How DO you use a wax seal?

[bcbg]

Are you using the hard or supple type wax ?

Try breaking some wax into a spoon and heating from underneath, then pouring out the wax. I do this when the stick becomes too short to hold.

[ZachWasniak]

Hey Guys,

 

I didn't want to create a new thread, and this one seemed to have the most appropriate title in regards to my questions...

 

I don't often use my sealing-waxes. But I recently had occasion to do so. And I have an issue which hopefully someone can give me an answer to.

 

My usual method:

 

1. Write/type correspondence.

2. Fold tightly.

3. Weigh down the paper.

4. Melt the wax over the paper where the two halves meet.

5. Seal.

 

My issue is between 4 and 5.

 

This doesn't happen all the time, but it has happened enough times to irritate me...

 

My wax catches fire.

 

Why? What am I doing wrong?

 

I light the wax-wick, or hold a flame up to a wax-stick, and let the wax drip onto the paper. Sometimes, I get flaming globs of wax landing on the paper which I have to blow out, without blowing out the flame that's melting the wax. And of course, I risk burning the paper.

 

Is there any way to stop this from happening? Or is it just part-and-parcel of using sealing-wax? I use a cigarette lighter to melt my wax; is that part of the problem? A match obviously doesn't last so long, a candle is messy, and I don't have any of those fancy flaming torches (not much demand for creme brulee around here, delicious though it is).

Mine did that, too. And it bugged me as well. I have a wick in my wax, and I found that if I light the wick, it melts the wax for me. I had bunt a hole through the envelope and the letter to my friend because the wax caught on fire. :bonk:

[Shangas]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. They make a lot of sense. Next time I seal a letter to a relation of mine, I'll keep that in mind.

[BillZ]

I get my wax from Nostalgic Impressions. Both wick type and glue stick type. There are several videos at the web site showing how to use their product. Bryan Goulet at Goulet Pen Co. sells

 

Herbin wax and ahs a video demoing these sticks. They are wickless and, to me, require a little more manipulation BUT I don't think they would catch your letter on fire. I like the glue gun sticks but

 

it is sometimes inconvenient for only one letter because of warm-up time. If I think ahead I'll plug in the glue gun when I start the letter. Another drawback to the sticks is that changing colours is a major undertaking requiring wasting a lot of wax. But N.I sells the guns cheap so I got two.

[stonezebra]

The Goulets have some helpful videos on using sealing wax here. I only use 'supple' waxes nowadays and that seems to eliminate a lot of problems though nothing is fail-proof.

[Northwoods]

 

My wax catches fire.

 

Why? What am I doing wrong?

 

I light the wax-wick,

 

 

This is a hazard of wicked wax sticks. You will be better off if future purchases were limited to unwicked wax. Still, all is not lost and the wax you have is perfectly usable. What you need to do is control the flame. Start by keeping the wick short. A longer wick produces more heat, which can catch the wax on fire. Rotate the stick as you let the wax drip. This will give you a more even burn and keep the flame over slightly cooler wax. As a last resort, break up the wax and use a melting spoon instead of direct flame.

 

I've also had some success by trimming the wick to nothing, and holding the flame source just close enough to melt the wax, but not quite enough to light the wick as it exposes. A kitchen torch or a torch lighter works pretty well for melting wax.

 

Best of luck to you!

[lapis]

As said above, try out this Herbin info. I don't find any better explanations and/or offers elsewhere.

 

Mike

[ysgrifbin]

So how do I use the seal/wax? Thanks

 

We used to need to seal large numbers of documents each day.

 

Our sealing wax came by the kilo from the nice people at Candlemakers' Supplies

We used a stovetop egg poaching pan like this, to melt the wax and keep it soft over simmering water. We melted paraffin wax in one of the cups, which we could add in small amounts to the sealing wax in the other cups if it became too stiff. We used a teaspoon to apply the wax to the documents.

 

It was important to keep the seals cold, to help them to give a clean impression in the wax. We stored them in a refrigerator, and during sealing sessions we would stand them on a freezer block between seals.

 

(Edited to sort out hyperlinks)

Edited March 14, 2013 by ysgrifbin