Hot dipping alternatives

[bettinacharlotta]

Instead of hot dipping equipment, can a block of wax be melted and painted on the wood? Or will this not soak in as well? I have some small parts that I do not want to paint and am trying to find the best way to protect them.

[Robert Hawkins]

If you think about it, painting cannot ever soak in as well as dipping. But using warm wood should help to get you close enough. Define that and you're there. I personally am not painting or dipping anymore. Bare naked wood will probably outlast my lifetime.

I just paint the hive name above the entrance so they can find home. That's careless speech meaning to prevent drifting.

Yes logic dictates that painted wood will last longer, and tests will take 40 years. Sometime in that space I'll have extra time and money and a grandchild or two.....

Hawk

[Ross]

Found this on-line......

But the most surprising result in the 20-year test was that window
units treated with a simple water repellent (1.5 percent paraffin
wax in mineral spirits plus 10 percent exterior varnish resin with
no chemical preservative) performed as well as did the water-
repellent preservative (which contained both wax and a chemical
preservative). This showed that a non-chemical water repellent
like paraffin wax with a small amount of resin, such as exterior
varnish, was capable of providing protection to wood exposed above
ground to the elements for 20 years in a northern climate.

Sounds like boiling is not necessary at all.

The water-repellent treatment is easily done before or after
construction and before painting. A simple formula, easily
prepared is:

- Exterior varnish 3 cups

- Paraffin wax 1 ounce

- Mineral Spirits, or
paint thinner, or
turpentine Add to make 1 gallon

Treatment is best done by dipping the wood for 1 to 3 minutes in
the solution. If dipping is inconvenient, liberal brush
application can be made - paying particular attention to heavy
treatment of all board ends and joints. The treated surface can be
painted after 2 or 3 days of warm weather. In fact, paint should
last longer over the treated surface than over untreated wood.

http://w3.gsa.gov/web/p/HPTP.NSF/1d8...9?OpenDocument

Note that this is for a Northern climate. Results in the southern suana will likely be different.

[Michael Bush]

>Or will this not soak in as well?

When you "boil" them you really fry them. The wax gets sucked into the wood and it appears to be dry when you are done. Painting it on is not going to soak in as well. That doesn't mean it wouldn't help, but it wouldn't be the same thing. The wood is very hot and the steam is rolling out of the wood when you dip them.

[Meadow Stone Farm]

there are some old house painters I know that apply their own wax/oil mixture to bare wood before painting. they swear by it. i don't recall what's in it though, but they gave me the impression it used to be common place in new england.

[Mabe]

For those of us who'd like to try this finish, but don't have the facility to dip....

Does anyone have an opinion about using a heat gun to heat the preservative after it's been brushed on? Or perhaps to warm the wood before applying the wax solution???

Clearly this would only be practical for small operators.

[BULLSEYE BILL]

Heat gun? Hmm, how about microwave?

[riverrat]

Heat gun? Hmm, how about microwave?

Bill where do you buy a microwave the size of an autoclave?

A good fix would be to find a fellow Beekeep that has the tank for dipping and the mead to drink while using it. HInt,,,,,,,, , Hint,,,,,,,,,, Hint Bill

[bettinacharlotta]

"Does anyone have an opinion about using a heat gun to heat the preservative after it's been brushed on? Or perhaps to warm the wood before applying the wax solution???"

Are you spying on us? That's what my dad suggested a few days ago and I just came to post about it, but you already did. We were going to try painting it on then using a heat gun to melt it. My dad said we should heat the box, then rub the wax on, but I don't think that would work right. I'd rather melt the wax first.

[BULLSEYE BILL]

Bill where do you buy a microwave the size of an autoclave?

A good fix would be to find a fellow Beekeep that has the tank for dipping and the mead to drink while using it. HInt,,,,,,,, , Hint,,,,,,,,,, Hint Bill

You might be in luck, I just ordered 100 boxes. So when you borrow my tank....
and I will supply the wax/rosin.

[ozzy]

I often would apply parafin by hot air gun or propane torch. Using the torch I would melt the wax letting it drip onto the bottom board. As you heated the wax and wood it would spread out and be absorbed in. YOu kind of have to chase it around but I suppose you could place the bottom board in the oven to get it hot and then pour melted wax over it. The excess will run off and if it dries too thick you can just heat it with the hot air gun or torch so the excess runs off. It isn't the best way to do it but these boards are just as good as when I did them 20 yrs ago.

[jdpro5010]

Has anyone ever used boiled linseed oil or some variation?

[Michael Bush]

>Has anyone ever used boiled linseed oil or some variation?

I have. I wasn't unhappy with it but it wasn't as effective as I had hoped. The wood still turns gray and it needs to be reapplied often.

[riverrat]

I often would apply parafin by hot air gun or propane torch. Using the torch I would melt the wax letting it drip onto the bottom board. As you heated the wax and wood it would spread out and be absorbed in. YOu kind of have to chase it around but I suppose you could place the bottom board in the oven to get it hot and then pour melted wax over it. The excess will run off and if it dries too thick you can just heat it with the hot air gun or torch so the excess runs off. It isn't the best way to do it but these boards are just as good as when I did them 20 yrs ago.

Curiosity has me here. How do you use a propane torch and keep from igniting the wax.

[ttruluck]

Has any one ever used Thompson Water seal? This is my first time on & I am from SC

[bettinacharlotta]

I had a post about Thompson's in another thread. I was wondering about it too, but you have to reapply it and I wouldn't use it inside a hive. Paraffin seems more effective and safe.