Changed my mind on using paste wax for tabletops after a bad $400 repair job

I was in my shop in Portland last Tuesday finishing a walnut coffee table. Put on my usual coat of paste wax, buffed it out, looked great. The next morning the client sent me a photo of a white ring from a coffee mug, and I had to strip the whole thing down and redo it with a wipe-on poly. That mistake cost me 6 hours of sanding and $40 in materials. Anyone else had paste wax fail on a high-use piece?

2 comments

2 Comments

barbaramorgan11d ago

Oh man, that's brutal! I've totally been there with paste wax on stuff that actually gets used. It's one of those things where it works amazing in theory but real life just destroys it. Makes me think about how we all have this habit of picking the quick, pretty fix over the boring one that actually lasts, you know? Like in my own life I notice I'll grab the fast solution for something around the house and then kick myself later when it falls apart. Paste wax is basically the furniture version of that whole pattern.

brian_kelly9111d ago

Quick fix over the boring one that actually lasts" - I heard someone say that's basically the story of modern life.