Renaissance wax is a museum-grade preservative wax.
This report covers:
- The Repair Shop
- What I learned
- Not much different — but…
- For airguns
- Who needs it?
- What it doesn’t seem to work on
- Expensive
- Make haste slowly
- Summary
We do a lot of airgun testing on this blog and most of the time it’s appropriate. But sometimes we need to think about other things. Today we’re going to change things a little. I’m going to talk about caring for the finish of your airguns in a special way.
The Repair Shop
I gave up on network TV many years ago and I now watch a lot of UK programs on creating, selling and restoring things. One of these shows is The Repair Shop, where items of sentimental value are repaired and restored for their owners. In that show I have seen many times where the restorers use a particular kind of wax, and it turns out to have a link to this blog.
Years ago one of our readers recommended Renaissance wax to me. He said it was fabulous for preserving and protecting the finish of things like airguns. He was so persuasive that I bought a 200ml can, but after trying it once I never used it again. You see it doesn’t do what I thought all waxes were supposed to do — impart a bright shine. In fact Renaissance wax doesn’t make things noticeably shinier at all.
So I put it away and thought no more of it until I noticed it being used on The Repair Shop. Now, like all television programs, they are careful to hold the can so the name of the product doesn’t show, but the other markings on the can are distinctive enough that I know what it is. And they use it on many of the items they restore. Among them were a couple items they restored for Charles, the Prince of Wales, in 2022 before his accession to the throne. So these guys aren’t mugs! If they think Renaissance wax is good, I need to consider it!
Repair Shop foreman, Jay Blades (left) with His Royal Highness, Charles, Prince of Wales.
What I learned
When I tried the wax the first time years ago I tried to use it like the waxes I am familiar with. But it didn’t seem to work. Nothing got shinier. Isn’t that what wax is supposed to do?
But, just for you, this time I violated my man card and not only read the instructions on the can — I actually followed them! I know, I know. But you know what? It worked! Imagine that! Whoever wrote the instructions knew what they were doing. Let me show you.
The Sig Super Target right grip panel before applying Renaissance wax.
The Sig Super Target right grip panel after applying Renaissance wax.
Not much different — but…
You won’t see much difference in the grip in these two photos. I can see a little more difference than the pictures show, but not that much more. Look at the detail in the wood grain of the waxed grip. The grain pops a little more.
And look at the metal above the grip. It’s shinier on the waxed pistol because I waxed it, too. Renaissance wax isn’t just for wood. It also works for metal, leather, paintings (that wording is right off the can!), marble, ivory and more.
For airguns
That means this stuff is good for most of our airguns. Not just the wood and steel ones, though they need the most protection, but the plastic and metal ones as well. It probably even works on the painted ones like the Crosman Marks I and II.
Who needs it?
Hunters who go out in the weather need protection for their airguns. So do field target competitors who often shoot in the rain. I remember TX200 wood stocks warping in the rain when we shot in Maryland! In fact any shooter whose airgun is at risk from exposure to rain, sleet or snow should consider using this wax.
What it doesn’t seem to work on
I tried the wax on many finishes and when I tried it on the sprayed polymer finish on my Steve Corcoran stock that’s on my HW 30, it didn’t seem to take. It was impossible to tell whether it worked or not. But it will work on the metal. I suppose it also works on the wood, but it will be difficult to see where it’s been applied.
On many airgun stocks the effect of the wax is even subtler than what you see on the Sig Super Target grips shown above. Let’s look at what it did on the finish of a Chinese BAM XS B15 wood stock.
The BAM B15 buttstock before application of the Renaissance wax.
The same stock after application of the Renaissance wax.
The difference in the look of the wood is subtle. But the look of the metal is less subtle. The Renaissance wax actually dulled the blued finish on this rifle — probably because the polish of the metal is so coarse. That prompted another experiment.
The B15 metal went from fairly shiny on the right to dull after the wax was applied. But the dull part was more even than the shiny part.
When I tried it on the metal of a Weihrauch air rifle there was no discernible difference at all. That means the wax can protect the metal without being obtrusive.
Expensive
Renaissance wax is expensive. It’s $30.50 for 200 grams / 7 ounces. That’s at least 3 to 4 times what other waxes cost for the same amount. But you use just an extremely thin smear — less than 10 percent as much as you would a normal wax, so it’s actually cheaper in the long run. The 200 gram size is enough for perhaps over 100 air rifles.
