I love using a real menorah, don't you? The seven branch menorah throughout Scripture represents the presence of YHWH. The first mention of it is in Exodus and the last in Revelation. We use it on Feast Days, for Shabbat dinners, special occasions and sometimes just because. The only downside is that afterwards it tends to look something like this:
To scrape this wax off would take approximately forever, and it's easy to scratch your menorah if you employ a knife to assist you. Not to worry though, there is a better way!It only requires three things: an oven, baking sheet, and a sheet of parchment paper for easy clean up. You could also use foil if that's what you have on hand. Place the parchment on the baking sheet and lay the menorah on it's side.
Place your oven on low heat. The lowest temperature mine would allow is 170°. Place your metal menorah in the oven and let it go for five minutes. It doesn't take long for it to warm up and for the wax to run right off! You will see small puddles of wax on your parchment paper as in the photo below. If there is still wax on the menorah leave it in for another five minutes or so. The time this takes will vary based on what type of wax is on your menorah, its thickness, the heat of the oven and so on.
Once the wax has all dripped off carefully remove the pan from the oven and let the menorah cool. It will be very hot!
Doesn't that look so much better? And it only took five minutes and no scraping! This is my go-to for the menorah cleaning. I hope you find it beneficial as well!