Replies

1. 
   jharveyb | Sep 14, 2022 06:08pm | #1

   you could try shoe polish. It is basically colored wax.

2. 
   stantheman | Sep 14, 2022 09:07pm | #2

   Yeah, shoe polish. I think Minwax has solvent in it which would be driven off, maybe making it less workable.

3. 
   elmaduro | Sep 15, 2022 12:16am | #3

   Lakeone dark-oak buffing wax might be a viable option:

   https://alliedpiano.com/buffing-wax

4. 
   AnglinaStone | Sep 15, 2022 07:52am | #4

   Here is the step by step process to make dark wax for furniture.

   To get ready to tint the wax, make sure the wax is very soft, almost melted consistancy. To do this, you could set the tub in a bowl of hot water, not reaching the top of the tub and let it sit for a few minutes and then stir well.

   Because wax is oil-based, you will need to tint it with an oil-based product. I started by pouring a bit of Kona wood stain into the wax and stirring well.

   It looked perfect! But when I tried some on a sample board, it was a bit weak. It didn't really leave any color after it was buffed off. So, to step it up a notch, I added around a teaspoon of Raw Umber universal tint.
   Or, you could do what I did and leave the tub of wax sitting on a shelf in the garage and live in a place that reaches 115 degrees almost daily. That technique worked great! All I had to do was scoop some out into a plastic container.

5. 
   Donji | Sep 16, 2022 06:27pm | #5

   Any pigment of your choice should be OK, but I would also consider adding some additional "carrier" like a turpene to the mix. This will help with its application to the timber (bearing in mind that the carrier evaporates away after application). Just be mindful of the mix percentages so it doesn't become too "wet". Personally, I would aim for a creamy texture that sits OK on the cloth without running off.

6. 
   [email protected] | Sep 17, 2022 03:58pm | #6

   Thank you for the suggestions. I tried adding TransTint into barely melted wax. It quickly sank to the bottom and hardened. It would not mix in. So I added dark walnut oil-based stain. It mixed in but I should have added more. The result was fairly weak. Then I tried paste shoe polish, as jharveyb and stantheman suggested. That was the best and easiest solution. Thanks for the suggestion. It has been a long time since I have polished a pair of leather shoes, so I had forgotten about that. It brought back memories of spit shining army boots decades ago.

7. 
   flyfisher111 | Sep 17, 2022 07:40pm | #7

   Briewax comes in various colors, I have a can of antique mahogany that is quite dark. Suggest you look into their colors; I see 5 colors available at Rockler, Amazon shows a number of colors.

   I would take the simple route.