Scott Druce <p><img src='http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0031/5612/files/wax_guides_picture.jpg?1245718717' alt='' /><br /> <p></p> <h3>1. Melting the sealing wax</h3> <p>At Inscriber we provide several types of <a href="http://www.inscriber.com.au/collections/letter-sealing-wax">wax</a> that can be easily melted using a torch lighter or match directly onto the wax or wick. Or for an easier option you can use our <a href="http://www.inscriber.com.au/products/j-herbin-wax-gun-sticks">glue gun wax sticks</a> and <a href="http://www.inscriber.com.au/products/j-herbin-wax-gun">special wax glue gun</a>.<br /> <p></p> <p>If melting the sealing wax directly from the wax stick or block, using either a torch lighter match hold the stick in one hand (your preferred hand), and the torch lighter or match in your other hand. <br /> <p></p> <p>If using a torch lighter, aim the flame at the end of the stick, right over the area of your paper where you want the wax to drip. If using a match, hold the match under the end of the stick, and as the stick gets hot, the wax will drip down, through the flame, onto the paper.<br /> <p></p> <h3>2. Stirring and shaping the molten wax puddle</h3> <p>Once you have melted a tiny puddle of sealing wax, approximately a 5 to 10 cent coin size, you then begin to round the puddle of wax into the shape of your round seal. You can use the stick of wax as your stirring tool. Stirring allows you to feel when the wax begins to stiffen a bit and after a few tries you will develop a sense of when the wax is at the perfect temperature to take the most detailed impression.</p> <h3>3. Creating a moisture barrier</h3> <p>There are two things we need to be concerned with at this point:</p> <ul> <li>what sort of wax is to be used: flexible sealing wax or traditional formula wax; and
</li> <li>what material is the seal made of.<br /> <p></li> </ul> <p>If using <a href="http://www.inscriber.com.au/products/j-herbin-regular-sealing-wax">J. Herbin&#8217;s traditional formula sealing wax</a>, a moisture barrier <span class="caps">MUST</span> be created on the face of the seal before impressing it into the wax, no matter what material the seal is made of.<br /> <p></p> <p>If you are using <a href="http://www.inscriber.com.au/products/j-herbin-wax-gun-sticks">flexible sealing wax</a>, and your seal is made of metal (gold, silver, bronze, brass, copper, or steel), than a vapour barrier is <span class="caps">NOT</span> necessary (this includes wax gun sticks).<br /> <p></p> <p>There are several easy methods of creating a moisture barrier on the face of a seal:</p> <ul> <li>The simplest is simply to breathe on the seal just as you might breathe on your glasses if you were going to clean them. This is highly effective.</li> <li>For glue gun users the ice cube method is popular. Place the seal face-down on an ice cube in between impressions. This causes condensation, especially if the seal is warm from the previous impression. <br /> <p></li> </ul> <h3>4. Impressing the seal, when and how</h3> <p>How can you tell if you’ve impressed too soon? The wax seal will be shiny. The sharpest impression will have occurred when the wax seal appears to have a matte surface as opposed to a shiny surface. Practice and experience will soon lead to instinct as to just how long to allow the melted wax to cool before impressing the seal into the wax. