Cleaning a Candle Lantern Glass Globe

A question for you Ladies and Gentlemen. Any ideas on how to clean the wax off the Glass Globe. The Candles are one of the harder ones that has a 9 hour lifespan.

Iain

May we be able to see the Spirits.

p.s. I know it ain't a Stove and it ain't Kero nor White Gas!

 

use an old pot and dip it in boiling water. This will take the bulk off, then scrub with a scott bright pad

 

Don't rub to hard or you will scratch the glass with the green ones. best to scrub lightly with a blue or yellow pad.

lance

 

JUST DID THAT--
in getting ready for a canoe trip next month--Quetico park--i just cleaned up and
fit new candles in my lamps--i took them apart--don't try and get the glass out!!--it's
tricky to get back in--then ran hot tap water over them--in the basement wash tubs,not
the kitchen sink..i used a old worn out green scrubber--without the sponge attached--
and went over them in running water--an old towel to finish up--i use the small spoon
shaped reflector to keep the glare out of my eyes in some set ups and the "hat" shaped
reflector when i'm reading to increase the light--i use a heavy spring "office clip"
to hold the string thats attached to the lamp--in a lean-too shelter with a slanting roof
there is no way to hook up a line like in a tent and i can just attach the clip to a fold of
cloth overhead--
BEAR BAIT!!!--as i like to really "get into" gear i bought new candles this year--a few were the one you can eat--see my note in the other thread--and the others were from
the Pheylonia beeswax candle company in Canada--they make a candle just for the
camp lamps---nice i thought--more light---nice smell---NICE SMELL--my gosh they
pump out the sweet odor of honey!!!!--after testing a lamp in the den my wife walks
in---"that smells nice--like honey"---flash of awarness--BEARS-----now i don't
have any place to really use them as this is bear country--just a few months ago
a bear was shot by the police just a few miles away by the Mississippi River at
St Paul--and before that another one in the suburbs no far away--sooooo--execpt
for winter camps i guess they stay in my den--to keep me out of the bears den--
the ebay stove buying and testing for this trip is another story---

 

"----after testing a lamp in the den my wife walks
in---"that smells nice--like honey"---flash of awarness--BEARS-----."

Aint it amazing how we get smarter as we get older????

I've never had a problem with bears before but i always go out prepared for the worst. Side arm and short, lever action Carbine spring and summer, side arm and bolt action rifle in fall and winter.

lance

 

I am told the new candles are made of parafin now . Years ago they were bee's wax.
Anyway some one here may know what melts parafin, as a last resort.

 

I've just used hot boiling water to get the small bits off or should they be larger chucks a carefull scrape with a knife blade works in a pinch.

If its just minor stuff and I can replace the candle with a new one, I just replace it and let the new candle melt off and stuck paraffin, before bringing it in the tent.

Ours are either cheap paraffin or the good stuff in Canada. You have to shop around because of the knock offs that other companies have produced. Heck, we even have that Citronella stinky stuff available. yuck!

Never had a problem with Bears, although they have been on our site while asleep. We keep to barrels away from the tents or hanging packs in a distant tree.

 

If it was me, I'd just bung it in the dishwasher...

 

Mineral spirits will dissolve paraffin wax. Try soaking a paper towel with it and rubbing the wax you want to remove. It takes a minute to start working, but not too long. I do not know if it also works for beeswax, but it seems likely.

 

Hey Kevin,

You had it right. Gentle scratching with a knife to remove the lumps and a then paper towel soaked in Mineral Spirits applied to glass. Likely 20 seconds later the wax was coming off.

The better candles use Carnuba and other hard waxes. Pure Paraffin will just liquiefy too quickly.

Iain

The Spirits can shine on me tonight!

 

Hey Iain,

Glad that worked for you. What you said about the harder waxes making better candles is interesting. Years ago I tried a candle lantern. Must have had the cheap candles, because, as you said, they soon liquefied, and the whole thing turned into a spring-loaded mess. Maybe it's time to revisit this issue now that I know what type of candles to use. Thanks.

By the way, good luck on that 22B. I don't know why some collectors seem to sniff at these, unless it's the prices they bring at auction. I bought one a few months ago and I think they're awesome. They work really well for bacon and pancakes with the old Coleman two burner cast aluminum griddles .

Take care,
Kevin

 

I did some research on the Web (not Google, too narrow a search) and couldn't find much on Candles and the waxes that go into them. My mentioning that Carnuba was used may have beem wrong as I couldn't confirm it nor refute it.

Iain

The Spirits shine on us in different ways.

 

Hey!

Throw it away! Real men bang their heads and stub their toes. Who needs light at night anyway

Chuck

 

I heard the light were a little dimmer in Jersey, but I didn't beleive it till now.

Iain

May the Spirits help you when you need it.

 

I hve had UCO lanterns for many years, since at least '82. I clean mine with hot water first to melt off the lion's share of accumulated wax, then a good wipe down with coleman fuel on a paper towel. The whole thing comes clean as a hound's tooth. I do this every five years or so whether the things are dirty or not.

I also learned the hard way to use ONLY UCO candles. I bought some that looked the same, but were useless.

Gerry

 

Being somewhat dumb when it comes to answering postings i forget to remember my history. Is that a senior moment? Anyway after returning from my camping trip up on Whitehorse Mt i needed to clean the wax from my lantern. This is where the memory kicked in and i remembered that the easiest way to remove the wax was to put the lantern complete with the glass in the freezer. leave it for about 20 minutes and the wax just chips off with a little pressure from your fingers. If it gets warm again and won't remove easy stick it back in the freezer. No scrubbing, no mess, no hot water, and no scratches on glass, or brass, or aluminium.

lance

 

Do you think that would work for our dining room table. I've spilt wax from a candle on it and her indoors ain't happy

 

Check it out with your local butcher.

 

Henry use an ice bag and set it on the dining table over a paper or cloth towel. It is the cold you want not the water. a couple of minutes 5 or so should be enough to let you chip off the wax with your fingernail.

lance

 

Tried that, trouble is the table has quite an open grain in the wood, I got most of it off but she ain't appy
Never liked that table anyway