Henley's Twentieth Century Formulas, Recipes and Processes

by Unknown

WAX

Adulteration Of Wax.

Rosins are detected by cold alcohol, which dissolves all rosinous substances and exercises no action on the wax. The rosins having been extracted from the alcoholic solution by the evaporation of the alcohol, the various kinds may be distinguished by the odors disengaged by burning the mass several times on a plate of heated iron.

All earthy substances may be readily {754} separated from wax by means of oil of turpentine, which dissolves the wax, while the earthy matters form a residue.

Oil of turpentine also completely separates wax from starchy substances, which, like earthy matters, do not dissolve, but form a residue. A simpler method consists in heating the wax with boiling water; the gelatinous consistency assumed by the water, and the blue coloration in presence of iodine, indicate that the wax contains starchy substances. Adulteration by means of starch and fecula is quite frequent. These substances are sometimes added to the wax in a proportion of nearly 60 per cent. To separate either, the suspected product is treated hot with very dilute sulphuric acid (2 parts of acid per 100 parts of water). All amylaceous substances, converted into dextrin, remain dissolved in the liquid, while the wax, in cooling, forms a crust on the surface. It is taken off and weighed; the difference between its weight and that of the product analyzed will give the quantity of the amylaceous substances.

Flowers of sulphur are recognized readily from the odor of sulphurous acid during combustion on red-hot iron.

Tallow may be detected by the taste and odor. Pure wax has an aromatic, agreeable taste, while that mixed with tallow is repulsive both in taste and smell. Pure wax, worked between the fingers, grows soft, preserving a certain cohesion in all parts. It divides into lumps, which adhere to the fingers, if it is mixed with tallow. The adulteration may also be detected by the thick and nauseating fumes produced when it is burned on heated iron.

Stearic acid may be recognized by means of boiling alcohol, which dissolves it in nearly all proportions and causes it to deposit crystals on cooling, while it is without action on the wax. Blue litmus paper, immersed in alcohol solution, reddens on drying in air, and thus serves for detecting the presence of stearic acid.

Ocher is found by treating the wax with boiling water. A lemon-yellow deposit results, which, taken up with chlorhydric acid, yields with ammonia a lemon-yellow precipitate of ferric oxide.

The powder of burnt bones separates and forms a residue, when the wax is heated with oil of turpentine.

Artificial Beeswax.

Waxes For Floors, Furniture, Etc.—

I.—	White beeswax	16 parts
	Colophony	4 parts
	Venice turpentine	1 part

Melt the articles together over a gentle fire, and when completely melted and homogeneous, pour into a sizable earthenware vessel, and stir in, while still warm, 6 parts of the best French turpentine. Cool for 24 hours, by which time the mass has acquired the consistence of soft butter, and is ready for use. Its method of use is very simple. It is smeared, in small quantities, on woolen cloths, and with these is rubbed into the wood.

This is the best preparation, but one in which the beeswax is merely dissolved in the turpentine in such a way as to have the consistence of a not too thin oil color, will answer. The wood is treated with this, taking care that the surface is evenly covered with the mixture, and that it does not sink too deeply in the ornaments, corners, etc., of the woodwork. This is best achieved by taking care to scrape off from the cloths all excess of the wax.

If, in the course of 24 hours, the surface is hard, then with a stiff brush go over it, much after the way of polishing a boot. For the corners and angles smaller brushes are used; when necessary, stiff pencils may be employed. Finally, the whole is polished with plush, or velvet rags, in order not to injure the original polish. Give the article a good coat of linseed oil or a washing with petroleum before beginning work.

II.—Articles that are always exposed to the water, floors, doors, especially of oak, should, from time to time, be {755} saturated with oil or wax. A house door, plentifully decorated with wood carving, will not shrink or warp, even where the sun shines hottest on it, when it is frequently treated to saturation with wax and oil. Here a plain dosage with linseed oil is sufficient. Varnish, without the addition of turpentine, should never be used, or if used it should be followed by a coat of wax.

III.—A good floor wax is composed of 2 parts of wax and 3 parts of Venice turpentine, melted on the water bath, and the mixture applied while still hot, using a pencil, or brush, for the application, and when it has become solid and dry, diligently rubbed, or polished down with a woolen cloth, or with a floor brush, especially made for the purpose.

