Varnish over brushing wax

evilgoose

I've done some googling on this and the general concensus is NO!!

Anyway, On a scrap of wood I've tried out some ronseal brushing wax and put a coat of Diamond hard varnish over the top to try and make the finish more hard waring.
So far it hasn't lifted or clouded - its been about a week (well two weeks - one week after the wax applied I coated it).

Has anyone else tried this? with success of failure?

thanks.

evilgoose

anyone? any tips?

withabix

One problem will be that the brushing wax will weaken any physical bond between the varnish and the wood.

Although the varnish may not lift or peel on it's own, have you tried putting 'sideways' pressure on it to see what happens? It may shear like paint does over old/dirty paint.

Why wax the wood first, rather than just varnishing it? Are you after some specific effect?

evilgoose

I've tried several varnishes and stains (its cost a small fortune) why cant companies do tester pots!
The ronseal wax gave the best colour match to the oak windows and enhanced the grain of the wood (pine) very nicely, I'm just concerned that it's not that hard waring - especially with dogs brushing past. I'd hoped the varnish would 'seal' the finish.

I guess my other concern is that if at some point I (I relent to 'I feel like a change', she can be persuasive!) and want to paint the wood, would I have to strip off the wax finish before it can be painted?

thanks,

savemoney

I have had the ronseal wax on internal bedroom doors for almost 3 years and seems to last for us. I only applied two coats and havent touched it since

1984ReturnsForReal_2

It will stay as it is until the heat effects it or it gets a knock.

Then you will have patches of discolouration or eggshell cracks.

inamegajam

have you tried staining with black tea or coffee of different strengths to get the colour you want, then either varnish it or wax it, would not use both. like you say if ever you wanted to change it varnish would be easier to sand down or strip. and the tea or coffee stain would wash out easier. have done this myself many times on different things and it works well.
hope this helps its worth a try.
p.s. gravy browning is quite good as well.

invisiblecabbage

have you tried sikkens stuff, i love the finish it gives.

Dippypud

Experiment with wood dyes, rather than a wax / varnish finish for the colour you require.

Remember it dries lighter than it goes on.