How To Remove Wax From a Piece of Furniture & Prep for Painting

Waxed furniture crops up a lot in the up-cycling world. They're usually beautiful pieces but that extra work can put people off as the wax needs stripping before you can paint. In the video, I show you how I remove wax from a desk using a few pieces of equipment - the rest is elbow grease and patience! I cover the prep work, basic equipment that I use and some tips and tricks I have picked up along the way. Finally, I'll paint the piece using @DixieBellePaint products - all listed below.

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Carbide Scraper

White Spirits

Wire Wool

Shop Cloth

Clear BOSS

Cobalt Blue

Synthetic Mini Brush

Mister Bottle

Best Dang Wax Clear

Best Dang Wax Black

#dixiebellepaint #furniturepainting #paintutorial #chalkpaint #furniturepaint #furnituremakeover #chalkmineralpaint #removingwax #blackwax #bluepaint

[lynnwilliams]

A job is only as good as the prep. 🤗
Got to be honest, when you first started applying the blue paint I thought "oh no....too bright." But with the shading of dark wax I love it. Got to learn not to judge until it's done. Beautiful job!

[marylouarens]

Thanks for all the details on how to get off the wax finish.

[tinaknutsen]

Hello Connie;
Love watching and learning from you!
Your always a ray of sunshine to watch…you bring a smile every time I watch your channel!

[oglemedaris]

Connie,
Thank you ❤️ for showing how to remove wax! I know you painted this piece , for a customer. For what they wanted! But that deck to was so pretty! Once you cleaned it up! Loved the natural wood that was discovered there!

[EK-rvnz]

Great tutorial Connie. Thanks for sharing!

[omaralobaidi]

I like the way you explained it and i love your accent ❤️

[teresagriffin]

Thank you Connie! You are a life saver! I put a gold transfer, applied wax, the wax wrecked the whole image😢. Now I have to start over🤷🏼‍♀️.

[ChicAntiquebyHolly]

Thank you so much for sharing all these tips! This was so helpful! And I LOVE that blue 😍

[GFREAKZ]

Great info, waxed furniture scratches easy, so I will be removing it and just refinish it ✌️🇺🇸

[azornos]

This is the best, most comprehensive wax stripping vid I could find. Including how to identify wax at the start is a great addition. Thank you!

Could I just use dish detergent for the clean step? I guess if it's just for degreasing that might be OK....

[KevinField-wp]

you are very good thank you for your help

[kimberlynolan]

I'm so happy I found your channel! I've been trying to find out what to do to remove wax! I've got an antique side table and it's been painted over many times. I myself painted it with Annie Sloan paint and then white waxed it. I think what I need to do is remove the wax first? And then try to strip off the paint? I'm asking you for advice 😊 please. Or would stripper remove it all at once? I've been using mostly Dixie Belle products since I like it so much better. Thank you for any help. Have a blessed day, from Indiana 🌹

[f_a_b]

Thanks so much - great video! How pedantic do you have to be about crevices and corners? I’m stripping a door and it’s hard to get absolutely everything off 😅

[kelliwest]

Could you follow this same process for removal but then stain after instead of paint?

[gwengilles]

Hello, do you have to do clear wax before a coloured wax. Can it still be sealed with Gator Hide? Thank you.
I'm enjoying this learning experience. Thank you for your time and effort, know that it's appreciated.

[dangalek]

Thanks for the video very informative i just have one question, i don't want to repaint my piece of furniture i want to wax it again should i follow your instructions in the video to do this or do you have another suggestion

[Christynmaine]

Thank you for giving so much detail. I’m never sure how much pressure to apply when sanding or removing finishes so that information is really appreciated. 😊. I need to redo a couple of areas done with Annie Sloan white. Wondering if using steel wool with the mineral spirits darken the paint while removing the wax?

[sassi]

That looks great!
❤

Can you advise about removing white wax finish from new pine furniture? Is it by using the products you've mentioned here?
I just bought 2 peices and didn't realise you can't just paint over it.
It's giving off a constant smell and the current finish just looks dull and kindof see through.
I had other people assemble it for me so I didn't realise it wasn't solid white. I didn't understand the description saying waxed white.
Yeah I had a lot to learn 😢 Please help..

[paulaprislovksy]

Recently painted a desk and Hate it! That being said do I follow the same process you did and paint again? Should I remove paint by scuff sanding only? Thank You

[MrsJax]

The DB blog stated best to remove with mineral spirits but you can paint over best dang wax and easy peasy spray wax?