Does Beeswax Change The Colour Of Wood? (All Questions Answered)

There is over One hundred thousand types of wood that people use to make furniture and wood sculptures out there in the world, all with different grains and colours, so it is hard to know what to use to protect your wood.

Will Beeswax Change The Colour Of Wood?

What beeswax does to wood is it enriches the colour, so it doesn’t change it as such, but it will deepen the colour. If the wood is dry, it will bring it back to it’s original colour.

This is the short answer. In this article we are going to about beeswax and what it does for wood, whether it makes it go yellow and if there are any disadvantages of wood wax. Thank you for reading.

Does Beeswax Make Wood Darker?

Wooden furniture was originally a tree, and this tree before it was chopped down produced oils that kept that particular wood a certain colour.

When a tree is chopped and produced into a chopping board or a wooden table the wood will start to dry out over time (and this will change the colour of the wood).

Beeswax polish is normally made from beeswax and different types of oils, these are normally mineral oils or olive oil/sunflower oil, and sometimes jojoba oil (depends on who is making the product).

When a piece of wood or wood furniture has has been left for a long time the wood will start to dry out and this will lighten the colour of the wood.

When you apply beeswax to your wooden piece it will put the original colour back into the wood, take the dryness away and sealing and water proofing the wood, bringing it back to life. Here is a good article on how to beeswax a pine table.

Does Beeswax Yellow Wood?

Wood comes in many colours with so many different varieties. The most common colour is brown or light brown but many come in a yellow colour, and this includes types : Soft Maple, Poplar, White Oak and White Pine.

When you apply beeswax to any colour e.g yellow (Soft Maple) if it is a white/yellow blend then the colour will be enhanced when applied. An example of this would be if a colour is light yellow it would then become a medium yellow (being the original colour).

Please Note: If you are looking for a beeswax polish it is best to find one that has no essential oils included as these may change the colour of the wood. Look for one that has beeswax and natural oils being mineral or sunflower oil in the blend.

What Are The Disadvantages Of Wood Wax?

When you use a wood wax for the first time there are 3 things you need to avoid and look out for:

  1. The ingredients are all natural

  2. Many brands use essential oils or chemicals which are not food safe or have no benefit for your wood. The wrong ingredients may be unsafe to be used on any chopping boards and this include orange oil, cedarwood oil.
  3. Slight darkening of your wood: If you are someone that is not wanting your wood enriched than the slight darkening of the wood may be a disadvantage to you. The colour will change slightly, and if you like the wood to be lighter than a beeswax wood may not be right for you.
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