people ,
in africa we get a clear beeswax based floor polish called "cobra" its great for use on wooden carvings , tusks, stone sculptures and many other applications and prevents cracking and helps keep things looking good ..

does anyone here in the US know the product and know what the US equivalent is

thanks in advance !

Take a look at Johnsons Paste Wax. Works on lots of things.

SC Johnson's Paste Wax

wax

I use this as it doesn't yellow over time....

http://www.bwccompany.com/bowlingalley.html

One of the best is Briwax which is blend of soft beeswax and a waxy emollient from the carnauba palm, and is available here in US. Probably very similar to the stuff you are using in Africa

Mylands Wax is very good. Formulated for antique furniture conservators and restorers, but used by a lot of craft people for new carvings and such. It combines natural waxes beeswax, carnauba and shellac wax.

Minwax Paste Finishing Wax is also used alot and does not yellow but will allow wood to age gracefully. Available at any Home Depot. More readily available, does a good job and is less expensive

This might be close to what you are looking for:

http://www.earthpaint.net/product_lookingGlass.php

thanks for the good info folks i appreciate it !

Been using minwax on antique furniture and especially on my longbows.
Good to know, I"ll use it on my tusks

When I first read the topic and then who the OP was my immediate reaction was - all those elephant charges finally got to him...

quote:

When I first read the topic and then who the OP was my immediate reaction was - all those elephant charges finally got to him...

snowhound -

so much old ivory you see here in the states has been stained yellow from having the wrong polish applied likewise wooden sculptures from africa change color so was just wondering what people had found was the best ..

so many people recommend linseed oil but it gets very sticky and very yellow and that simply doesnt work !!!

thanks again everyone !

Way back when I was appraising my Japanese swords, the folks at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts told me that for their old Queen Anne furniture, they used simple lemon oil polish and kept them in humidity-controlled cases.

I do not think I would use that on ivory, though.

For color-free wax, I agree that bowling alley wax is good. For gun stocks and metal, Johnson's Paste Wax is good and note that some car waxes are very high carnauba content, if all else fails.

Here in Zim we used to make home-made Cobra polish from 'white' candles and and paraffin - can't remember the exact ratio's, just crush up the candles and keep adding paraffin to dissolve the candles until you reach the desired consistency.

Ivan,

You are talking about raw linseed oil. Boiled linseed is what should of been used, but the rags are extremely hazardous spontaneous combustion must be put outside draped over a can open fully or metal can placed inside and sealed.

Mike

I was told to use Johnson's baby oil on my ivory and ivory products.

quote:

Originally posted by CHIDUMBU:
Here in Zim we used to make home-made Cobra polish from 'white' candles and and paraffin - can't remember the exact ratio's, just crush up the candles and keep adding paraffin to dissolve the candles until you reach the desired consistency.

i assume by paraffin, you mean the kerosene that is used in lamps? at least that is what my friends in Zim refer to as paraffin. don't think i would want to put kerosene on anything of real value. i use a product available here in the US called Howard's Feed-N-Wax( available at Lowes). it is a mixture of orange oil, beeswax and carnuba wax. gel consistency, easily applied, and gives a nice semi-gloss, water repellant finish. i touch up all my gunstocks every 2-3 months. takes less than 10 minutes per stock.

I'm always confused by these threads. It seems like no two people agree on what to use or why.

I've used Johnson's wax on ivory, but then other things I've read say that was wrong.

By threads on the taxidermy forum some people swear by baby oil.

Many of these recommended products are vastly different chemically so it seems like some of them would be a mistake.

Maybe I'm just easily confused.

quote:

Originally posted by Use Enough Gun:
I was told to use Johnson's baby oil on my ivory and ivory products.

Damn, okay I was told to use it for.......

Yeah, I know what you were told to use it for! LOL! So, use it for both!