I have a new rosewood "gunstock" (handgun actually) that was originally finished with a "Carnauba Wax Finish".  I have had to do some fitting, grinding, sanding, and repolishing to get it to fit my needs. Now I want to refinish it with the carnauba wax finish.  
I have purchased 100% pure carnauba wax  I know it has a much higher melting point that the waxes and greases we use in our bullet loads.  I also bought a "Carnauba wax cream"  but its a thick liquid with silicone and other synthetics,  might be good for car waxing but not for my need>
I figure there must be some sort of solvent that will dissolve this wax, leave it in a softened state that I can rub it into the rosewood and have the solvent evaporate leaving the hardening wax behind.
   I know that high grade firearms including single shots were finished with combined wax and oil finishes before our modern high-tech synthetics became available. I remember seeing a lovely little hi-wall sporter IN Jerry Simmons' show-and-tell truck at EG that was a factory special order for a european customer that had a rosewood stock with a finish that looked like a Steinway piano.  Jerry said the stock was "French Polish"  

I have contacted (sent an email) to the original manufacturer but have as yet had no response.   I guess i'm trying to rediscover the wheel, and wonder of any of you have done this, or tried to, and what methods you used.

I did find one website that was using pure tung oil and Carnauba wax heated in a double boiler. I have done pure tung oil finishes but it left a softer surface finish than the grips had before I started working on them.  I may try cooking up a very small batch and rub it on some walnut scrap and see how it turns out.

As Redsetter said, French polish is a process using shellac.  And as I found out, there is quite a learning curve to accomplish.

I've finished rosewood before and I hate it.  It is oily and must be degreased with something like laquer thinner or acetone before an oil finish can be applied.  Once that initial cost of oil is applied and dry, you are good to go as it seals off the oily properties of the rosewood.  I know absolutely nothing about finishes including waxes.
Phil

Pure carnauba wax can be thinned with mild citric acid, which evaporates off fairly quick.

I took small quantities like 1/2 teaspoon of the flakes and about an equal amount of various hardware store solvents  Xylol, acetone, alcohol plus pure tung oil,    put them in small glass jars sealed them well and shook them up.   They didn't seem to do much.   but then I took the one made with the tung oil and put it is a small dish of water and heated it in the microwave to the point where the water was just starting to bubble.  The two ingredients had blended to a clear liquid.  i let it cool and it settled into a soft waxy solid as it cooled.  So I added a bit more of the flakes and neuked it again for a minute and a half.   Again it melted into a clear liquid and then formed a solid that was a bit firmer.
 
As a test with a small wooden spatula I spread some of the melted compound on a small part of the grip I had reshaped & very fine sanded (approx 800 grit) the raw wood that I had cleaned with a tack rag and denatured alcohol.    I just manually rubbed it in both across and with the grain.  It quickly started to harden and got a little bit tacky, but I rubbed it in well using the heat from my hand  I let that dry for an hour and buffed it with a clean lint free well worn tee-shirt scrap and the finish looks jut like the original.   The original sheen is back, though not quite as hard and glassy looking---which I prefer  the grain pores are much better filled that the thin coat of the original finish showed.   I think a couple coats rubbed in and polished down will give the final finish I desire.  we'll see.
 

marlinguy wrote on Feb 11^th, 2018 at 7:41pm:


    Citric acid is a non-volatile solid -- you must be thinking of something else.

CHRIS
RGChristensen

so far, the mix I made with carnauba flakes dissolved with heat in a small amount to tung oil and rubbed on is working well.  I'm letting it set a couple days before applying follow-up coats because my past experience with rubbed in 100% tung oil finishes is that it works best if allowed to dry well and chemically cure before reapplication. (and I have been too busy to get back to it sooner  LOL) 
I did find a couple small patches between the "finger grooves" where the finish had piled up in very small lumpy spots I had missed when initially rubbing it in.  they were quite hard. difficult to scrape off with a fingernail-- not at all waxy.  I scraped/shaved them off real carefully with the edge of one my stock-carving  scrapers and then burnish the whole grip with new 0000# steel wool. and then buffed it again.   I'm happy with the result. and will proceed further. eventually when I get it done I'll make a final report and a photo just FYI.

EDIT:     befor I finished and posted this I got a rather delayed response from my initial inquiry to Hogue. They do have a small "Carnauba Wax -touch up kit and instructions.    While I am happy with what I have, I will order their kit, just to see what it is and to see if they have a different better way.       Life is just a bumpy learning curve.