal sliders. Making wood slightly damp when the wood is very dry (just with a damp cloth nothing more) will pull soap in allot deeper.
Soap helps, but some furniture wax makes drawers really slide good. Johnson's was a good low cost choice, and kept nearly forever. I still have a can from when stores stamped prices on products with purple ink. It was 72 cents. Now I hear Johnson's has stopped production. Sad! There are other brands of wax, but they are more pricey.
Love this. I just tried your DIY finish (poly/oil/turp) and it was easy to make and so easy to apply. It was for a dining table so curious to see how it holds up... its for my family so I will see that first hand. Look forward to trying one of these. Thank you!
Love the idea of the soap finish. I’m going to make some up today. Thanks for that.
Erik - I just made a batch! It really is soft and smooth and silky.
Thank you, Erik! This was great. I’ve settled on beeswax for most small things I'm making, and for larger projects that i want a more durable finish, tung oil, with a coat of beeswax applied after the tung oil cures. I love the feel and look of them, and it’s all natural! It’s great to hear validation of my decision in your video!
Had my first opportunity to play with citrus oil recently, and I have to say, it is so much better than mineral spirits. As a bonus, it redissolves stain in a very mild manner, making it easy to blend and even out darkness with a light touch. However, once the substrate is coated, the stain is much more mobile. Additionally, applying stain over a treated piece is like painting with water colors.
Sorry to ramble, but new materials always get me.
Thanks Erik. I am a chemist by day and woodworker by night and weekends. I generally dislike commercial finishes. In an effort to keep their specific formulas secret, their (material) safety data sheets are maddeningly vague to me. As such, I prefer to often make my own like you have done. I often will also use the Tried and True partially polymerized linseed oil and beeswax.
I had forgotten about soap until this video. The town I grew up in had a old hotel that Russian Jews turned into apartments when they fled to the US during WWII. That hotel had some absolutely beautiful woodwork throughout and those older guys used soap as the finish and yes it's silky smooth. I miss those people, they had lots of stories that helped me appreciate what we had here.
Eventually those people died of old age and the hotel was torn down but someone went in and took all the wood trim and furniture out to preserve and likely sell, building materials were at that time well over 100 years old and a lot of furniture was as well. All of it had that soap finish. I sure hope whoever has it now kept that finish and knows the history of the pieces.
Chris Schwarz mentioned soap finishes in a video years ago. I’ve wanted to try it but never did. For 2023 I resolved to use more VOC free (or low VOC) finishes. For personal projects I use a beeswax olive oil combination. It’s food safe and I love the satin feel. I also use shellac thinned with mineral spirits for durability.
I made a jar of beeswax and tung oil last year that will probably last me a lifetime. Living in Turkey, I just set it in a south facing window for awhile.
I am mostly a bowl maker. My favorite finish for my bowls is walnut oil and some carnauba wax. Kind of surprised that you didn't mention carnauba wax. Main reason I prefer it to bees wax is because it offers far better water protection than bees wax. For furniture, if I wanted a carnauba wax finish, I would use Kiwi neutral shoe polish which is carnauba and turpentine. Another variation is Butcher's wax, they have 2 and one is a 'bowling alley wax, and the solvent is turpentine. The walnut oil is very slow to cure, like a week or so.
Oh, you forgot some thing. When you where whipping the soap mix, you should have cued in the old Devo song, "You must whip it, whip it good!"
Glad to see someone else who also uses carnauba wax, though mine is a mix with beeswax and mineral spirits. I should try the walnut oil.
I use the walnut oil from the Doctor's Woodshop. Mostly because he is also from Oregon. Also a fine product from Mike Mahoney, an internationally known turner. Never worked with tung oil, which is also a nut of some sort. Without driers, it takes a long time to cure. The Doctor, PHD in chemistry, 'microagregates' his carnauba wax. Not sure exactly what that means, he explained it once, but his wax mix will go on without needing solvents or heat to get it to flow and/or spread around evenly.
Thaaank you for posting this just at the perfect timing👍🇩🇰
just followed the podcast! I always look forward to your videos!
And yet another teaching from my dude that I’ll absolutely keep in the toolbox for the rest of my days. Thank pal. Question though, if you happen to see this… if I have already applied 1 coat of odies oil to a walnut bandsaw box could I use the soap finish overtop? The odies was applied a week ago and is completely buffed down. I’ll wait another couple weeks for the recommended full cure as well.
Hot it up with that "hot gun" 😆
Great vid!
Wonderful, so informative and helpful. Thank you.
"Sweden is in the Western world"-- yes it is, as is Denmark.
Ahhh, don't feel bad- I lived in Switzerland for a few years, and my family routinely confused Switzerland and Sweden LOL
Anyway- thanks for the vid. I'm just starting out in woodworking, and your videos have been very helpful. The ones you've done on finishes are really great- that's the one thing I never really considered initially. I had the "build the thing" mindset at first, but understand that's only part of the whole.
Keep on.
Beeswax tung oil is my favorite thing. I am going to try your finish at some point
I make both beeswax finishes with three variations, natural turpentine (from pine sap) as a thinner, boiled linseed oil (as in heated and polymerised oil not synthetic driers from the art supply shop).
Thirdly I have been making a hard wax variation with carnuba wax. It has a higher melting point so longer in the double boiler but very effective for desktops and high use surfaces. I get the carnuba wax from a local finishing company (in Australia)
All of these have zero VOCs, smell wonderful, and totally foodsafe.
Thanks, I’m going to do soap on my dining table since it’s just a stained pine build. I don’t need it to last forever because I’m a novice and I’m sure I’ll do something nicer in 10 years when I have the skills.
Great topic Eric.. An old electric fry pan is a great prep tool for these style of finishes. You tend to end up with a bench covered in beeswax but coupld be worse.... HAvn't tried the soap finish.. but no wit has been raised... Hmmm. Keep up the great stuff.. and yes go make a thing!
Awesome !! Thanks
I have just built my first shooting board and I was at a crossroads on whether to apply finish to it or not. I certainly did not want to use several coats worth of my expensive oil on it.
I'll now just finish it with soap and call it a day. Thanks!
For anyone wondering how this may turn out, I did it. Short story short, it worked fine. My shooting board is all made out of plywood and 3 coats were needed. One can tell frequent reapply will be required, especially the surface where the plane rides. The finish is not very slippery, so wax is still needed in that same area.
I was satisfied enough to use the same finish on my sharpening stones board.
I have used beeswax as a finish on a flat surface but I also service my own skis.
So I used an old iron (not the one I use for my skis) and hotwaxed it with beeswax, scraped t back (and collected the scrapings for reuse) and buffed it the same as I do with my skis.
Love the Saturday morning drop. Watched while having breakfast and a home made espresso. Now it’s time to clean up the shop after delivering a project last night. Next project starts when the shop is back to clean….and after this video, I’m thinking that some sort of beeswax finish will be applied. Keep it up bro.
Thanks, very useful video
What is your surface prep before applying these finishes? Great info-thanks!
Sanding. Lots and lots of sanding. 😅😂😅😂
Love your videos. Nice job. Tung has no VOCs and is great food safe finish ( pure tung oil, not big box tung oil finish). I mix with limonene ( lemon oil) for a great cutting board finish. Have to let it cure for a few days to a few weeks but it is much more durable than mineral oil. I have also been experimenting with tung oil linseed mixes. It was not clear in my research if boiled linseed has zero VOCs but I it is very low (possibly due to some heavy metal additives to hasten the drying time). Lin tung and besswax are a nice mixture for not only wood finish but wax for cast iron tools.
There are a few companies that make "true" boiled linseed oil (i.e. w/o heavy metals). Tried and True Danish Oil and Allbäck Purified Boiled Linseed Oil are the two that I know of.
Great video, thanks!
How do these finishes react to dust? Specially the pure beeswax, which as you said stays a little bit tacky, does it grab on to dust or is it easy to clean?
I have a small crock pot that I dedicate for finishes. It may take a bit longer than the hear gun, but you don't have to worry about it overheating.
Thanks for posting these tips, I have some orange oil so I may try this with beeswax and it will hopefully smell nice as well.
„I,ve put my hands on a lot“ 😂
Normally your videos are "just" great. This one was outstanding.
Using soap surprised me. I knew about beeswax. Thanks for giving us a cheap alternative to try out. 👍
Suggestion #3 : try to melt along about 5 to 15% of raw carnauba wax, and you’ll have a waterproof/strong/lasting beautiful finishing ( you can add some anilin or even some betume into to ger some nice coloring) That’s and old trick from Brazilian cabinet makers. By the way, I love your channel.
Thank you 😊
I didn't realize that you could use soap as a finish. Thanks for the input.
Lanolin (don't mix it with coffee) in soap, great for finish and skin conditions. As a sheep farmer's son... farmer's "handcream" ~ just go out into the paddock and rub your hands through through the ewe's (or ram's) fleece
I would love to see these put to the test against some more common surfaces finishes like rubio monocoat and epoxy. I've been looking for a low voc finish that can take the everyday uses like a dining table
I literally just got done making a food safe paste wax for a cutting board I made. It's 1.5 parts beeswax to 4 parts mineral oil. I got the recipe from a guy at work. Melt, mix, and let it cool. It's supposed to be a buffable finish, so we'll see how it works. From my experience making polishing compounds, I may experiment with adding a little powdered acetic acid (vinegar) to harden it a bit if I'm not satisfied with the hardness of the finished product.
Great information very informative keep videos coming.
Good information, thanks!
Danish relates to Denmark. Swedish relates to Sweden. Different countries, different finishes 😊
Totally agree - bit disappointing but enjoyed the video
Glad you caught the chuckle moment, I enjoyed it too ... with a little more time we might've included the Swiss people that live in Sweden?
I love my bought bees wax because they mixed some orange oil into it and it smells heavenly.
thank you EN . neat info . had a chuckle also .
just a question regarding a 'soft buttery' finish like soap, how easy is it to clean? I live in a dry dusty climate and it is quite a challenge to keep dust from accumulating on stuff, inside and outside. We have several air filters inside the house as well. Could you address how easily a soft buttery finish sheds dust? It is one thing to make stuff and quite another for the customer to maintain it.
As an aside, I do enjoy your channel which I recently discovered. You address some techniques that I wonder about. Keep up the good work.
One cannot avoid dust, but tung oil dries to a resistant finish, so option 3 would prevent dust settling into the wood grain. The best clean is a slighly damp microfibre cleaning cloth that double-flocked, i.e. has a short scrubbing pile on one side, and a long dusting pile on the other. Use the short side to wipe away dust out of the wood grain and the long long side to finish. And a beeswax oil to finish. Also people have mentioned canuaba wax + beeswax. Most car polish pastes have that in. And one commenter mentioned using Kiwi neutral shoe polish paste in the tin because thats canuaba wax + turps. Experiment.