Homemade Beeswax Furniture Polish + Spoon Butter Recipe

Homemade Beeswax Furniture Polish

Are you left with bits of Beeswax after you've finished burning your candle? If you're an avid beeswax candle burner like I am (obviously I am, I make them for a living:) Well then you're probably left with bits of candle wax, leftover from the bottom remains of a pillar or even a few drips here and there.

Well don't throw out that golden fuel...save it to make the most glorious and useful FURNITURE POLISH!

I also have the perfect slight alteration that will make the best spoon butter recipe.

So, we'll be using left over beeswax, you can also purchase new wax here. Yes, you'll need to re-filter the wax if it's dirty and has bits of burnt wick in it (Don't worry it's easier than it sounds and I'll get to that part soon.)

First let's talk about what you'll use this magic polish on...everything! Yes everything at least all your wooden furniture. I have a lot of antiques that I've been collecting for my 1910 farmhouse and most of them need a lot of TLC. They're usually a bit on the dry side but with a bit of polishing will be back to their former glory in no time. As for painted furniture, well I've used this polish plenty especially on chalk or milk painted furniture, this is the stuff you want. It really deepens the color and helps protect it from discoloration or staining.

The spoon butter recipe is almost identical, I just like it a little softer than my furniture polish but that's just me being picky. It has more oil in it which makes it a more lubricating polish. What is Spoon Butter you ask? You may have heard it called a cutting board wax or cream before. Basically it's an oil/wax mix that brings back the life to your wooden spoons, cutting boards and more.  It also works wonders as a leather polish. Yep, polish those leather boots back up and keep them in tip top shape with a few dabs.

So let's talk about what I use. Beeswax, obviously. It really is the best, just make sure you're using pure beeswax especially for your spoon butter you don't want to be rubbing paraffin all over your wooden spoons! My wax is 100% Pure, not cut with any other waxes so if you're using it you're good to go. Beeswax has been used for centuries as a water-proof, air-tight protective sealant that helps bring out the natural patina and leaves wood silky-smooth to the touch...it's pretty much magic! Next lets talk oils. You can literally use any oil in this recipe.

My top oil picks for furniture polish are Flax, Hemp or Walnut.

Flax is a drying oil, which means it will fully polymerize and form a harder layer, which is what you'll want to protect your furniture.

The unfortunate thing with Flax, Hemp or Walnut is that they'll go rancid in 6-12 months. If you're going to make a batch and use it up within 6 months this will be perfect. If not Olive or Jojoba will be your best choice. Olive will go rancid eventually but usually lasts closer to 2 years, especially when mixed with beeswax. Jojoba has a very long shelf life. I'll be using Olive Oil today because that's what I have.  Feel free to use what oils you have, even coconut will work although I personally find it to be quite greasy, which is totally fine for spoon butter but not the best when you're trying to polish your furniture. You can also use mineral oil, that's what most manufactures of furniture polish use, it doesn't go rancid and lasts forever but (there is a big but) it is made of petroleum, which means that I won't use it. While it's considered food grade you won't catch me rubbing a bi-product of the crude oil industry all over my cutting boards and wood spoons. No thanks, I'll pass!

INGREDIENT & SUPPLY LIST

• Beeswax

• Olive Oil (Hemp, Flax or Walnut work great too)

• Jar or Tin for your container (half pint sized mason jar is perfect for this recipe)
  

• Double Boiler
  

• *Container for Filtered Beeswax

• *Nylon Pantyhose for filtering Beeswax
  

*If you'll be filtering left over candle wax you'll need a container to pour it into.  Here's a list of common ones to use: Washed out yogurt containers, dixie cups, glad-ware, ice-cube trays or silicone muffin trays all work well. Basically it's something you want to be able to easily remove the wax from once it's cooled. Avoid using glass or metal as your container choice as it can be difficult to get the wax out.

Don't have a double boiler? Just use a glass measuring cup (ideally with a handle) and put it in a small pot of water. Have the measuring cup sit on a canning ring to keep it from sitting on the bottom of the pan.

These are very easy recipes to make. You can alter them to your liking. Just remember more oil to wax ratio will make your polish more lubricating, less a harder wax paste.

You can also use essential oils. Orange or lemon are quite good for furniture but I do usually keep it simple and for this recipe keep it plain, which in turn makes it a less expensive product to make.

Before moving on to the recipe, we're going to discuss measurements. If you have a scale that measures ounces that is going to be the easiest way to measure. If not, you can eye ball it.

Basically for this polish recipe you're going to want to use 4 parts oil to 1 part wax and for the spoon butter recipe you'll be using 5 parts oil to 1 part wax.

I'll give you the weighted measurements below but you really can't screw this up if you don't have a scale. You can also add these bars that are already measured in ounces. If you used lets say dixie cups to portion out your wax, you would melt 1 full dixie cup of wax and add 4 dixie cups of oil.  Using the ratio method versus a weighted measurement isn't going to be completely accurate but is perfectly acceptable for a simple recipe like this. If you end up getting into candle-making or making your own skincare it might be a good idea to invest in a scale:)

LET'S GET STARTED!

Step 1) If you're using new wax (not left over candle wax) skip to step 2. To filter wax, put all of your leftover bits of wax in your double boiler. Use a double boiler because beeswax will burn if melted directly over its heat source, so use water (double boiler) to heat it up. Bring water to boil and completely melt wax. While wax is melting, cut the foot part of your nylon stocking off. This is what you'll be pouring  the wax through to filter out any impurities. Depending on your container this can be tricky, you may want to fold the top over a canning ring so you can easily hold it.  Once wax is completely melted, carefully pour wax through nylon and into container. You can use several containers to portion out your wax into smaller sizes (depending on how much wax your melting.) It will be easiest to let your wax harden before moving on to step 2 as working with wax that is cooling is messy (it either needs to be hot and melted completely or in its solid form). So, if you are going to be moving on to step 2 right away, pour your melted wax directly back into your double boiler.

Step 2) MAKE POLISH

Furniture Polish Recipe

In double boiler melt 1oz of Beeswax and add 4 ounces of your oil of choice. Once all ingredients are melted, stir and pour into desired container and let cool completely.

Spoon Butter Recipe

In double boiler melt 1oz of Beeswax and add 5 ounces of your oil of choice. Once all ingredients are melted, stir and pour into desired container and let cool completely.

Furniture Polish Application

Prior to waxing, clean furniture with mild soapy water and allow to dry.

Step 1) Dab wax polish evenly over furniture then in the direction of grain spread all over furniture piece.

Step 2) Don't buff off immediately, leave it for 20-30 minutes. Go make yourself a cup of coffee and then come back to it:)

Step 3) With a clean cloth buff. The object is not to remove wax but to buff it in and allow the wax to have its full affect.

Spoon Butter Application

On clean utensils (Wooden Spoons, Cutting Boards, Rolling Pins, etc) apply generous amount of spoon butter all over wooden surface, rub into object completely. Apply as often as needed. I love using this on my rolling pins as this helps them become more of a non stick surface.

Hey, thanks for joining me to make this simple but useful recipe! If you're interested in beeswax make sure to check out my online shop. I carry a full line of high quality Beeswax Candle and Apothecary Items, like these best selling Hand Dipped Beeswax Tapers, which are sure to spruce up any table + they're so good for your natural living home!

Looking for more Beeswax DIY's, check out my post for making super simple Beeswax Dipped Leaves which is an easy craft to do with the kiddos and a great Fall Decor piece.

pin for later

 

 

 

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