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After our last family birthday party I spent an hour scraping big globs of candle wax from several tables and our wood mantel. The next day, in response to my complaining, a coworker told me to try mineral spirits next time I’m faced with wax on wood. He said it won’t hurt varnish, lacquer, or shellac finishes, but it does dissolve wax. I had missed one waxy mess so I poured some mineral spirits on a clean shop cloth and kept wiping until the hardened wax dissolved into the cloth. Mineral spirits removes all the wax, including any paste wax or polish that’s been applied purposefully and it can also cut into an oil finish. It’s not a big deal to re-polish or re-oil. Just don’t use mineral spirits on painted surfaces. Incidentally, I discovered that mineral spirits works on ill-place crayon masterpieces as well! —Mac Simmons