IV.—An emulsion of 5 parts of yellow wax, 2 parts of crude potassium carbonate, and 12 parts of water, boiled together until they assume a milky color and the solids are dissolved, used cold, makes an excellent composition for floors. Any desired color may be given this dressing by stirring in the powdered coloring matter. Use it exactly as described for the first mass.

Gilders’ Wax.

	I	II	III	IV	V
Yellow wax	32	32	32	96	36
Red chalk	3	24	18	48	18
Verdigris	2	4	18	32	18
Burnt alum	2	4	—	—	—
Burnt borax	—	—	2	1	3
Copper ash	—	4	6	20	8
Zinc vitriol	—	—	—	32	18
Green vitriol	—	—	—	1	6

Grafting Wax.—

I.—	Beeswax	7 parts
	Purified rosin	12 parts
	Turpentine	3 parts
	Rape oil	1 part
	Venice turpentine	2.5 parts
	Zinc white	2.5 parts

Color yellow with turmeric.

II.—	Japan wax	1 part
	Yellow wax	3 parts
	Rosin	8 parts
	Turpentine	4 parts
	Hard paraffine	1 part
	Suet	3 parts
	Venice turpentine	6 parts

Harness Wax.—

Oil of turpentine	90 parts
Wax, yellow	9 parts
Prussian blue	1 part
Indigo	0.5 parts
Bone black	5 parts

Dissolve the wax in the oil by aid of a low heat, on a water bath. Mix the remaining ingredients, which must be well powdered, and work up with a portion of the solution of wax. Finally, add the mixture to the solution, and mix thoroughly on the bath. When a homogeneous liquid is obtained, pour into earthen boxes.

Modeling Wax.

II.—Summer Modeling Wax.—White wax, 20 parts; ordinary turpentine, 4 parts; sesame oil, 1 part; vermilion, 2 parts.

III.—Winter Modeling Wax.—White wax, 20 parts; ordinary turpentine, 6 parts; sesame oil, 2 parts; vermilion, 2 parts. Preparation same as for Formula I.

Sealing Waxes.

The oval and square sticks of sealing wax are cast in molds, with the above compound, in a state of fusion. The marks of the lines of junction of the mold box may be afterwards removed by holding the sticks over a clear fire, or passing them over a blue gas flame. Marbled sealing wax is made by mixing {756} two, three, or more colored kinds together while they are in a semi-fluid state. From the viscidity of the several portions their incorporation is left incomplete, so as to produce the appearance of marbling. Gold sealing wax is made simply by adding gold chrome instead of vermilion into the melted rosins. Wax may be scented by introducing a little essential oil, essence of musk, or other perfume. If 1 part of balsam of Peru be melted along with 99 parts of the sealing-wax composition, an agreeable fragrance will be exhaled in the act of sealing with it. Either lampblack or ivory black serves for the coloring matter of black wax. Sealing wax is often adulterated with rosin, in which case it runs into thin drops at the flame of a candle.

The following mistakes are sometimes made in the manufacture of sealing wax:

I.—Use of filling agents which are too coarsely ground.

II.—Excessive use of filling agents.

III.—Insufficient binding of the pigments and fillings with a suitable adhesive agent, which causes these bodies to absorb the adhesive power of the gums.

IV.—Excessive heating of the mass, caused by improper melting or faulty admixture of the gummy bodies. Turpentine and rosin must be heated before entering the shellac. If this rule is inverted, as is often the case, the shellac sticks to the bottom and burns partly.

Great care must be taken to mix the coloring matter to a paste with spirit or oil of turpentine before adding to the other ingredients. Unless this is done the wax will not be of a regular tint.

Dark Blue Wax.

Green Wax.

Carmine Red Wax.

Gold Wax.

White Wax.

II.—	Bleached shellac	28 parts
	Venetian turpentine	13 parts
	Plaster of Paris	30 parts

WAX FOR BOTTLES: See Photography.

WAX, BURNING, TRICK: See Pyrotechnics.

WAXES, DECOMPOSITION OF: See Oil.

WAX FOR IRONING: See Laundry Preparations.

WAX FOR LINOLEUM: See Linoleum.