Cleaning wax out of porous wood

[BassDudeSA]

Hello, about a month ago I bought a very nice used Carvin LB75P. A great bass and that piezo really makes it shine. However, this bass is made from porous Koa wood. I believe it has a satin finish because the pores in the wood are exposed. Very nice finish but not protected with a clear coat. Anyway, the previous owner decided to wax the entire body. Lo and behold, tiny bits of the wax imbedded itself inside the pores, and now there are hundreds of tiny white/yellow dots and slivers all over the bass. You can't tell from a distance, but it bugs me. I guess I need something that I can rub on the bass that will go inside and melt away that dried in wax. Is this possible? I've never encountered anything like this before. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[202dy]

Naphtha should dissolve the wax in the pores. Use rags and wipe with the grain. It may take a couple of treatments depending on the amount of wax in the pores. Remember to dispose of the rags properly as they can spontaneously combust.

You will probably want to follow this stripping with several coats of oil.

HTH

[BassDudeSA]

Originally Posted by 202dy

Naphtha should dissolve the wax in the pores. Use rags and wipe with the grain. It may take a couple of treatments depending on the amount of wax in the pores. Remember to dispose of the rags properly as they can spontaneously combust.

You will probably want to follow this stripping with several coats of oil.

HTH

Sounds good, I'ver never heard of Naphtha, would it also take off the satin finish? What exactly IS Naphtha, and by combust do you mean it is highly flammable? Also, where can I buy this stuff, somewhere like a Home Depot? Thanks.

[62bass]

Naptha is a solvent similar to, but more flammable, than paint thinner (varsol). It's used as a varnish thinner, Coleman stove fuel and lighter fluid. It evaporates quicker than paint thinner. It will dissolve wax, as will paint thinner. I won't harm varnish, polyurethane or nitro finishes.

You can use paint thinner instead, if naptha is hard to find. As mentioned, you may need to wipe it on and wipe it off several times to remove wax.

Denatured alcohol and methyl hydrate will also dissolve wax, but dry very quickly and make it harder to work with. Alcohol won't harm varnish or oplu finishes but will dissolve nitro finishes and pickguards.

Once you clean the wood completely you may want to protect it with some sort of finish--maybe a danish oil type product, which is very easy. That's a different subject.

By the way-if you can't find naptha by name at a paint store or Home Depot, buy some Colemans stove fuel. It comes in gallon cans and is cheap. Check the label. It should say naptha in the ingredients. That's what I use. It has hundreds of uses around the house.

[Hambone]

Be careful using any solvent for this type of job. The problem is the possibility of driving the wax further into the wood making any refinishing very difficult.

A better choice would be a strong detergent with a surfectant. That will break up the wax and suspend it without soaking into the wood.

[BassDudeSA]

Originally Posted by Hambone

Be careful using any solvent for this type of job. The problem is the possibility of driving the wax further into the wood making any refinishing very difficult.

A better choice would be a strong detergent with a surfectant. That will break up the wax and suspend it without soaking into the wood.

Sounds good, I'll look into that as well. Any specific products or brands? What is a surfectant? Thanks.

[Foamy]

Originally Posted by Hambone

Be careful using any solvent for this type of job. The problem is the possibility of driving the wax further into the wood making any refinishing very difficult.

A better choice would be a strong detergent with a surfectant. That will break up the wax and suspend it without soaking into the wood.

Example please - specifics? Thanks.

[Hambone]

Originally Posted by BassDudeSA

Sounds good, I'll look into that as well. Any specific products or brands? What is a surfectant? Thanks.

Surfectants are the ingredients in detergents that lift dirt off and keep it suspended from a surface. They lower the water's surface tension allowing it to clean better. They are in all soaps, and detergents but some of these cleaners would work better than others. I've used an industrial de-greaser in this regard and it worked very well. Try some of the concentrated de-greasers like Simple Green. It's also important to use a good cloth for this. I like to use the micro-fiber towels. They can really get into small areas like the pores of wood.

[BassDudeSA]

Originally Posted by Hambone

Surfectants are the ingredients in detergents that lift dirt off and keep it suspended from a surface. They lower the water's surface tension allowing it to clean better. They are in all soaps, and detergents but some of these cleaners would work better than others. I've used an industrial de-greaser in this regard and it worked very well. Try some of the concentrated de-greasers like Simple Green. It's also important to use a good cloth for this. I like to use the micro-fiber towels. They can really get into small areas like the pores of wood.

Sounds good, I'll buy some of that Simple Green to start since it sounds like an easier fix than the previous suggestion. I have no idea what the previous owner was thinking when he rubbed wax into this porous wood.