When I read somewhere in the forum that someone made their own wax stick from a paste wax I decided to make one myself.
As many of us know, spreading wax by machine is easier, faster, more uniform and can apply very thin. Applying wax to the foam pad is not an issue with with liquid waxes, however with paste wax, my 6.5" LC pad won't fit into Meguiars ultimate paste tin can. I have tried using plastic scraper or credit card to spread the wax to the pad like spreading butter on toast, however I found this is a bit cumbersome and I may get some wax crumbles falling to the ground.
I am using Megs UPW for this example as one of my favourite LSP (easy on easy off, darkens the paint, very slick with hydrophobic protection) however this method should work with other paste waxes with relatively firm consistency.
So I went to a local stationery shop to get a 35 grams Bostik glue stick for around $1.40. Removed the glue then washed and dried the container thoroughly.
People in forum suggested to use a double boiler to melt the wax. However it sounds messy to me and I only needed to melt 40 grams of wax (just over 1 oz) so I improvised and used a a clear cellophane bag instead.
I scraped UPW into the bag, measuring around 40 grams and tied the opening with a rubber band so it is completely sealed. To melt the wax I used an electric baby milk bottle warmer, put water in and set a temperature just enough to melt the wax.
Because wax melts at low temperature and the baby bottle warmer walls and base is made out of plastic, there is no risk of melting the cellophane bag.
I kept of squeezing the bag while the wax is melting and once the wax is thoroughly melted, I took out the bag out of the water, wiped it dry, snipped one corner of the bag and poured the melted wax to the empty glue stick. This is how it looks like:
While planning this project it came to mind that the wax may separate while cooling, so I decided to fill the wax to the brim, cover it with a thin cling-wrap making sure to have minimal air bubble trapped inside, then put the glue stick cover on. This way it is sealed and I was able to lightly shake the container while the wax is cooling down to avoid the wax separating, without spiling the wax. Occassionally I ran it under running tap dto speed up the cooling process.
Eventually the wax solidified and I left it for another hour just to be safe, then I removed the cap and the cling wrap. I then twisted bottom to push the wax up and this is what I got:
Now its time to try out!
Here you see I am applying the wax stick to 6.5" black LC CCS pad:
50/50 shot:
As a big plus, I was also able to apply wax to the sides of the pads easily. :thumbup:
Thanks for looking!
Questions, input, or feedback welcomed
As many of us know, spreading wax by machine is easier, faster, more uniform and can apply very thin. Applying wax to the foam pad is not an issue with with liquid waxes, however with paste wax, my 6.5" LC pad won't fit into Meguiars ultimate paste tin can. I have tried using plastic scraper or credit card to spread the wax to the pad like spreading butter on toast, however I found this is a bit cumbersome and I may get some wax crumbles falling to the ground.
I am using Megs UPW for this example as one of my favourite LSP (easy on easy off, darkens the paint, very slick with hydrophobic protection) however this method should work with other paste waxes with relatively firm consistency.
So I went to a local stationery shop to get a 35 grams Bostik glue stick for around $1.40. Removed the glue then washed and dried the container thoroughly.
People in forum suggested to use a double boiler to melt the wax. However it sounds messy to me and I only needed to melt 40 grams of wax (just over 1 oz) so I improvised and used a a clear cellophane bag instead.
I scraped UPW into the bag, measuring around 40 grams and tied the opening with a rubber band so it is completely sealed. To melt the wax I used an electric baby milk bottle warmer, put water in and set a temperature just enough to melt the wax.
Because wax melts at low temperature and the baby bottle warmer walls and base is made out of plastic, there is no risk of melting the cellophane bag.
I kept of squeezing the bag while the wax is melting and once the wax is thoroughly melted, I took out the bag out of the water, wiped it dry, snipped one corner of the bag and poured the melted wax to the empty glue stick. This is how it looks like:
While planning this project it came to mind that the wax may separate while cooling, so I decided to fill the wax to the brim, cover it with a thin cling-wrap making sure to have minimal air bubble trapped inside, then put the glue stick cover on. This way it is sealed and I was able to lightly shake the container while the wax is cooling down to avoid the wax separating, without spiling the wax. Occassionally I ran it under running tap dto speed up the cooling process.
Eventually the wax solidified and I left it for another hour just to be safe, then I removed the cap and the cling wrap. I then twisted bottom to push the wax up and this is what I got:
Now its time to try out!
Here you see I am applying the wax stick to 6.5" black LC CCS pad:
50/50 shot:
As a big plus, I was also able to apply wax to the sides of the pads easily. :thumbup:
Thanks for looking!
Questions, input, or feedback welcomed
