Need to dissolve parafin wax

[Randy Roberts]

Not guitar related but...
I need to dissolve candle wax out of some glass jars.

I've tried 95% alcohol (ethanol) , naptha, and mineral spirits, all to no effect.

Any suggestions would be appreciated

[Stephen Neal Saqui]

Heat, my friend, may be your best option. I'd try putting a jar in a pot of cool water then bring it to a boil. Hope that helps.

[Stephen Neal Saqui]

....you could also try a heat lamp, carefully. I'd put the jar upside-down in an old pan with the heat lamp over it...not too close.

I've used parafin wax for a multitude of things, now mostly brushed on the end grain of guitar lumber, and I have a pan designated for it, can easily heat it whenever I need it. But I just heat it to the point where it's thin liquid. Too hot and it can flash into a flame.

You threw me off using the term "dissolve".

[Chuck Tweedy]

I searched "miscible with paraffin", and got a lot of interesting things.
Randy, you are probably familiar with Histology. anyway...
If you heat it to a liquid state, I think there are many organic solvents that will dilute the paraffin and help wash it out. But I would be partial to soapy water (hot water!)

[Randy Roberts]

Chuck,
why on earth would a guy think of washing with soapy water..... I'm thinking chemicals, acid, strong alkalis, welding torches, something manly.


Soapy water worked great. Who woulda thunk.

I also have a dedicated "parafin pot" that is just an old electric roasting pot that's big enough to set the end of a 12 inch wide billet in. plug it in when I need it, stick it in the attic when I don't

[Jason Rodgers]

If the jar, and the wax, has the right shape (cylindrical or tapered toward the opening), then throw it in the freezer for a day. Pull it out and try to chip/pry it out with a butter knife. Once you get most of it out, throw it in the dishwasher on a hot cycle. Even jars that have a thin film of wax can come out clean.

[Bryan Bear]

A good wash with soapy water saves the day; mom was right again. Don't forget to put on a jacket. <G>

[Chuck Tweedy]

Oh! And be careful when you tighten that string. It'll put your eye out!!

[Clay Schaeffer]

If soapy water works that's great!
I think Briwax uses toluene to emulsify their waxes, so lacquer thinner might be have a good chance of dissolving wax from a jar. Gasoline (hexane) might be another.

[Michael Lewis]

Bruce Harvie of Orcas Island Tonewoods makes his own sealer for sealing end grain of green wood from melted paraffin and adding mineral spirits (paint thinner). It stays quite flexible when it cools so it won't crack and chip off as the wood shrinks as it dries. The point is the 'wax' needs to be in liquid form so the thinner can be added.

Some years ago I tried to dissolve pure carnuba wax with several different solvents and nothing touched it until it was heated and melted, then the naphtha or mineral spirits would easily mix with it. That is pretty much what you get with paste wax, like for floors.

[Clay Schaeffer]

"The point is the 'wax' needs to be in liquid form so the thinner can be added."

Thanks for the good information.I may try making a paste wax mixture sometime. I will be sure to remove the molten wax a distance away from the heat source before adding the volatile component.

[Barry Daniels]

The use of a double boiler is one precaution that should be used.

[Chuck Tweedy]

on an ELECTRIC stove

[Barry Daniels]

and outside away from the flammable house