My bathroom was designed with the towel rack as far as possible from the shower. I placed a couple hooks near by to fix that. Over time the hooks worked loose. They still did the job but looked awful. With some poplar and a candle I made it nice again.

A few great things about doing a candle finish:

No noxious fumes.
It's non-toxic.
Application is fast and simple.
It's cheap! (One candle does a lot of projects).

I'll take you through the whole project but if you just want the polishing part skip to step 3.

Step 1: Cutting and Shaping

I used the hook to guess a measurement on how tall the wood backing should be. I just wanted it a little taller than the hook itself. After cutting the wood I rounded the edge over with a 3/8" router bit. You can see the old hook locations in the last 2 photos.

Step 2: Adding Hardware

Using my trusty square I marked pilot holes for the hardware. I drilled six holes and countersunk two for mounting it on the wall. Those will eventually be covered by the hooks. Before moving on I sanded it with 220 grit sand paper.

Step 3: Waxing Wood

To do this I used a plain white candle, propane torch, and heat gun. The torch melts the wax off the candle fast. Once there was a line down the center I used a sponge applicator to spread it around. Since it's wax it solidifies when cool. To help the application I used a heat gun. Don't use a torch to heat the wax on the wood. You could burn it.

Step 4: Burnishing Wood

When the wood is evenly coated, load a paper towel with wax. Do this by dripping the molten wax on directly on the towel. Rub the waxed towel in small circles against the entire surface.