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<\/a><\/p>\nComparing Cold Wax Mediums<\/h2>\n
by Sally Hirst<\/small><\/p>\n
I create paintings and monoprints, both media inform the other and are often combined in a single piece. I begin each painting by building texture and colours with acrylics before adding many layers of oil, pigments and cold wax medium. Through a process of scraping and re-working, I achieve a highly textural surface and reveal the underlying colours. After many layers, I tame the chaos by redefining the design with strong shapes, lines and structure.<\/p>\n
I have been using Cold Wax Medium (CWM) with oil paint in my work for a while and I really enjoy how it allows me to make marks, build texture and scrape back; concealing and revealing. It can also be used as a \u2018glue\u2019 to attach collage elements, and as a finishing wax as an alternative to varnish on acrylic, oil and watercolour paintings and photographs. As a printmaker I love how CWM can be used with many of my printmaking tools: rollers, spreaders and engraving tools; even tools from the kitchen find their way into my studio: basting brushes, skewers and whisks to name a few. The medium changes the consistency of the oil paint by making it thicker, the dry paint has a nearly matt sheen, and the drying time is accelerated. As an added bonus the rules of “fat over lean” no longer apply as the oil is suspended in the wax medium.<\/p>\n
The two brands of Cold Wax Medium I have used before are Gamblin and Zest-it, and I now make my own recipe for my own work and my workshops, that I call SalCera (a combination of Sally and Cera, which is Spanish for wax). But I am often asked by participants on my workshops about the differences and similarities between the brands available, in particular their texture, drying times, sheen, flexibility and smell. So when Jackson\u2019s asked me to do a product comparison I was more than happy to do so. Whilst I am a self-confessed materials geek I\u2019m not a scientist, so the results of my “experiments” should be taken in the spirit they are intended – to share knowledge and experience, but not used as definitive answers.<\/p>\n CWM is a wax-based medium that you mix with oil paint. Most consist of beeswax, a resin and a solvent. Most brands use either damar or alkyd as resins. Both resins help to cure the beeswax, make it durable and less sensitive to heat. Without the addition of a resin, the wax would remain fairly soft. It has been a popular medium in the USA for decades but is relatively new in Europe. It is not the same as encaustic painting which involves heating wax until it melts, adding resin and pigment and applying it to a surface whilst in its molten state. By contrast, CWM has a short, buttery consistency; it also cannot be heated or mixed with water-based media. Whilst its soft edges and rich texture appeal to landscape and abstract painters, any genre of painting is possible as illustrated in the excellent book by Rebecca Crowell and Jerry Mclaughlin Cold Wax Medium: Techniques, Concepts & Conversations.<\/a><\/p>\n The six products I tested are made by Gamblin, Dorland\u2019s, Zest-it, Michael Harding, Wallace Seymour, and my own recipe SalCera. In addition, I tested a few solvents, mediums and additives to see how the wax mediums can be extended and altered. Links to all products are below. Not all of the information on all of the products that I tested is available but most companies provide information on their websites on what their products contain and how to use them, as well as safety data sheets.<\/p>\n This chart shows the ingredients used in each product and the manufacturer’s recommended percentage of the medium when mixed with oil paint.<\/p>\n[table id=2 \/] *A higher percentage can be used on hard surfaces.<\/p>\n As with most products of this nature some contain ingredients that can cause irritation. I would always recommend using them in a well-ventilated studio, wearing gloves to prevent skin absorption and taking note of any symptoms. If you do have a reaction it is more than likely to be a solvent, but as Julie Caves points out in her excellent Jackson\u2019s blog post on solvents<\/a> (thanks, Sally) it is very much an individual response, what suits one person may not suit another.<\/p>\n The oil paints I used are from Jackson\u2019s Professional range and Williamsburg but any good quality oil paint is fine to use with cold wax medium. I would recommend using those that are stiffer. A loose oil paint with lots of oil will affect both the viscosity of your medium and the drying times. I used the same colours on each panel for consistency as different colours have their own inherent drying times. Pigments like umbers dry at rates much faster than modern organic pigments. An excellent chart on oil paint drying times and opacity can be downloaded here<\/a>.<\/p>\n The first thing one notices when opening each jar or tin is the smell. How does one describe a smell? What smells strongly for one person does not for another and vice versa. For this test I lined the jars up in front of my husband as I had prior knowledge of the ingredients that might sway my opinion. I asked him to give each jar a rating from 1-10, 1 being no smell and 10 being strong smelling. These are the results of our smell test and his descriptions:<\/p>\n 1 Dorlands “a delicate wax smell like lemony polish”<\/p>\n 2 Gamblin “a soft smell, similar to putty”<\/p>\n 2 SalCera “smells like the putty one”<\/p>\n 3 Wallace Seymour “reminds me of my grandmother\u2019s furniture polish”<\/p>\n 5 Zest-It “a chemical orange smell like kid\u2019s sweets”<\/p>\n 9 Michael Harding “smells strongly of turpentine”<\/p>\n The differences in smell lie mainly in the amount and type of solvents used. Dorlands, Gamblin and SalCera are mixed with good quality odourless mineral spirits, which along with the Zest-It citrus-based turpentine substitute, are not as strong smelling as turpentine. The Wallace Seymour appears to be mostly beeswax suspended in linseed oil and does not smell of solvent, however, according to the company the wax is dissolved in a \u201cnatural plant-based diluent\u201d called Co-Co Bello. The Michael Harding clearly states their wax medium contains distilled turpentine, which is a much stronger smelling solvent than either odourless mineral spirits or Zest-it diluent.<\/p>\n The next aspect I explored was their texture. I was surprised by how different they all were. I filmed a series of short videos to enable you to see the differences in texture and viscosity. Whilst they vary in colour I found that once mixed with paint and dry, the colour of the wax is not evident. The thickest is the Zest\u2013It, it is slightly ‘gritty’, so thick you can cut it with your palette knife. Gamblin and SalCera were both similar to the Zest-It but slightly smoother and whiter. The Wallace Seymour is yellow, thick and chunky, it clearly contains a lot of linseed oil so has a very rich consistency. The Dorlands is white, smooth and creamy, probably due to its slightly higher ratio of solvent, and the use of both paraffin and microcrystelline waxes, which are inherently smooth and clear. The thinnest was Michael Harding, it was even thinner than the oil paint I used, and when worked with the knife became even looser.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nWhat is Cold Wax Medium?<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nStrength of Solvent Odour in Each Medium<\/h2>\n
Textures of the Cold Wax Mediums<\/h2>\n