Removing oil and wax from wood

[rmcki]

Any advice from you luthiers out there would be great.

I picked up a Warwick bass on Gumtree  a few months ago that i'd like to refinish, last guy used oil to seal then wax on top. I'd like to refinish with a satin nitro. Any advice on chemicals to use to get rid of oil and wax.

Elbow grease and sanding would be first stage, then i though Acetone might lift any residual oil.

[Jimothey]

9 hours ago, rmcki said:

Any advice from you luthiers out there would be great.

I picked up a Warwick bass on Gumtree  a few months ago that i'd like to refinish, last guy used oil to seal then wax on top. I'd like to refinish with a satin nitro. Any advice on chemicals to use to get rid of oil and wax.

Elbow grease and sanding would be first stage, then i though Acetone might lift any residual oil.

My method (which I learnt off a French Polisher) when I used to refinish furniture was to use Liberon wax remover to start off with then once the wax is removed

1. Wipe turps over the wood with a clean rag

2. Sand all over with steel wool the oil will clog it up so make sure you change it regularly 

3. Wipe off the wood with a clean rag/cloth etc then sand again with steel wool then wipe and repeat till most of the oil has been removed (It takes a long time and is hard work!!!!!)

4. Let any remaining oil dry again overnight then you can start sanding with 120/180 grit sand paper and keep wiping with a clean cloth and keep sanding till the rest of the oil is removed I then used to wipe over with mineral spirits to make sure the wood is clean from oily marks from fingers etc then obviously go through the grades to smooth the body again 

Good luck!!!!

 

Edited February 1, 2018 by Jimothey

[warwickhunt]

I have to say that 2 local (professional) luthiers close to me both refused to refinish a Warwick that I had (SSI waxed) as there was no guarantee you could leech all of the oil/wax out and if you didn't then it could react badly with the paint causing flaking etc.  

If you are prepared to sand/strip back several mm of wood from the front and back it may work but they indicated that the wax/oil if applied regularly penetrates quite deep, especially on an old bass.  

One final question is your bass a wax finish from new or possibly one of the coated ones which some people mistakenly wax?

Good luck either way.

 

[Grangur]

From work in wood finishing; when we wanted to re-finish oiled wood with lacquer, both of the above are right.

I've always used white spirit to wash the wood with to remove as much of the oil as possible, then sand it down.

If anyone has ever used silicone spray polish then give up on day one. You won't ever be able to get rid of that successfuly.

Before starting though, what is the advantage of satin nitro that you want?

The benefit of oil finish is that any scratch or ding can be easily removed and repaired by sweating the dent out and sanding. Lacquer finish is far harder to repair.

The disadvantage of oil is dirty sweaty hands can stain the wood. I guess the choice is yours.

[Jimothey]

@Grangur is the man to speak to about refinishing a Warwick check out the job he did on @Al Krow corvette in the Warwick thread on gear porn it looks stunning and flawless

[rmcki]

2 hours ago, warwickhunt said:

I have to say that 2 local (professional) luthiers close to me both refused to refinish a Warwick that I had (SSI waxed) as there was no guarantee you could leech all of the oil/wax out and if you didn't then it could react badly with the paint causing flaking etc.  

If you are prepared to sand/strip back several mm of wood from the front and back it may work but they indicated that the wax/oil if applied regularly penetrates quite deep, especially on an old bass.  

One final question is your bass a wax finish from new or possibly one of the coated ones which some people mistakenly wax?

Good luck either way.

 

Its a 5 string 2010 LTD corvette, so it was a wax finish.

[rmcki]

1 hour ago, Grangur said:

From work in wood finishing; when we wanted to re-finish oiled wood with lacquer, both of the above are right.

I've always used white spirit to wash the wood with to remove as much of the oil as possible, then sand it down.

If anyone has ever used silicone spray polish then give up on day one. You won't ever be able to get rid of that successfuly.

Before starting though, what is the advantage of satin nitro that you want?

The benefit of oil finish is that any scratch or ding can be easily removed and repaired by sweating the dent out and sanding. Lacquer finish is far harder to repair.

