Depends on the colour finish you're after. I used teak oil on our coffee table with great success. You could perhaps start by reading these threads...
http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/1096711/ShowPost.aspx
http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/767143/ShowPost.aspx
Cathy
If you are going to put anything other than wax back on the surface you will have to get all of the wax off. The way that I would do it is with a cabinet scraper. It might sound a bit daunting, but it should be easy enough to do. Just make sure that the scraper is 'sharp' and it will act like a very fine plane. Don't use abrasive paper because it will just clog up very quickly.
Sorry if I am teaching you how to suck eggs here, but if you don't know about scrapers have a look at this site http://www.woodzone.com/articles/scrapers/index.htm . I treated myself to one of these http://www.axminster.co.uk/product.asp?pf_id=22455&name=cabinet+scraper&user_search=1&sfile=1&jump=0 , it saves my hands and when you have arthritis in them it really helps!! It makes it as easy as using a spoke shave, another wonderful tool, but not for what you want to do.
As for the finish. If it's going to get a lot of wear then I would use about 4 coats of Danish oil. As I have said before, it's easy to use, food safe ans easy to repair. Of course you could always use polyeurathane (?) varnish . It would make it very hard wearing no matter what anyone says??
You ought to strip the existing finish with a paint stripper, layed on the surface for 5/15 minutes, then removed using course grade steel wool followed by another smattering of paint remover ,rubbed off almost straight away with a very fine grade steel wool .
First phase now complete!
2nd stage you have many choices.
It may well be worth trying a small corner of the table with a scraper. You might just be surprised at how easy it can be? Also in your case all you want to do is to remove the wax and not start on the wooden surface. If the wax is old it could be quite hard and the danish oil may not penitrate it. An option is to ask Liberon UK as to the best way to prepare the table. They are very helpful and you can e-mail them wth your question at http://www.liberon.co.uk/contact-us,438.html or phone them on +441993 704611.
If you go the route of the paint stripper then make VERY sure that you have a very good pair of rubber gloves on! Leo, I have never tried your method, but i would think that the wood could well collect the stripper in any imperfections in the grain and be a real swine to get out afterwards. also you would need to give the top a really good wash to get rid of any remaining stripper or it will play havoc with anything you put on it afterwards? Also, isn't it a rather large hammer to crack wax? I could well be wrong!
quote by the original poster;
"but shows every heat and water mark"
If you don't remove this,then you will never be totally satisfied with the table!
It is actually easier and quicker, to strip and start from scratch !
Slightly different tack..
If you are trying to get rid of water marks on a wax surface the best way to do it is to mix some cigarette ash (a rare comodity these daze peut etra?) with some linseed oil and rub it into the water mark with a soft cloth. The water mark will vanish just like magic !!
Please note that any unsolicited advertising will be removed