the local beekeeper supply has a solar cooker that melts and then strains the grubs and debris out.  I bought some 'raw" beeswax from him a couple years ago and melted and strained and filtered it myself.  It was a PITA but saved a few bucks/pound that way.  if I need more in the future, I'll pay his price and buy the stuff he's processed.

I improvised a double double boiler,  a large pot (Old pressure cooker) with water on the stove as the heat.  a heavy pot (so it wouldn't float) as the lowerpart of the wax handling elements, in that was a mesh sifter/strainer thing with a cheesecloth insert to do the filtering.  The mesh thing is something I found in a kitchen supply, I think its normally used to drain pasta or something like that. It had a handle, which I cut short to fit in the cooker, and a couple claws to rest on the rim of a pot. I fitted cheesecloth in the strainer like a paper coffee filter, rough stitching it around the edge to keep it form collapsing.   I put the chunks of raw wax in the cheesecloth lined strainer and rested it in the top of the heavy pot.  put the lid (loosely) on the pressure cooker and fired everything up.  the enclosed pressure cooker contained the heat enough to melt the wax which slowly filtered through the cloth into the pot below.  I had a bunch of wax, 15 lbs I recall so it took a bunch of time and several refills.  I tried cleaning the cloth but wound up discarding it and putting new cloth in every other batch.
Like I said it was a slow process at first (and this was the result of several other attempted methods) but once I figured it out it went fairly smoothly. It's time consuming and can be messy but it works.  I've wondered if tightening the pressure cooker lid would make a difference but never tried it

KAF's method is basically sound, but do not boil. You say your wax is dirty, but; dirty with what? If it's dark brown wax rendered from old combs use it to flux your lead; there is no way to make it suitable for bullet lube. If it is just full of bee parts and "slum-gum" melt it in water (about twice as much water as wax). Any honey and water-soluble portions will go into the water (stir it a little & do not boil it). If the wax floating on top is clean you can let it cool undisturbed, if it's full of junk strain it through a piece of flyscreen or cheesecloth into a plastic bucket and let it cool undisturbed. When cool, wash the cake & scrape the bottom. If the water is really dirty you might want to go through this again. Finally melt your cake of light yellow wax without water and strain through an old T-shirt; that's about as clean as you'll get it. Like I said earlier, if it's brown wax, don't waste your time!
(The vinegar in the water is to keep the wax from partial saponification, if you have hard water; boiling makes the wax "grainy", though not permanently).

I like the pantyhose method, but ask your wife for some damaged ones to use.

I picked up a loose pair at a garage sale, and threw them in my glove compartment so I'd know where to find them later.

My wife found them first and, "Ulp...they're mine." didn't sound believable when she asked, "Who do these belong to?"

CM

kodiak1 wrote on Nov 9^th, 2009 at 5:29pm:

I'm told it worked for one of the neighbors.  His wife found a pair in his briefcase, and he said they were his.

Of course, he's worn them every day since it happened...nine years ago.

CM