From the very beginning, oil painters have used mediums to extend, modify, tweak and transform their paint in one way or another. These have run the gamut from the simple use of solvents when creating an initial wash to much more complex concoctions and recipes that involve the blending of various oils, resins, balsams, and waxes. While Williamsburg has always supplied many of the base ingredients for painters who like to make their own mediums, we want to also take this opportunity to highlight our Wax Medium, which comes ready to use and is offered in 8, 16, and 32 oz. cans only.
Wax Medium
A mainstay from the earliest days of the company, Williamsburg’s Wax Medium is made from a combination of linseed oil, bleached beeswax and dammar crystals that have been carefully melted and blended together. Unlike other wax pastes currently on the market, our Wax Medium contains absolutely no solvent, making it especially attractive to painters wanting to minimize their exposure to solvents in the studio. Having the feel of a soft paste when scooped from the can, it quickly becomes silky and quite fluid under the pressure of a palette knife as it is worked by itself or blended into paint. It is also unique in that it will form a film even on its own. This is particularly significant because most other wax pastes do not, and adding too high a percentage of wax by itself can cause problems of brittleness and poor adhesion. By contrast, because our Wax Medium starts with a blend of wax and oil together, a painter has much more freedom and leeway in how it is used.
Small additions of 10-20% of Wax Medium will give one’s paint a thinner, more flowing consistency, with none of the fumes associated with mineral spirits or turpentine. As one moves into higher ratios, the paint will start to gain a beautiful translucency, while drying to more and more of a satiny sheen. However, some caution should be used at these higher levels since the paint will dry to an increasingly softer film the more wax you add, while greater transparency will make the mixture more vulnerable to the eventual yellowing of the oils. Because of that, it is best to limit applications with higher percentages of the Wax Medium to the upper layers of a painting, and when creating more translucent effects, leaning toward warmer colors where any yellowing will have the least impact. Lastly, Wax Medium can also be blended with other oils and alkyds to create a wide range of variations. A moderate drier, a 3 mil layer which is about the thickness of a piece of office paper, will dry in 4-7 days.
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Thank you Sarah for that helpful exciting explanation.
Sounds like a great alternative to more common solvent CWM. Questions:
You recommend this wax medium in combination with encaustic?
And may you prescribe acceptable wax/damar/linseed oil proportions?
Thanx,
Dan
Hi Dan – While technically Williamsburg’s Wax Medium could be added to encaustic you want to be careful and not overdo it. As this diagram from R&F Encaustic shows, you can end up with an unstable film if the wax and oil ratio approached 50%. For the sake of the diagram, you can use the pigment stick to represent the wax medium:
http://www.rfpaints.com/media/k2/items/cache/3abb66d58aa91d2b7b16f08ee38a95c0_XL.jpg
As we are not experts in encaustic, we would refer you to one of the encaustic paint manufacturers (R&F, Encaustikos) for additional guidance.
In terms of an acceptable wax/damar/linseed proportions, we are not sure what context you are asking about. For making a wax medium for oil paint? As something to add to encaustics? Our own recipe is proprietary, but if look for recipes for encaustic medium as a starting point, you will find most range from 9:2 to 10:1 ratio of wax to damar. The amount of linseed oil that is added at that point places you along that oil paint/encaustic spectrum of the diagram, so a lot will depend on what you want to achieve and which medium you are working in. For oil paints, we would normally advise t keep the wax content as low as possible, with 10-15% being a good maximum.
Hope that helps as always.
What is the approximate largest ratio of the Williamsburg Wax Medium to out-of-tube oil paint that will render the combination stable enough to paint on canvas surface? At what point should we be worried about brittleness/lack of drying on such surface?
