[MrRock]

I am in the middle of refinishing an old rocking chair for our new nursery. It has a fairly thick layer of wax built up on it, and I know that it has to be removed before painting. I've used mineral spirits, steel wool and some elbow grease, but I'm feeling lazy and am looking for a quicker way. Short of sanding down to bare wood, does anyone have some tips for removing the wax?

 

[JuniorJoiner]

naptha

 

[rwyoung]

If you are going to re-wax it, wax removes wax. Just keep applying fresh wax until the solvents clear out the old gunky stuff.

Oh, wait, you said you were going to paint it.

Otherwise mineral spirits work. More aggressive solvents would work but watch out for the ventilation.

Sanding could be a mess as the wax and gunk will just clog the paper. A card scraper can remove the bulk of material though.

Also, consider putting down a coat of shellac after you are done stripping it. I believe most paints will also bond with shellac. Worth a test on some scrap first. The shellac will seal in any left-over wax you may have missed.

 

[DanLyke]

I'm with shopguryl: I'd think denatured alcohol would be a better solvent for wax than mineral spirits.