The disadvantage of oil is dirty sweaty hands can stain the wood. I guess the choice is yours.

I was thinking of a satin nitro for 2 reasons;

1. Provide a harder outer shell, the maple neck is susceptible to small dings i thought that the niro may provide a harder skin making it a bit more resistant.
2. Its long lasting.

I think i'll follow your recommendations, i'll get some liberion wax remover, use it and white spirits and a fair amount of elbow grease and make an assessment once that's finished. 

Edited February 1, 2018 by rmcki

[Grangur]

From my experience Nitro goes on very thin. If you're looking for a hard shell to protect from dings, then you'll need a lot of layers to get anything like the thickness you're used to seeing on some of the Fender-style instruments. Don't try to spray it thick all in one go. If you do, all you'll get is a bumpy surface like "orange peel". Or  otherwise, even worse, it will run. Take your time. Make the room as dust-free as you can, and use a face mask and goggles.

If, between coats, you find you get "nibs" in the finish, (Nibs = dust and crud that make small lumps) wait until it's dry, then rub the rough bits with the back of a sheet of glass-paper or emery-paper. This will smooth it off without taking you back to square 1. 

What you'll have is an oil finish. You can check this online at www.warwick.de. Go to "Support", then "Serial Numbers". 

You can then type in the serial number and it'll tell you something like this:

M-131***-06

Article number: 1294380000BZBUBAWW 

produced: 2006-12-19

Description:  Corvette $$ NT, 4-string

Natural Oil finish

Bubinga body

Maple neck

Black hardware 
 

Made in Germany

 

You can always try first to get rid of the oil finish on the back of the neck only, then if the spray doesn't take, you can always re-oil and wax again.

[BassBod]

My thinking is the original Warwick wax finish and a thin matt nitro aren’t very different in look or feel.  In my experience, a thin matt nitro is actually less hard wearing (always goes shiny with use) and much more difficult to maintain. 

Maybe just cut back the existing finish and replace with a fresh Warwick wax layer?  The Warwick stuff is really good, as it doesn’t quickly build into a shine like most furniture waxes - use a little, often, and it does what it says on the tin. 

[Jus Lukin]

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Edited March 1, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[Grangur]

Hey, @Jus Lukin I guess neither "Castrol GTX" or "Crisp'n' Dry" are the best route to go?

[Jus Lukin]

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Edited February 25, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[rmcki]

Well after a lot of sanding and cleaning i've decided to leave the bass with it's warwick finish.

I first cleaned the bass with Liberon wax remover then used 400 grit sandpaper, then wiped down the bass with Acetone. Then a round of 800 grit followed by 1200 wet and dry. After all that i decided just to re wax the bass. The bass looks and feels great. Thanks for all the advice. 

[dyerseve]

I would recommend a couple of follow up waxings as newly finished or refinished Warwicks will soak in the oils from the wax until the wood was settled. I am still finding this to be the case with my SSI i stripped and refinished last year:

 

 

[darkandrew]

I've forgotten the exact name of it but isn't there a polish for wooden gunstocks that you can apply over an oiled surface that will harden and protect it? It was recommended to me for applying to an Ernie Ball MM bass neck (although I've never done it myself).

Edited April 20, 2018 by darkandrew

[Jimothey]

13 minutes ago, darkandrew said:

I've forgotten the exact name of it but isn't there a polish for wooden gunstocks that you can apply over an oiled surface that will harden and protect it? It was recommended to me for applying to an Ernie Ball MM bass neck (although I've never done it myself).

Do you mean tru-oil?.....

[darkandrew]

On 20/04/2018 at 18:44, Jimothey said:

Do you mean tru-oil?.....

Yes, I think that was the one. I never actually got around to doing it though, so cannot comment on whether it's any good or not.

Edited April 21, 2018 by darkandrew

[BassBod]

That’s the Birchwood Casey stuff, made for gun stocks.  It’s good, thicker and builds quickly.  I use it for maple fingerboards as it keeps dirt out and helps lighter wood look clean. Got some nasty health warnings on it (for California) so I use more natural tung oil for general finishing.