Hey Shayne,
Welcome to beekeeping with Flow.
I dip assembled hives, less the plastic bits. I like to glue the joints these days. You can dip the parts and assemble later, but there is the risk that the parts shrink at different rates in the wax making fitting the joints more difficult. Also glue won’t stick to waxed wood.
It’s also a good idea to wax and paint the roof. Painting with paint or undercoat immediately after taking out of the hot wax allows the paint to draw into the wood fibres and dries very fast. You can then add coats later.
Hi thanks for the quick reply. All the youtube videos I’ve viewed are for wax dipping multiple hive boxes, where as I’m only needing to do the one. Any tips on how I go about the process and how much wax would be needed?
I’d normally suggest looking for a local commercial beekeeper setup for dipping. They often prepare new hives in winter and happy enough to include some extras, but with the varroa incursion they might not be doing anything.
I remember someone in this forum saying they had waxed theirs before assembly in a shallow metal tray, one piece at a time. It’s not something I’d do, but it might work for you. To work out how much wax you’d need just work out the volume of the tray, LxWxH. Remember to have half each of microcrystalline and paraffin. Keep flames away from the molten wax and make sure the sides of the tray are high enough to contain the foam as the moisture boils out of the wood.
Did I say it’s not something I’d do. Molten wax it’s highly volatile. I’m setup to do it safely, with a metal lid over the deep vat. I have fire extinguishers at the ready and constantly check the temperature to avoid reaching flashpoint.
Check those local guys anyway, you never know your luck.
Mike
For those readers who are in the united states, wax dipping has become more common recently and there are several companies that will do it for a couple of dollars per box/piece within a short drive of me, for example, in central Ohio.