Make haste slowly
My plan is to wax my airguns as they come up for tests and articles, etc. I’ll probably always have the wax can around, ready to do the job.
Summary
Today we looked at a product designed to preserve the finish of your airguns. You spent your hard-earned money to get them; better take care of them!
B.B.,
Finally! :^)
I have used it on my knives and my US Navy Toledo Ceremonial Sword as well.
shootski
B.B.
Sounds like good stuff! I need something for the airguns that are stored in a “harsh marine environment”.
I use a silicon sleeve and a sealed “prepper bag”. The D 34 N-tec’s barrel still rusts. The LP-8 magnum is stored in an airtight hard case.
Where can you buy it? I sure hope you are not going to say Amazon…
-Yogi
Yogi,
https://www.theruststore.com/products/renaissance-wax?gclid=CjwKCAiAzuPuBRAIEiwAkkmOSMJ5PvFBM8qDyVsViqprSzpRN6Go3ewQ9Rkf_F_GfMh2KsqNQkKCHxoCxXQQAvD_BwE
shootski
Holly buckets!!!!
20+ bucks plus shipping for the smallest amount. Sure hope “a little dab will do ya”?
-Y
Yogi,
To RUST or NOT to RUST…that IS the question!
Yes you don’t want to use very much.
I think the VCI products are also something you need to learn about in your harsh maritime environment.
My sword went to sea with me and never turned green like so many others had happen.
shootski
Yogi,
Well, it isn’t in any stores that I know of.
It’s also on eBay and other places. This will be an online purchase, I think.
BB
Yes, online looks like the main option. BUT—here is a link to where everybody here SHOULD order it.
https://www.gaylord.com/Preservation/Conservation-Supplies/Cleaning-Supplies/Renaissance-Wax%26%23153%3B-Polish/p/W11
Their price is higher since they cater to well funded museums and libraries (check out the cost of some of the exhibit cases!).
Yes, that’s the company’s real name; they’ve been in business since 1896. It is also the last place I worked before retirement. Tom confirmed that there was no relation to him when I bought his book years ago at the Findlay show.
Roger
Rodger,
Thank you for the Link.
I bookmarked it for further study.
Their display cases and boxes are beautiful.
shootski
B.B. and Readership,
This is the real deal store that you all need to study!
If you love your airguns learn about corrosion
RUST!
Check out their rust articles!
https://www.theruststore.com
shootski
I have been using it for a few years, and yes it works on the vintage Crosman pistols and S&W 78&79’s.
It does help the paint to a certain degree. I don’t use it as much as I should though.
Ian
Cool stuff, here’s more about it:
https://restorationproduct.com/about/
Under “SAFE FOR ALL THESE MATERIALS”, they list lead. Maybe we have a new best pellet lube to argue over!
My first car was an old VW, in the Rust Belt. VWs needed maintenance every 3K miles/ 5K kilometers, and I noticed the only nuts and bolts I could remove easily were the ones soaking in the various oil leaks around the car. Dry nuts and bolts rusted tight. So that taught me to grease all nuts and bolts. I wonder if wax, even cheap wax, would work better than grease, and attract less dirt? It doesn’t have to “flow” like a lubricant, just cover the metal.
For protecting wood stocks from rain, what about the inside of the stock, the rough part? Does that get some kind of oil or wax? 6 coats of spar varnish?
Mike
Mike,
I wondered about the same thing (the inside of wood stocks). The answer is — I DON’T KNOW.
BB
Mike-
Not specific to this particular product, but the interior surfaces of guns need protection too. I generally apply paste wax as a final measure. I keep intending to buy some of the Renaissance wax to try, but I have a half dozen or so containers of paste wax by Trewax, Briwax, Minwax, etc, so maybe that round tuit will show up sometime.
Since these surfaces are usually rougher textured than the exterior, I smear on a coat of wax and let it dry. Instead of buffing off, I use a heat gun to melt the wax and spread evenly across the surface and get in the nooks and crannies.
Mike,
Yes, it’s smart to seal the stock channel, inside the trigger housing, underneath your buttpad, etc., anywhere there’s bare wood.
