Finish on Barn wood

[Brad_bb]

So I was in a restaurant that was a converted barn.  There were stairs from the store on the ground level to the restaurant on the second. They used reclaimed barn boards for the railing and trim on the opening on the 2nd floor.  The trim was circular sawn barn boards that appeared to have a thick wax finish.  It was beautiful and was the best finish I've seen on barn wood like that.  They lightly sanded the rough surface and it seems applied some kind of thick wax finish. I know cause I felt it and used my nail so scratch it a little. 

Anyone have experience with this kind of finishing process that they could share?  I have quite a bit of reclaimed barn hardwood that I'm going to be building stuff from.  Should i wash the boards with something and dry them first?  With what?  TSP?  I don't want to pressure wash as that would remove some of the patina/color and make it furry.

Any help appreciated.

[Kbeitz]

Briwax

[Brad_bb]

Is it just hand applied or do you use a machine to buff it/burnish it in?

[Kbeitz]

Do a google search and you will find more than I could tell you.