Car wax on lathe bed?

[Rob Gabel]

Would there be any issue using a car wax on the lathe bed. I see a lot of people using paste wax which SC Johnson apparently does not manufacture anymore.

 

[Vincent Vogel]

I use Minwax finishing wax on mine, it's similar to the Johnson paste wax. Some automotive waxes contain silicone which can cause problems with finishing.

 

[Ed Weingarden]

I've used car wax on the lathe without any issues, but in my experience, it doesn't work as well as the Johnson did.

 

[Bill Alston]

I use Microcrystalline Wax on my lathe and not had any issues. I put it on the paintwork as well to help protect it from any accidental spills.
Over here in the UK they sell Machine Wax. I’m not sure exactly what it is but it looks very similar to Microcrystalline wax.

 

[Steve Tiedman]

I'd say as long as the auto wax contains no silicone (just a bad idea to have silicone in a wood shop due to problems it causes wood finishes), you'll be fine.

Wax from plants (carnuba), wax from bugs (beeswax), and wax from crude oil (paraffin), take your pick. Anything else they add to the wax is a solvent, or a microabrasive to help polish a surface during wax application. 99.9% of whatever wax you apply to a surface (car hood, coffee table, lathe bed) gets removed as you buff it off properly afterward. Carnuba is the hardest, and highest melting temp, of the 3 general waxes we'd have in our workshops.

 

[Richard Coers]

For a machine that requires resistance tor a sliding part to perform the task, wax is counter intuitive in my opinion. A spritz of WD40 and a wipe down with a Scotchbrite pad is what I have been doing for decades. If you don't plan on using the lathe for a while, let a film of WD40 sit on it. Also decades ago, Ellsworth promoted letting your bed rust for more grip on the tailstock.

 

[John K Jordan]

I've used automotive wax on the bed to aid in positioning the banjo. However I prefer a bit of Renaissance (microcrystalline) wax - wax on, wax off with a cloth.

I have had zero problems with anything sliding when I didn't want it to slide. My lathe has good clamps.

 

[Bill Alston]

For a machine that requires resistance tor a sliding part to perform the task, wax is counter intuitive in my opinion. A spritz of WD40 and a wipe down with a Scotchbrite pad is what I have been doing for decades. If you don't plan on using the lathe for a while, let a film of WD40 sit on it. Also decades ago, Ellsworth promoted letting your bed rust for more grip on the tailstock.

I periodically apply wax to the lathe bed and on the underside of the banjo and tailstock. This allows the banjo and tail stock to glide nicely on the bed but doesn’t prevent them locking into place as usual.

I sprayed WD40 onto a milling machine table one winter many years ago, mistakenly expecting it to protect it. When I went out into the workshop two weeks later the table was covered in rust. Never again.

 

[Steve Tiedman]

I've used automotive wax on the bed to aid in positioning the banjo. However I prefer a bit of Renaissance (microcrystalline) wax - wax on, wax off with a cloth.

I have had zero problems with anything sliding when I didn't want it to slide. My lathe has good clamps.

Agreed- good clamping, and that doesn't mean overtightening the clamps, have never been bothered by wax application on my old Jet mini, 3 different size Vicmarcs, and a Oneway 1224. Again, 99.9% of the wax is wiped back off. In reality, the wax, WD40, Boeshield, etc. is probably more placebo effect. I think the greater likelyhood is that the metal-on-metal surfaces are clean of sticky tree goo and dirt. Heck, 409 cleaner, Simple Green, etc., and a rag will probably result in improvement of the rest and tailstock movement as much as anything else mentioned here. And I've never done anything to the tables on 2 bandsaws, my former table saw, nor my drill presses. In a climate controlled shop, like mine, rust has never been part of the conversation on any raw cast iron surface. Summer- window AC set at 70, also controls humidity. Winter- 5000 watt (30-amp circuit) electric unit heater hanging from the ceiling maintaining about 63-64. Both benefit from a little 9" fan on the floor at one end blowing up 45 degrees to keep the conditioned air circulating. My shop is single car garage size, a hair over 200sq ft. But I've gone off topic, sorry.