Originally Posted by
kingston
Not nitpicking, I'm genuinely confused by this thread because I have no idea what people are talking about when they use the same words for different things and different words for the same things. After following this thread, I still have no idea how I would go about formulating my own wax-based lube.
You may have to do like I did and experiment on your own. Do you want to hot dip or liquid lube? I know for a fact that a high quality lubricating oil will mix with paraffin wax and should enhance it's lubricity, without attracting dirt and it might soften the wax a little. This is true whether it's hot dipped or dissolved in naphtha. Don't use more than 1 part oil to 3 parts wax, or you may get free-oil that does attract dirt. I figured out this ratio by first mixing 1 part oil to 2 parts wax, melting them together and then letting the mixture cool and harden. That left some oil sitting on top of the hardened wax. Adding PTFE to either one can't hurt either, but I wouldn't bet on the miraculous improvement that has been claimed. For a liquid lube I'd try 4 parts naphtha to 1 part of the wax/oil mixture and only increase the solvent proportion if needed. I'm really pleased with the liquid lube, compared to anything else I've ever used.
I personally wouldn't bother with any type of alcohol or xylene to make a liquid lube, since you have to buy an expensive quart of each, just to test. I use cheap Crown brand camp stove fuel from Walmart that will serve double duty as a multipurpose degreaser. It's a lot cheaper than Coleman fuel or naphtha paint thinner.