Pierco frames: Cleaning dirty or poorly formed combs for a fresh start?

[Dirtslinger2]

I've got some several year old undrawn frames that went through a flood that that the bees just won't pull comb on. Also have quite a few frames with non-conforming patterns that make a mess when playing with the bees, and worse extracting.
Any ideas on how to make these attractive again to the bees? Thanks.

[Vance G]

You could scrape them and wash them off and reapply wax. The ones that have heavy wax buildup that obscures the embossing, I melt off with a heatgun and wipe with a rag. Then I use a fiber paint roller and a deep fat fryer with beeswax to recoat them.

[Dirtslinger2]

Thanks for that, and heat gun is a great idea- will try and be careful to not get too hot!

[EastSideBuzz]

Steam also works well.

[Keth Comollo]

I had a similar situation and found a simple solution that worked great. I got an old crock pot from the local thrift store for $2. Put in a big chunk of beeswax and melted it (takes some time in a crock pot). Then I took a small paint roller, dipped it in wax and rolled it on the Pierco frames. The bees loved it and started drawing them out right away.