I made a tung oil and candelilla wax finish (4:1) inspired by Darbin Orvar (   / darbinorvar  , and recycled a salsa jar and a chocolate tin I sanitized to store it.

I used trial and error to figure out how I liked to make the wax finish best, and basically found that I should:
1. Heat an inch or two of water on low heat
2. Measure and place wax and oil in a heat resistant glass jar
3. Stir to evenly heat and melt the wax mixture
4. Stirring while cooling was not a necessary step for this application. The resulting wax finish is a salve consistency.
5. Store in sanitized glass jars or tins.

Tung oil is an excellent polymerizing finish that when used undiluted is food safe. It impregnates the wood and hardens to repel water. It is also used on stone surfaces, although it takes time to fully cure.

Candelilla wax is a vegan alternative to beeswax, and an environmentally friendlier alternative to carnauba wax. While it is harder than beeswax, it is softer than carnauba wax. Although tung oil creates a water resistant surface on wood on its own, the use of wax is thought to make the application of tung oil easier, as the wax hardens quickly, while the tung oil cures in the wood.

See more of my work:
http://www.sunnysideupstars.com
  / sunnysideupstairs  
  / sunnysideupstairs  

Music: "Sneaky Snitch" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...