Waxes

From Principles of Applied Arts

1 Waxes used for decorative painting
2 Types of wax

Waxes used for decorative painting

Waxes used for decorative painting are typically comprised of not only the wax but a solvent that disperses the wax so it is a paste. When the wax paste is applied to a surface the solvent evaporates and all that is left is the wax. There are many solvents used from turpentine to toluene the wax type determines the hardness of the film left and its sheen as well. Beeswax, Carnauba, Paraffin are all types of waxes that are used to create pastes and most of the time they are mixtures of the three.

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Types of wax

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Animal and insect waxes

Beeswax - produced by honeybees
Chinese wax - produced by scale insects Coccus ceriferus
Shellac wax - from the lac insect Coccus lacca
Spermaceti - from the head cavities and blubber of the sperm whale
Lanolin (wool wax) - from the sebaceous glands of sheep

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Vegetable waxes

Bayberry wax - from the surface of the berries of the bayberry shrub
Candelilla wax - from the Mexican shrubs Euphorbia cerifera and E. antisyphilitica
Carnauba wax - from the leaves of the Carnauba palm
Castor wax - catalytically hydrogenated castor oil
Esparto wax - a byproduct of making paper from esparto grass
Japan wax - a vegetable tallow (not a true wax), from the berries of Rhus and Toxicodendron species
Jojoba oi - pressed from the seeds of the jojoba bush, a replacement for spermaceti
Ouricury wax - from the Brazilian Feather palm
Rice bran wax - obtained from rice bran