Hi Ryko – Our concern is less with flexibility than with increased yellowing and softness. Because our Wax Medium is made with linseed oil, it will actually form a film on its own that is quite pliable. However, if you start to add a lot of the wax medium to a paint you will find that it could noticeably yellow over time and start to be much too soft to easily paint on top of. Also, while we have done a lot of testing with single blends applied in a single layer, we have not actually done any testing to explore what the limits or issues are when trying to layer or use the medium in a more complex process. Because of that we generally hold to the advice we give in the article, which is to keep additions to the 10-20% range. Going beyond that is certainly possible, with really little limit on the percentage, but keep any of those layers towards the top of a painting. Unfortunately, however, that is also where any increased tendency to yellow will be most noticeable and increased softness could cause issues with dirt and dust sticking to the surface.
Hello Sarah,
I have recently experimented with the wax medium and loved working with it. I have applied textured layer of wax and paint in a 40/60 % range. It has been a week and it hasn’t dried even a bit. Reading the previous comments I realize that I can go that thick with it.
Does it mean that it wont dry at all ? I appreciate any comments or suggestions from you.
Hello Oksana,
Sarah is on sabbatical for the year, so I am happy to answer your question.
As mentioned in the article, a thin layer of Wax Medium, about the thickness of a sheet of paper, can take 4-7 days to dry. That standard dry time is then modified by the paint you mix it with. If you mixed with a faster drying color, then it may be possible to dry well in a thicker/textured application. If you mixed with a slower drying color, it may be quite a while until a textured application dries. Like other mediums based on linseed oil, using Wax Medium in higher ratios of medium to paint are better used thinly. Using the Wax Medium thinly will lessen the likelihood of extended dry times and yellowing of the paint layer.
We hope this helps. If you have any other questions, feel free to email direct at [email protected]
Best Regards,
Greg Watson
Can you post a link of this medium being used by an artist while painting?
Hello Selena,
Unfortunately, we do not currently have a video or a link with that information. We will put it on the list and try to get something posted to our social media soon.
Thanks,
Greg
Do you know if it’s possible to mix this with odorless mineral spirits to create a Cold Wax Medium? The recipe I use for CWM is a mix of beeswax, damar resin and OMS. I can use this with oil 50/50 without any problems.
Hello Sally.
Thank you for your question.
The WB Wax Medium isn’t the same as a cold wax product like Dorland’s. It is not meant to create impasto texture, more so to help stiffen and make the paint mixture more buttery.
– Mike Townsend
Can Williamsburg Wax Medium be thinned? Perhaps with linseed or safflower oil?
Hi Tim,
You should be able to add more oil to the Wax Medium – either linseed or safflower. It will likely thin it out and therefore, should be applied thinly. You should also be able to use solvent to thin the Wax Medium if desired.
Thanks,
Greg
Thanks for your reply.
Bonjour, doit on respecte le gras sur maigre avec ce médium et si oui comment faire ? Merci pour votre réponse
Bonjour Veratti,
Oui, le Williamsburg Wax Medium contient de l’huile, nous vous recommandons donc de garder les ajouts autour de 10-20%. Après la graisse sur maigre, essayez de réduire les ajouts dans les premières couches et les couches de peinture générales fines. Avec plus d’huile, il y a plus de flexibilité, donc si vous en utilisez plus dans les couches supérieures, cela devrait aller jusqu’à 20%, mais gardez à l’esprit qu’en raison de cette présence d’huile, des applications plus épaisses sont plus sujettes au jaunissement, donc plus mince en général est recommandé. Si vous avez d’autres questions, faites-le nous savoir à [email protected]
Meilleur,
Scott
Can u use it with acrylic?
Hi Carole,
This medium cannot be used with acrylics. It is for oil paints only. For a wax-like appearance in acrylic, you can try some of our matte mediums or gels. Here is an article about Creating an Encaustic Look with Acrylics: https://justpaint.org/creating-an-encaustic-look-with-acrylics/
Hope this helps.
Greg
Hello Carole/ Greg
My application of paint, oil paint/Williamsburg wax medium, has become soft again after a drying time of 8 days and more in the winter sun. What can be the reason?
Can one/should one varnish over a painting on canvas that was a mix of oil paint and cold wax? If yes, what varnish?