Not all “spar varnish” is alike so I don’t know what you have and can’t speak to using it on your guns.
I use Permalyn Stock Finish and Sealer. I used to use thinned tru oil and still would if I didn’t have so much Permalyn.
Berserkeley Mike,
Mike, thank you for the Link.
Pre Lim looks like a very interesting product as well!
Might be the perfect product for the final touch after lapping a barrel or valve.
I had a Karmann Ghia with a 914 engine installed and found this was my go too anti-seize: https://www.permatex.com/products/lubricants/anti-seize-lubricants/permatex-anti-seize-lubricant-8-oz/
The heater box to cabin vent channels in the frame were a big corrosion area to stay after. Running the heater helped keep it dry but some sacrificial Zinc plates worked best (with no fumes or smoke) of all.
shootski
Shootski,
Yes I still use that anti-seize compound, silvery stuff, on exhaust manifold bolts, spark plugs, in wheel lug nuts and (sparingly) on brake bolts and nuts, any fastening that gets very hot or high torque.
The sacrificial zinc idea is brilliant.
Mike
Mike,
The Zink is for places that have high salt usage in the Winter or if you live right by a body of Saltwater or dry salt bed. If you only get fresh water (rain-snow) and NO salt exposure then Magnesium is the sacrificial metal choice. Nothing other than staying on to of corrosion works perfectly…kind of like Gremlins :0
There is a bunch of misinformation on the topic of cathode and anode protection on the Internet as per usual.
shootski
Tef-Gel works well to keeps nuts and bolts from rusting and seizing; FM’s friends who enjoy salt-water fishing use it – one of them gave FM a tube of the stuff and it does appear to work as claimed; used it on pool pump equipment and some on automotive hardware.
Thank you, BB,
Shootski recommended this stuff a while back because my wall hangers were beginning to rust in the presence of moisture from my evaporative cooler. I removed them and any other metal around the place and postponed getting the stuff till I forgot about it. Hope I remember in the morning.
I use an air conditioner now.
I believe he mentioned it was more of a protective or preservative coating than a wax, in a wax form.
Bob,
Yes, that is a more descriptive title — “a protective or preservative coating than a wax, in a wax form.”
Good one. Thanks!
BB
Very interesting. According to the rust store: “Renaissance Wax was originally developed in the British Museum in the 1950’s to clean, restore and protect valuable museum objects, art and collectibles.”
I like learning stuff. Thanks BB!
This sound like stuff that should be at RRHFWA and RRHHMM. I just may have to give this stuff a try.
BB,
This is an excellent topic. Renaissance Wax is terrific for improving a surface finish. I used it with a tee shirt rag to help remove rust from the Daisy 25s pictured, and finished it with another wax that is meant to add luster.
Note that the can says “micro crystalline.” The wax has a “micro” abrasive and it gently removes material as you briskly rub the surface. It smooths the surface, like a buffing compound. After I use that, I’ll finish with a Carnuba wax that adds shine by filling in microscopic low spots and again, removing peaks from the surface.
This is a 1940s Parker Parkette fountain pen, made of celluloid, that I restored and refinished, with the final step being the shiny wax. Let’s call this an eighty year-old pen. It works well and looks almost as good as it did when it was new.
Yes, waxes are great products to use to keep our air guns and other stuff looking good.
Will,
I love your pen! It reminds me of my “magic” pen I often use to autograph my books.
It’s a Parker Duofold rollerball and I enjoy it every time I pick it up.
BB
BB,
I’m glad you like a fine pen, too! Your Duofold rollerball is elegant.
Will,
Can’t be much of a writer if I don’t like a nice pen.
My latest book just hit Amazon — The Many Lives of the Apostle John. I’ve already autographed a few.
BB
BB has mentioned more than once the use of Ballistol as a protector from moisture. His friend’s home was flooded while he was away but his guns had been treated with Ballistol and were okay even though submerged in water. BB also recommended it for wood stocks providing you like the wood to be a little darker.
I alternate between Ballistol and silicon wipes. Silicon gives a shine to wood without darkening and also protects metal from rust. Having said all that I need to confess that cleaning all guns promptly has been ingrained in me since childhood. I enjoy cleaning guns. Rust is no problem for me in spite of high humidity. I love the smell of Ballistol. I’m an American but if Ballistol was good enough for the German army through both world wars, it’s good enough for me.
