how do I stop the wax in an old set of drawers from clogging up the sandpaper as I sand the unit down?

Question

I am renovating an old apothecary unit and the sandpaper is always getting blocked up with the old wax. How do I prevent this?

Answer 1

Are you sure it is wax or could it be varnish? If it is wax, a old trick to pull the majority of the wax out is a old cloth baby diaper(make sure it is clean) and a clothes iron on a low non-steam setting. Put the diaper down and heat up gently, should remove most of the buildup. If old varnish, use a mixture of acetone and lacquer thinner in a 50/50 mix with steel wool and it will soften the old finish and wipe away without damaging the wood. I worked in the paint industry and cabinet industry for 15 years.

Answer 2

There are few ways you can save in sandpaper when doing a project like this.



First i would remove as much of the wax as possible before sanding. This can be done with paint thinner (let the thinner pool on the surface and glently wipe away after a good 5 minutes) or manually with a cabinet scrapper. A cabinet scrapper is an old fashion tool used sometimes instead of finish sanding. It basically a thin blade that you drag along the suface of your furniture. they can be found at your better hardware stores or specialty woodworker supply.



If you insist on sanding it first a good way to get rid of the gunk quickly is with a random orbital sander. This tool removes material fairly quickly. The better ones have holes on the sanding pads themselves making for more aggressive sanding.



If your sandpaper is still gunking up too quickly bending the paper against the outer surface (rough side up) and rolling the fold along your palm should dislodge much of the wax.

Answer 3

You need to remove all the old wax before you sand it down. Anything which dissolves the old wax is acceptable, but there are proprietary brands on the market such as Rustin`s Surface Cleaner which is excellent. Put plenty on the surface, and let it dissolve the old wax, then wipe it off with very fine wire wool. You may need to repeat this to remove all the old wax.



You will find that this also cleans up the wood so that you don`t need to sand it down at all. Don`t forget that old marks, scrapes and scratches are all part and parcel of an old piece. When all the old wax is removed, let it dry naturally then give it a waxing with a good quality wax.

Answer 4

I work as a sander at a custom made cabinet shop. I deal with alot of glue and putty, it also clogs my paper up. Just have to keep changing the paper. You could try to remove the the wax with a utility knife or something first. If it is in a straight line somewhere. But of course you would have to be VERY careful as to not scratch and leave a deep cut line. But I just reccommend changing your paper. That is the right way.

Answer 5

your best bet is to use lightly a very thick grain glasspaper to remove the bulk of the wax. Remember LIGHTLY as it will scratch it quite a lot. then use a mid-grain sandpaper to remove residue, then smooth it out with a fine sandpaper or wet-and-dry paper.

Answer 6

If it is that old it may be the varnish.Most varnish was made with animal insides on early finish jobs.That's why the color darkens with time.You could try some sanding sponges and rinse them out with water when they clog.

Answer 7

If you are using a powered sander periodically clean the paper by "sanding" the sole of a discarded sneaker

Answer 8

Begin by using a good quality wood cleaner/dewaxer. Then you can begin stripping or sanding. This link will guide you.

Answer 9

Keep changing the sand paper. It is cheap enough

Answer 10

could try a fine steel wool to remove the worst of it and then sand it

Not sure if its the correct thing to do but i did my pine table like that :)

Answer 11

Wiping it down with meths should help.