Prefer Beeswax. Or Trewax brand paste wax.
As a long time woodworker I despise soap. There should not be water around a pool table, but more than people realize are in humid environments or temporarily exposed to such on many summer days. IME, soaped fasteners rust/corrode faster over time. Even the brass ones, pretty sure i can tell when they have been soaped - upon removal they have a lot of green schmutz around them & in the wood.
Beeswax crumbs can mess up cloth, as can soap. Soap can be washed out, Beeswax not so much. Maybe with carbon-tet.If using paste wax, my preference is for the Trewax brand because it does not smell disgusting like Johnsons or some others. Also has more carnauba in the mix.
smt
I prefer Irish spring bar soap
