# Any real use or sale of small amounts of wax without making soap or candles?



## thill (Nov 30, 2020)

I have about 5 lbs of cappings wax. Most of it is a nice yellow, but one batch came out pink, not sure why, but it's kind of pretty.

Is there any place to market small amounts of wax without having to convert it into candles or soap? Not sure if it's worth all the effort (and cleanup) of melting and straining. But maybe I'm wrong.

Currently, I'm thinking of just using it to coat new foundation as needed

Thoughts?


----------



## Hoot Owl Lane Bees (Feb 24, 2012)

Don't know about the pink? 
But I keep a few 1lb wax around because people call and ask if I have any I would sell them.


----------



## RayMarler (Jun 18, 2008)

Furniture Polish
Wood polish 
Lubricant for zippers
Lubricant between wood surfaces, like wooden drawers without bearing slides
Leather boot water proof/polish
Pipe thread lubricant and seal
Toilet rings


----------



## Tigger19687 (Dec 27, 2014)

If you're not willing to finish the product, then it's not worth buying. If anyone asks for it make sure to tell them it's not a finished product and charge accordingly.
Keep it for yourself and use as Ray says.


----------



## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

In addition to the uses on Ray's list, beeswax is sold as a lubricant for driving wood screws. And note the price of this beeswax product . . .








Amazon.com: Lundmark Pure Bee's Wax Lubricating Compound, .7-Ounce, 9105W7-100 : Everything Else


Buy Lundmark Pure Bee's Wax Lubricating Compound, .7-Ounce, 9105W7-100: Everything Else - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases



www.amazon.com





. . . at $11.99 for 0.7oz of beeswax, 5lbs of wax makes 85 packages, which sells for a total of more than $1000 !!!


----------



## thill (Nov 30, 2020)

Thanks, those are some interesting ideas. As a contractor and a boat repair shop, I could use a number of your ideas, Ray. I just bought some shoe polish, and it's gotten surprisingly expensive.

Tigger, what should I do to make it a "finished product"? I've melted it down, run it through a strainer several times and made it into blocks, but it's still not completely clean. The topside where it was floating looks great, but the underside still has brown particles in it. How do I get rid of that stuff? Melt again without water and pour off slowly? Just shave it off?

This wax is pretty hard. Is there any good way to soften it up a little? Maybe melt it and mix in a little coconut or vegetable oil? It seems that the more I try to refine it, the harder it gets. Would make a great candle, but it seems pretty hard for some of the other uses. 

Radar, that is VERY interesting. Selling it as a niche product can generate a lot of $$$ if people buy it. I guess I shouldn't give up on it quite yet.


----------



## Tigger19687 (Dec 27, 2014)

It needs to be perfectly clean to sell. What you just described is barely clean 
I'll let you do the searching on that.


----------



## JustBees (Sep 7, 2021)

So far all of the wax I recover (and more) has been re-used to wax frames.
All frames get a fresh coat of wax before use, the bees reaction is (amazing difference) instant acceptance.

Last year I had no wax reserves and had to buy 4 buckets of cappings to melt down.

If you are melting and filtering wax you are doing it wrong.
======== Solar Wax Melter ============== !!!!!!!!!!!

Top dollar is paid for capping wax as there is no discoloring from brood raising.

The bees could care less what color it is, I am concerned though as to what the red color is and hope it is harmless.
Beeks have reported honey with coloration, first time I have heard of comb, interesting.


----------



## thill (Nov 30, 2020)

Tigger19687 said:


> I'll let you do the searching on that.


Thanks. I did a search, and discovered scraping the bottom with a spoon, and then using a T-shirt filter for the final process. Nice.



JustBees said:


> So far all of the wax I recover (and more) has been re-used to wax frames.
> All frames get a fresh coat of wax before use, the bees reaction is (amazing difference) instant acceptance.
> 
> If you are melting and filtering wax you are doing it wrong.
> ...


Thanks. I waxed my foundation last year, and yes, it makes an absolutely huge difference. Much less "wonky" comb. I use crimped wire wax foundation in all of my supers, and that stuff is the bomb. Instant acceptance. The only downside is that new, freshly drawn comb can blow out if not careful when extracting. After that, they are tough and it's not an issue.

Solar wax melting is interesting. I saw Greg B and others post pics. I'll definitely try that next year.

I'm not sure what the pink color is. It came from some dark, old honey from cycled out brood comb. I don't plan to use that for foundation or personal use. Maybe I'll see how well it works on the skis and snowboards this winter, or maybe see if I can make some shoe polish or boot dressing with it.

With all of these ideas, if I can put it to use, I may not worry about trying to sell any of it. Maybe if all 10 of my hives are booming next year, I'll revisit the idea.