PS: I promise I’m not a Ballistol,salesman.
Deck
I had forgotten all about this, but now I remember my father using this wax on the cast iron table saw top. Amazing stuff, the wood would slide effortlessly across the table when being ripped. The top never got rusty like the table saws of his brothers, of course he would periodically recoat it. FYI a cast iron table saw top is very heavy and when new essentially bare metal with a light oil coating. The oil had to be removed or it would stain bare wood, not a problem with framing but the finishing work, it would alter how the various finishes took to the wood and the final product is not as desireable.
Mike
Thanks for mentioning the table saw top. That sounds like a very good application for this stuff!
Great article, BB as usual, BUT: for quite some time now I’ve been wondering how to best maintain airgun barrel BORES. My “armory” isn’t near as big or as $$$$ as RoadRunner’s, but there are some that just dont’ get shot very often, for various reasons. I know about cosmoline, but that is, to me, quite a lot to install then later strip out…. Suggestions?? What do YOU do, RoadRunner? —Barrika
Barrika,
Check this out: https://www.theruststore.com/products/cortec-vpci-111-emitter
They also have other vpci methods as well.
shootski
I have limited space in my ONE gun cabinet, and I’ve been using VPI in there for years, The question is how to protect the others that don’t fit in there….. Barrika
Barrika,
If you have used VpCI in your gun cabinet for years then those guns should already have the coating on all the metal surfaces; you could rotate guns in and out of your cabinet. You could also use a VpCI gun sock or an emitter in a air tight bag. I haven’t a clue how long it takes for the CpCI to work but i’ll bet the Rust Store folks or the manufacturer of the product you use (may) know.
shootski
I just spent a little time on the back porch with some of the “old gals” hanging around at RRHFWA. At about twenty-five yards the 1906 BSA and the FLZ militia will still tear a feral soda can to shreds. I tried the Webley, but could not hit it at that range. I see I am going to have to check the zero on that “old gal”. She is probably the worst shooting one of the “old gals” around here, but I should still hit a feral soda can at about twenty-five yards with her.
What a bummer. I will have to spend a little more time with her. 😉
Thanks BB, I never heard about this wax but I now have some on order. This blog is an amazing resource!
Henry
Thanks also to reader Shootski for his comment about The Rust Store. Over there I found VCI – for gun cabinets – and Citrisurf. The latter is a product that removes rust and acts as a passivation agent for stainless steel. If anyone thinks that ‘stainless steel’ means no rust stains, they haven’t seen an SS grill after six months in a marine environment. Of course there are SS alloys that resist rust well, but these are expensive and not found in commercial products.
Welcome to California, the charcoal capital of the United States. Could be.
Well, I can stop worrying about the 86-acre Border Fire 65 they got it out after 10pm. last night.
However, Border Fire 66 started about 12 hours later in the same area now 300 acres and was heading my way but they may have control now. Lots of white smoke no black.
Valuables stacked near the door for the remainder of summer.
News flash to my brain… It’s not an Avenger-X, it’s an Avenge-X, no r. So much for eye brain coordination.
How about using this magic wax to coat the bore of your airgun or firearm barrel? Good? Bad? Anyone tried it? Maybe this is just another Fawlty idea out of FM’s Manuel. Almost forgot – will have to check out your book, B.B. – suspect it will be a nice revelation. 😉
FawltyManuel,
I think you would be better off using the VpCI products.
shootski
BB,
This wax might work well; but so far, I am really happy with the Ballistol you recommended long ago.
Every time I take an airgun outside and shoot it, I wipe it down with Ballistol before it goes back in the rack.
No rust! Ever. Great stuff. Thank you. 🙂
Blessings to you,
dave
P.S. I use it on all my firearms, too. 😉
Renaissance wax is great stuff, my favorite for new-to-me stocks after a good cleaning.
A good pal who was a museum curator and exhibit builder for many years put me on to it – they use it when cleaning and restoring paintings, antique wood, and similar stuff. He describes it as making things “look the same, only better,” LOL.
Most high-end woodworking shops carry it, I bought mine locally at a Woodcrafters store.