Vince, the Feed N Wax is notorious for picking up smudge from a guitar stand with foam. Especially black. I have been dealing with that since day one. I would imagine that having a lot of metallic dust from your machine shop would also be a problem.
The wax never really dries out so much as it soaks in overtime. My guitar does get dry as a bone after a few months but that is usually what triggers off the re coat reflex.
The only really nice thing about Howard's for me is that it will keep the body looking like raw wood. That was one of my reasons for building a Pinecaster in the beginning. After seeing those body's on Glendale's site I envisioned having a plain Pine body with a nice vintage style neck.
So I can certainly point out that Howard's looks great and will give you a protection for a plain open wood, however it will be tough to deal with. It remains wet for days and needs to be rubbed off and like any wet waxy substance attracts smudges from guitar straps, stands with black foam or dirt.