It's possible that [log in to unmask] is referring to "paraffin oil" rather
than paraffin.  The former is a thinned mixture which is used as a
penetrating wood preservative.  There would be very little of this
remaining on the surface after application of one coat. In the States, at
least, I believe most people understand paraffin to be the solid wax used
to seal jelly jars, among other things. At room temperature it is a solid
which appears much like candle wax.

On Mon, 23 Apr 2001, James Fischer wrote:

> [log in to unmask] asked:
>
> > Has anyone ever heard of putting paraffin on the end of top bars?
>
> Sounds like a mess.  I would hesitate to introduce a foreign
> substance into the hive on an ongoing basis.  No telling what the
> bees might do with it.
>
> As bees will remove wax from Plasticell in late summer, or scavenge
> from drawn comb (seemingly at random), I would suspect that the
> paraffin would also be "scavenged", and incorporated into wax for
> cappings or other purposes.  While this may be harmless, I wonder
> how you would isolate the paraffin from the wax when rendering your
> wax to recycle it.

---------------
Richard Yarnell, SHAMBLES WORKSHOPS | No gimmick we try, no "scientific"
Beavercreek, OR. Makers of fine     | fix we attempt, will save our planet
Wooden Canoes, The Stack(R) urban   | until we reduce the population. Let's
composter, Raw Honey                | leave our kids a decent place to live.