Mineral Oil/Beeswax Mixture

16 years ago

My Soapstone is going in this week, and I can't wait to oil it up, but I have been trying to decide which to use, Mineral Oil or Beeswax.

Then I saw where folks on different threads have made a mixture soooo tell me what is your fav - and what should I try...And exactly which products worked best for you.

Thanks for your input.

Can't wait to see the results!

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Comments (3)

vwhippiechick
16 years ago
I ordered a combination beeswax/mineral oil from an ebay vendor. I really like the results on the soapstone but it takes a lot more elbow grease than just mineral oil. I also use it on my butcher block island top.
november
16 years ago
Mine is called Bee's Oil, from Holland Bowl Mill. It's beeswax and mineral oil, and I use it on my wood island top.
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You can make your own by getting beeswax online or in a craft store, then melting it 50/50 with mineral oil -- not hard to do at all. I also add a few drops of almond oil to give it a nice scent.
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I don't know that vinegar has drying properties, but acid can attack wood. Vinegar is a fairly weak acid but over time it could have effects. I am not sure that mineral oil would do anything to change that, since they don't mix, and mineral oil doesn't neutralize acid. I am not an expert on wood finishes, but I am a chemist, and if you want to deactivate vinegar, you can always use something mildly basic. Like a solution of a tablespoon of baking soda in a quart of water. It's buffered at pH 8.3 so not that far above neutral, so it's gentle in itself and will not hurt anything. Basically a rinse with slightly alkaline water. Dry it afterwards and you should have no problems with residues. I would put oil on when it's as dry as possible, so it will not be prevented from soaking in by moisture that's in the wood. You want the oil to be between the fibers, but if there's water in there, it won't go in.
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Making your own is really very very easy... I made over a gallon for ~$30 shipped I found about 2/3 mineral oil and 1/3 beeswax worked for the best consistency. just melt them in a pan together over very very low heat, pour into a container and let cool. get the best food-grade extra light mineral oil here: http://www.steoil.com/catalog.asp?productgroup=70fg this is an example of a beeswax off ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/100-Pure-Beeswax-1lb-Block-Cosmetic-Grade_W0QQitemZ150253418883QQihZ005QQcategoryZ134295QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em118Q2el1247
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Don't worry, if you have soapstone, then it can't be ruined by any chemicals. If you used a concentrated Mr. Clean, I would guess that you stripped off a lot of the previous patina from 2 months of oiling it. You may have to oil a few times to get the same amount of darkening that you had before. I dripped Goof Off all over one time and it took several oilings to really darken the areas to the same color as the rest of the counter. If you washed with soapy water in between the oilings, you may have removed even more oil. For the most part, I have found that washing the soapstone with just hot water and a microfiber cloth maintains the color by not removing any oil from the surface. I would recommend oiling it a few times without using any cleaners in between to see if you can get back to the same level of oxidation that you had before. Did you happen to sand it out? I have read that sanding can also change the tendency to have white spots if you use a different grit than the installer used. My installer told me to use 220 grit to sand it out.
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staticfritz
16 years ago
I have found very different results with a mineral oil vs mineral oil beeswax blend. the oil alone on new stone starts to disappear within a day or two, but leaves a darker finish.

I made my own beeswax-oil blend using food-grade ultra-light (like water) mineral oil from STE oil
http://www.steoil.com/catalog.asp?productgroup=70fg
and triple filtered white acacia beeswax I found on ebay.

all of it was really cheap.

I ended up making about a 2/3 oil, 1/3 wax mixture in a pan on super low heat, and then let it cool in a canister. It goes on very easily, and has the consistency of cool butter.

When I use the beeswax/oil blend, it doesn't really ever fade like the mineral oil alone, but the finish is ever so slightly lighter than with the pure mineral oil. smells lovely too. It also works really really well on my butcherblock. water just beads up, and the block doesn't even feel oily.

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Mineral Oil/Beeswax Mixture

Comments (3)

vwhippiechick

november

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staticfritz

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