Cold Wax Medium
Beeswax based dense painting paste.
Added to oil colours will accentuate texture for impasto applications.
Constituents
Refined Beeswax, Stand Oil (40 Poise), Solvent 75
Product code:
049
Cold Wax Medium Product Information
Product Application
Cold application wax medium added to oil colours. Dense buttery paste. For creating a variety of textures within a painting.
‘Short’ body characteristic gives clean mark-making with brush or knife. It has been formulated to be added in any proportion desired but is highly effective as an impasto medium for extending oil colours whilst keeping a strong bodied brush or palette knife stroke. Retains sharp impasto peaks definition.
Wax holds its shape during and after full drying, without the dangers of ‘surface-crawl’ and excessive yellowing evident in thick oil mediums that use fillers such as Alumina Hydrate, Aluminium Strearate and similar reology altering agents (Reology refers to the flow characteristics of fluid materials).
Best applied to rigid supports such as timber panels.
Recommended maximum addition of 30% to oil colours in total volume if to be applied to flexible supports.
Because wax is not absolutely clear it will reduce the depth of tone of colours.
Cold Wax Medium is slow drying allowing for a wet-in-wet technique with very controlled manipulation of paint including soft blending. As the paint is brushed out stroke-marks will be held in place.
The Stand Oil base ensures pale colours stay bright even when used in high proportions with oil colours or pigments.
Matte optical effects
Because of the natural matting quality of wax, glazes or transparent layers of wax medium are highly matte and do not have the clarity of pure oil mediums. This effect of translucency or ‘tonal haze’ is very similar to the look of ‘encaustic’ paintings where the natural qualities of wax are highly evident (Encaustic painting is the technique of painting with liquid molten wax, coloured with pigment.
Matte reflective surfaces optically create a painting with a flat, more compressed picture space and do not appear to recede. Artists attempting to create a picture with optical depth (such as a landscape) should be aware that the glossier and deeper in tone a paint surface is the more it seems to recede.
Artists wanting liquid wax medium
Because Cold Wax Medium is a thick buttery medium, built for impasto it is not so easily brushed out.
The addition of a liquid medium such as Langridge painting mediums will give greater fluidity. Add as much medium as needed till desired fluidity is achieved.
Solvents can be used but care must be taken not to over-dilute the wax medium, thereby destroying the integrity of the finished paint film and leading to flaking. Langridge recommends limiting the addition of solvent to no more than 25%.
Cold Wax Medium as a final varnish
Because Cold Wax Medium contains Stand Oil when it dries it becomes non-reversible with artists’ solvents. For this reason Langridge does not recommend its use as a final picture varnish.
If artists wish to have a painting with a matte reflective finish, Langridge recommends the use of Wax Varnish or similar matte varnish.
Thinning
For best results thin with oil or oil based medium. However, solvents may be substituted. Please refer to note on ‘Artists wanting liquid wax medium’.
Appearance
Langridge Cold Wax Medium is a very pale cream colour paste with no characteristic odour.
The colour of the medium will effect the depth of oil colours with which it is mixed.
Clean Up
Clean brushes with any artists’ solvent.
For further washing apply a small quantity of Marseille or other pure olive oil soap and massage the bristles of the brush to release any remaining colour. Wash thoroughly in warm water. Leave to fully dry before using for oil colours.
Drying Times
48-72 hours to touch dry.
Full film drying 3-6 months