Tried using beeswax on my butcher block counter and it got all sticky and gross

So last weekend I finally got around to treating this maple butcher block island I put in about 6 months ago. Every video I watched said beeswax mixed with mineral oil was the holy grail for food contact surfaces. Mixed up a batch, slathered it on, let it soak for an hour like they said. Wiped off the excess. Next morning the whole thing felt like a sticky mess. Like I left syrup on it overnight. Had to scrub it all off with dish soap and warm water and now the wood looks worse than before I started. What did I do wrong here? Is there a specific ratio or did I just buy bad beeswax? Got it from a local farm stand in Ohio so maybe it was too raw?

2 comments

2 Comments

finley72919h ago

I wonder if you let it sit too long before wiping it off. With beeswax and mineral oil, you really only want to let it soak for maybe 10 to 15 minutes, not a full hour. The wax hardens as it cools and if you wait too long, it stays on the surface instead of soaking in. Also, your mix might have had too much wax in it. I do about 4 parts mineral oil to 1 part beeswax, melted together, and that seems to work fine on my butcher block.

derek65612h ago

Yeah @finley729 pretty much nailed it - you left that stuff on WAY too long. I did the SAME thing my first time and ended up with a counter that felt like a sticky hand trap. I felt like a real genius scrubbing my mistake off with dish soap like some kind of kitchen crime scene cleanup. The 4 to 1 ratio is what I use now too, but I also learned the hard way that you gotta wipe the excess off while it's still somewhat warm, not after it's cooled and set up. Another thing nobody tells you is that if your beeswax is too raw or has pollen bits in it, that can make it tacky too. So between the timing, the ratio, and maybe the quality of that farm stand wax, you basically got hit with the triple whammy.

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