What is JPW

[chapmanruss]

Well, you guys got me curious, so I checked for Johnson Paste Wax near me. I was unable to locate any that I could drive to the store and buy. That includes Ace, Home Depot and Lowes. Fortunately, I still have, what I consider, a lifetime supply. Over the years Shopsmith has changed what is included in the Help Kit. It has gone from JPW to Trewax and most recently Minwax. I actually have all three but still use the JPW. At one time instead of paste wax the Help Kit included Bostik Top Cote spray. I don't think that lasted very long. Shopsmith sells Minwax in the online catalog besides including it in the Help Kit. It is hard to believe that S C Johnson would be discontinuing this product after it being such a wood shop staple for so long, but maybe newer wood finishes have lessened its usefulness and reduced sales to a point it is no longer profitable for them to make.

[rpd]

When I got my first Shopsmith I was unable to locate any JPW, so have been using Trewax. Seems harder in the can than the JPW i have seen photos of , but works fine. A couple of times now I have dropped the can and the wax has shattered into chunks . Set the can in a pot of water and heated till it melted to reconsolidate. If it happens again I think I'll add some solvent to soften it up a bit.

[jsburger]

FWIW, my can of Trewax that came with my new 510 in 1996 has never gotten hard. It is just as soft today as when it was new. One thing I do is keep the rag I use in the can. That rag has been in the can since the beginning. It is totally saturated with wax and may help to protect the wax in the can from air.

[JPG]

So what we gonna call it going forward? MW TW ???

[beeg]

It is totally saturated with wax and may help to protect the wax in the can from air.

Also if you breathe into the can before ya seal it. That replaces the air with C02, which should prevent drying of the wax.

[JPG]

Makes sense for wine(minimizes oxidation) but wax? CO2 is less 'drying' than air?

[DLB]

...If it happens again I think I'll add some solvent to soften it up a bit.

Do you have a solvent in mind? I've heard or read something about mineral spirits and JPW but can't recall the context. I'll try the warm water to reconstitute my 'MW' but it is very dry. I'd like to be able to use it.

- David

[BuckeyeDennis]

I think I just scored the last can of JPW at any Ace HW store in my area. It’s an online order, store pick-up thing, so I won’t know for sure until tomorrow. As luck would have it, it’s in a really small town on the way to my wife’s favorite nursery, about an hour away, where we buy our annuals annually. And tomorrow is the day. I’m down to about a half can of my old JPW after some ten years of SS happiness, so 1-1/2 cans should last about as long as I do.

But lest any young whippersnapper think that it’s merely for maintaining machinery, it still works great on wood as well!

Bottom HD.JPG (320.76 KiB) Viewed 1643 times

[jsburger]

...If it happens again I think I'll add some solvent to soften it up a bit.

Do you have a solvent in mind? I've heard or read something about mineral spirits and JPW but can't recall the context. I'll try the warm water to reconstitute my 'MW' but it is very dry. I'd like to be able to use it.

- David

The JPW MSDS lists Stoddard solvent which is a petroleum solvent. The Trewax MSDS does not specify the actual ingredients but states it is a petroleum and wax product the same as JPW. So, I would think mineral spirits would be fine.

[rpd]

...If it happens again I think I'll add some solvent to soften it up a bit.

Do you have a solvent in mind? I've heard or read something about mineral spirits and JPW but can't recall the context. I'll try the warm water to reconstitute my 'MW' but it is very dry. I'd like to be able to use it.

- David

Melting just got it back in one piece, for solvent I will use what is on hand at the time, paint thinner, turpentine, etc. that part evaporates as the wax hardens on the waytubes before buffing off.