wax melting filter media ?

[malabarchillin]

What type of 'filter' media do you use to filter your melted beeswax ?
I tried (sort of)) the simple solar wax melter. I know that I could build a nice solar wax melter, but for now I am interested in using a old crock pot with a little water in the bottom to melt some cappings. I am going to use it to wax fasten some foundation into my frames. When I previously tried to melt the wax (outside burner) the paper towel I used did not filter it and instead was just coated with wax. Hum a paper towel candle/fire starter :)  I wonder if the solar melter slowly melts the wax so the paper towel has time to let it bleed through. I want to try a crock pot, but do not want to waste all of the wax by coating every filter media I can think of :(.
What do you use for non-solar filter media ?
Thanks
Mike

[pdmattox]

here is a way to melt the way and just pour it into molds or whatever to collect it.
http://www.candletech.com/budgetmelter/index.htm

[randydrivesabus]

my wife and i melted some using a double boiler and filtered it through a double layer of cheesecloth into a cleaned out tropicana juice container. when it cooled and solidified we peeled away the container to find some very nice looking wax.

[Kathyp]

if you are just using it for fastening foundation, you don't need to filter.

[Michael Bush]

Some of it depends on the kind of wax.  Fairly clean wax I run through some cheese cloth and don't try to squeeze the excess wax out as it runs the dirt out with it.  Then scrape the bottom clean.  Wax with cocoons ect. should be put in a cheescloth bag (just put it in cheesecloth, and tie the corners together in a makeshift bag) and put that in the bottom of the pot with a rock on it while you boil the wax out.  The cocoons stay in the bag and the wax floats to the top.  Mashing the bag now and then helps too.  Then you'll probably have to melt that and filter that one more time.

[malabarchillin]

Thanks to everyone (as always) for your replies

PDMattox thanks for the link. I will probably make that pot mod.

While I am going to use some of the wax attach to foundation I am looking for a solution to have clean wax as well.

I will try the cheesecloth. I did not think it was a tight enough weave. Thanks

[Michael Bush]

>I did not think it was a tight enough weave.

It takes more than one layer.

[CBEE]

Do paint strainers work ?

[Cindi]

CBEE.  Interesting that you spoke of paint strainers.  I did purchase some of these last season for wax straining.  Man, my life got so busy I didn't even get a chance to use them, but I believe they would work great, I had read this somewhere too.

The idea that Michael put forth, like the wax underwater in cheesecloth with a rock on it works like a hot dam too, I did try that the previous season and yes, it works, I got some pretty clean wax, but I want to restrain even this with the paint strainer further. Have a wonderful and beautiful day, Cindi

[malabarchillin]

I bought a Presto 'Kitchen Kettle" this evening and the mod only took less than 10 minutes.
I hope to have time tomorrow to melt some wax ! In the past I prefered to use a soldering iron
and melt wax to "glue" foundation in, but while the pot is still hot I may use my wax tube fastener.
I also bought $3 worth of a fine mesh cloth (1 yd) for a filter media.
Thanks again for the link and all of the great replies.
Mike

[Belzabeya]

From my experience, filterering with cheesecloth works great. I double layer it and make sure my wax is over 150F not over 190F of course because it will discolor the wax. I also melt the wax in water to wash it before I filter it. I stir it up good and I pour it into a cardboard milk jug. After it cools down, you will see everything that was not filtered at the bottom of the jug or at the stuck at the bottom of the hard wax and you can easily scrap it off (you should use a strainless pot to "wash" beeswax, walmart has real cheap ones that will do the trick).  It is pretty cool to see how the wax and the water seperate when cooled).  Anyways, I guet some pretty light yellow beeswax with this techniqye even if I start with a very dirty beeswax batch.

[Jerrymac]

I put a bunch of comb in a quart jar. Cut a big hole in the lid and placed pantyhose material (held in place by screwing on the lid) for filter. Sat this upside down in a wide mouth jar and under an aquarium (also upside down) as the solar melter. Works great for small stuff.

[TwT]

a friend of mine get plastic ice tray and put them in pantyhose, pores wax through pantyhose and in to ice tray, make nice clean wax cubes, and after they cool a while they just pop out when you twist the tray, it surprised me how well it works...