[laketrout]

I like to paint the edge's of my box's for protection from water and rotting but the latex paints these days never seem to dry . Someone mentioned coating the edge with paraffin wax but won't that get soft and sticky in the sun , any other ideas .

 

[Gilligan]

I'll be using fiberglass resin... others use tight bond glue.

 

[laketrout]

Sorry for the confusion , I already painted my box's , the tip I heard was to rub paraffin wax over the painted edge after the paint has dried .I was thinking the paraffin will get sticky also in the hot sun , not sure , guess I could give it a try , looking for other ideas .

 

[Hormel]

I also paint the edges also, being in the rainy northwest I want to protect the edges. After they have dried I wipe the edges with mineral oil or vegetable oil, this seems to cut down the sticking.

I have also found the satin/flat body paints don't stick as much as the semi and full glosses do.
John

 

[Rusty Hills Farm]

I use soap. The hard bar kind. Works for me.

HTH

Rusty

 

[laketrout]

I never liked the move away from oil base paints other than easy clean up , these latex paints just never dry , they stay tacky to the touch and when you think there dry a nice hot day comes along and they get tacky again . I'll give the soap a try , thanks .

 

[tefer2]

Try vaseline petroleum jelly.

 

[matrout76]

I've been told to wipe Lemon Pledge on the edges to keep them from sticking. Something about the Pledge helps to harden the paint and make it un-sticky. And the Lemon Pledge smells good too!

I'm going to try it this year to see if it works. I just spray some on a rag and wipe the edges to keep overspray from getting all over the place.

Anyone else use Lemon Pledge on their boxes?

 

[Bdeaner]

I'd worry about using pledge. I mean I wouldn't clean plates with the stuff, and wouldn't put it near honey that I was going to eat. Could be harmless, but why risk the contaminant?

 

[laketrout]

Might drive the bee's crazy !!! all that lemon , I don't see how the soap can hurt anything , Rusty said he has been using it and it has done the job .

 

[enjambres]

If using soap, I would choose it very carefully. Many soaps have anti-bacterial additives which might create a problem by killing the microbacteria within the hive that are essential to the bees, especially for fermenting bee bread from pollen. After all, air and perhaps some moisture, will flow through those cracks 24/7 bringing whatever is on the edges into the hive.

I paint my edges, too. I try to get the painting done early enough so I can allow the edges to cure in the sunlight for weeks. Beyond that I just pry them apart and rely on two coats of primer and two coats of finish paint (all over white pigmented shellac) to still protect the wood when the inevitable prying scrapes off some of the paint.

Enj.

 

[Rusty Hills Farm]

We make our own soap, so there's nothing scented in there. It's just a basic white hard bar soap. Crisco is the primary ingredient. We use it on the hives, edges of the tools, and the like. We make one batch a year specifically for utilitarian uses.

HTH

Rusty

 

[laketrout]

How about the basic old Ivory soap and that brings me back to pure paraffin canning wax is there any additives in that.

 

[DPBsbees]

Try vaseline petroleum jelly.

I agree. I use the cheapest petroleum jelly I can find. It doesn't wash away if it gets wet, and if it's safe for us, it's good enough for the bees.

 

[ericweller]

I use paraffin and it works great. It doesn't get sticky, at all.