----------



## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

Medicated salve - a good use.


----------



## William Bagwell (Sep 4, 2019)

thill said:


> I'm not sure what the pink color is. It came from some dark, old honey from cycled out brood comb.


If there were traces of honey, and that honey was red (Humming bird feeder) might explain the pink. Youtube video a few years ago, Dirtrooster's friend 'Mr Ed' (sorry forget his real name) had some pink wax. Do not recall an explanation.


----------



## Roland (Dec 14, 2008)

I would suspect metal contamination for the pink color. Beeswax reacts irreviersibly with some metal ions, expecialy Iron.

Crazy Roland


----------



## RayMarler (Jun 18, 2008)

Distilled Mineral Spirits will melt wax into a paste, very easy. I shredded wax with a cheese grater into a jar, added distilled mineral spirits and some lemon oil and screwed on the lid and shook it. Worked great, made me some wood polishing wax. The only prob is the smell of the distilled mineral spirits.


----------



## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

The sun came in the extracting room window yesterday and lite up this year's pile of solar melted wax. I'll figure out something to do with it.


----------



## thill (Nov 30, 2020)

William Bagwell said:


> If there were traces of honey, and that honey was red (Humming bird feeder) might explain the pink. Youtube video a few years ago, Dirtrooster's friend 'Mr Ed' (sorry forget his real name) had some pink wax. Do not recall an explanation.


Well, I didn't quite state that correctly. I don't know why it turned pink, but I do know what happened to cause it.

When I extracting, the honey and cappings were normal. I let the cappings drain for a couple of days, and then rinsed them in hot water and spread it out to let it mostly dry overnight. Then I put it in gallon size zip-lock bags to melt down later, but I left them open to let airflow in. One of the bags fell over and got sealed up, while the others stayed open. The open ones looked normal. The sealed one smelled a alcoholic when I opened it, and when I melted it down, it came out a distinct pink color. Not sure why, but something about the fermenting process, perhaps?


----------



## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

thill said:


> Not sure why, but something about the fermenting process, perhaps?



I solar melted a bucket of cappings riddled with SHB laervae. It is off color also. I will look for it and send a pic if I find it.


----------



## psm1212 (Feb 9, 2016)

I have traditionally used a solar wax melter and I like the ease and no-mess of it. However, for those wanting to retain that rich yellow look that is preferable to candle makers, you may wish to use an alternative method. The wax from my solar melter is typically a whitish/tanish color. The rich yellow color seems to get bleached by the sun. But color really doesn't matter to me. Might matter to some.


----------



## Amibusiness (Oct 3, 2016)

Wax color can certainly be bleached. I find that if I put dirty wax in the solar wax melter on a hot day in the morning, I can scrape out the pan before it cools in the evening and remove the clean wax from the water pan after it cools in the morning. If left for several days it will bleach. If removed promptly it is rich yellow/ golden. The slum gum does not need to be scraped out each load. 
As for marketing, cleaning the wax is the annoying part, and the solar melter makes it a lot better. Once it is clean dipping or pouring candles is a fun winter project. The only problem is that they sell best before Christmas / winter but the time we have for making candles is Jan.... (And if the candles are left for a long time they get bloom and need some attention before marketing....)


----------



## psm1212 (Feb 9, 2016)

Good point Amibusiness. Since I am not particularly concerned about color, I will leave wax in the solar melter for long periods of time and kind of "harvest when I think about it." That may be the reason I get the bleached out look.


----------



## Gray Goose (Sep 4, 2018)

RayMarler said:


> Furniture Polish
> Wood polish
> Lubricant for zippers
> Lubricant between wood surfaces, like wooden drawers without bearing slides
> ...


add glass blowing.
I have had glass blowers ask for it.
and candle making, have a request now for some to make Xmas candles.

I would resist throwing it out

maybe face book market place.

GG


----------



## bobo (Feb 15, 2015)

When you accumulate 25 lbs, you can send it to Dadant and get credit on 25 lbs of foundation. Call them for details.


----------



## ursa_minor (Feb 13, 2020)

Check out Etsy.com people on there sell small bricks of beeswax. I assume mostly crafty people buy it to make all manner of items, from their own tea lights to cotton food wraps.


----------



## Adam80120 (Mar 27, 2018)

My son uses beeswax as a substitute for pine tar on his baseball bats. Mixes a little propolis with wax and it grips great.


----------



## Wil-7 (Sep 4, 2021)

RayMarler said:


> Furniture Polish
> Wood polish
> Lubricant for zippers
> Lubricant between wood surfaces, like wooden drawers without bearing slides
> ...


And bullet lube.


----------

