Wax Removal

[SS369]

Good day all.

I made a knife from O1 (60 hrc) steel, sanded it to 400 grit and did a few Ferric dunks. It came out the way I wanted so I protected it with Johnson's paste wax while I decided on scales.
Having handled it during the laying around / decision process, I managed to lightly scratch it. Now I'm wondering if there is a way to remove the wax completely so I can dunk it again, hopefully without resending, etc.
Any ideas?
TIA
Scott

 

[J. Doyle]

I'd try a good scrub with dawn dish soap and baking soda followed by a good hot water rinse.

I'd probably repeat a time or two in the interest of being thorough.

 

[SS369]

Thank you J, Doyle. I'm hoping for a solvent to dip or soak it in to avoid any abrasives. If I can do it with the dunk/soak, then I'll do another Ferric dip and see how that turns out.

 

[MTBob]

Waxes (parafin base) are typically soluble in naphtha (white gas). Try that first, I suspect it will dissolve the wax film. Then clean with alcohol. As a final step before etching I use a metal cleaning degreaser / solvent, like this: https://smile.amazon.com/CRC-Safety...&sprefix=metal+degreaser,aps,158&sr=8-23&th=1
There are a variety of degreasers that will work equally well.

 

[SS369]

Appreciate the info MTBob. I'll give the naphtha, etc., a try.