just wax?

I have a nice 2-piece ash tele body that is the start of my next project. And, I was wondering...

I know people use wax (either carnauba or mixed carnauba/beeswax) on bare wood as a finish for some furniture finishes, (smoking) pipes, etc. Would something like this work?:

1. Light stain
2. Light sealer
3. 4-5 coats of 100% carnauba wax (for hardness)

In other words: Is there any down-side to using wax on what is effectively bare wood?

potentially, junk will stick to it over time.

Consider something like Birchwood-Casey Tru Oil... cheap... easy... high quality... very respected here.

Wax doesn't offer any real protection, it wears off rather rapidly, and would need to be re-applied routinely. Wax is only suitable as a finish for woods that don't need a finish.

Ash also has open pores that would accumulate wax, leaving little white/yellow filled pores. As the wax wore away the pores would then be filled by gunk and grime.

Not a pretty sight.

Like Piece says, consider an oil based finish like Tru-oil, which will be glossy, but can be knocked back to satin. Or if you prefer a straight satin/soft lustre then look at Tried and True Original.

http://triedandtruewoodfinish.com/products.htm#Original%20Wood%20Finish

their Varnish Oil is similar to Tru-Oil.