Gold wax

Did you know there are 2 different kinds of gold wax? Confusing I agree. This is the lesser-known gold wax (Wolf gold wax is covered in the next post!). It’s a bit hard to find. But when you find a supplier that sells it, you can get this wax in pretty much every shape and size.

So what’s it like to work with gold wax?

For the wax color comparison series, I make some pieces with each wax color. I use all the common tools and techniques and describe how easy/difficult they were. Keep reading along and find the wax that best suits your making style.

Curious about the other colors? Read about green wax, purple wax, turquoise wax, Wolf gold wax, blue wax and orange wax.

Piercing

I used a regular saw blade for this. With a wax blade, all colors would end up with the same verdict: quick and easy. Besides, you want to use a regular blade for precision work.

Thick pieces (ring tube etc): piercing takes time. It’s not necessarily hard, just slow. The wax comes out in a mixture of dust and long clumps.

Thin pieces: piercing thin pieces is a lot easier. Because you can see the marks really well in this color, you can pierce accurately to the line. Even with wax dust coming up and obscuring the lines partially.

Hand files

Big sections (side of a ring etc): same as with piercing. Filing is not necessarily hard, it’s just slow. You only get the finest powderlike dust and this powdery dust doesn’t clog your files at all.

Small sections: filing small sections is quicker, but it still takes a while. You can feel a little resistance in the wax, which makes progress slow. You see the results of every file stroke, but it might not be as much as you expect.

The dust stays on top of your file without getting in between the teeth. You can easily brush the wax dust away with your hand.

Needle files

Needle files work perfectly on gold wax. Filing and shaping is quick and easy and you can get a really clean finish with just files alone.

If you slip with your file you will leave a mark, but these are usually superficial and easy to remove.

Wax dust clogs your files eventually.

But you can brush the wax away with a toothbrush.

Carving tools

Carving tools work perfectly as well. They’re great for refining your shape and adding details. Curves or corners, both are no problem for carving tools. They leave a good clean finish on your wax.

Melting

Repairing: melted wax doesn’t easily move onto a wax pen. It wants to stay in its liquid puddle. Once you have it on your wax pen, it transfers easily to other pieces of wax.

If your temperature is too low, the wax gets a bit stringy.

Play around with the heat settings a little. At the right temperature, it transfers without getting stringy.

You can get good blobs on your wax that file down without problem.

Remelting scraps: scraps melt quickly and evenly. You end up with a workable piece of wax again.

Burring

Burring is really smooth. The burr doesn’t go into the wax too quickly, so you have a lot of control over where you remove wax. The burr leaves a clean and smooth finish as well.

Marking

Marking is great. The lines are very clear and easy to see. Dust sometimes clings to the edges of the mark, but they can be brushed off completely with a toothbrush.

Stanley knife

A stanley knife works great. You can remove thin slivers and cut out small sections.

The blade only cuts where you want it to and then stops.

See? only a very fine cut.

Verdict

Gold wax is great to work with. Shaping might take a little bit longer than other waxes, but you’re less likely to slip and dig with this one. Which saves you time in the long run!

Comment below and tell me your experience working with gold wax!