Hello S Dixon,
We have not tested that combination enough to give an answer. Our Wax Medium is primarily an oil based medium with the additions of small amount of wax to provide body and a slightly reduced sheen. You should be able to varnish with MSA Varnish or a regalrez product over cured oils with the addition of Williamsburg Wax Medium. Cold Wax is different in that it is primarily beeswax melted in solvent. Wax can resist being coated on its own or when used in higher ratios with oil paint. Theoretically, small additions of cold wax should not create any adhesion issues with varnishing, but if it is used in higher amounts to create an encaustic type look, then the varnish might bead up on the surface or not have excellent adhesion. Also, Golden MSA Varnish has a stronger solvent and may slightly melt a surface that has high levels of cold wax. We recommend testing on a sacrificial surface before trying this combination on your final artwork.
We hope this helps!
Greg
The commenter above asked a similar question to mine, but I want a definitive answer.
Can I varnish a painting that I used Williamsburg wax medium in the recommended proportions. And, what varnish would you advise if I used Williamsburg wax medium and Williamsburg oil paints?
Thank you
Hi Wald,
Yes, you can varnish your oil painting that has Wax Medium as part of the layering. We recommend allowing about 6 months for the painting to cure before varnish when using GOLDEN MSA Varnish. MSA is a removable, full-strength mineral spirit varnish with excellent UV protection. It requires dilution with MSA Solvent before use – about 3 parts varnish to 1 part solvent for brush application. Gamblin makes a low odor varnish product called Gamvar. They indicate it can be applied once the painting is through dry. see their website for details. Gamvar is very thin and requires a different application technique than MSA Varnish. Each varnish provides a different look, so it may be necessary to test your options on a sacrificial surface before applying onto your final artwork. You can learn more about our varnish products and recommended application techniques here: https://www.goldenpaints.com/technicalinfo/technicalinfo_varnishresources
We hope this is helpful. If you have additional questions please contact us at [email protected] or call 800-959-6543
Take care,
Greg
I’ve been been using Gamblin Cold Wax to seal my watercolor paintings on paper. I don’t use glass covering. Gamblin outlines how this can be done. It works well, but the solvent gives me headaches and lingers in my studio too long as it slowly dries. – – Is there any chance your Wax Medium would work to seal watercolor paintings? Do you think it might be worth a try? Thanks! – Mike
Hello Mike, Thank you for your question. Unfortunately, we would not recommend this use. Williamsburg Wax Medium contains Linseed Oil, which can damage natural fibers (like cotton) over time if there is direct contact. Dorland’s Wax does not seem to contain oil or solvent, so might be worth investigating. We hope you find a product that will work for you! Warm Regards, Cathy
Hi, If I added a galkyd gel could I use this as a matt varnish? Thanks!
Hi Julie,
we do not recommend using this on its own or mixed with Galkyd as a varnish. It is primarily linseed oil and will yellow over time, which would be very noticeable on the surface of a painting. For oil works, we recommend varnishing with MSA Varnish after 3-6 month or something like the Gamvar following their recommended curing time.
Thanks
Greg
Hi! Few questions. The drying time of Williamsburg wax seems significantly longer to other wax mediums – is it because it contains no solvent? Does that also mean that it doesn’t dry to the very matte finish (because evaporation of solvent makes it more matte)?
I am looking for a wax medium that dries a little slower – other products (Zest It) are touch-dry after just 1 day, which is too soon. A little longer drying time and not extreme matte would be ideal. By researching your brand, it seems it comes close to it. The only other CWM brand is Wallace Seymour – dries in 4 days – but hard to find on a market.
I use 1:1 CWM and oil paint, often extend it with stand oil for extra tack, and paint on dibond panels for more aggressive application. Would you have any advice in regards to that process?
Thank you so much!
Hi Silvia,
The Williamsburg Wax Medium is not a cold wax product. It is more of a linseed oil medium with beeswax. It dries to a semi-gloss or satin sheen depending on how it is worked into the color. And is primarily for minimal additions, just to soften the paint and provide some flow and increased translucency. It could be mixed in with your current CWM and stand oil blend to increase the sheen and provide some more working time. Hope that helps!
Greg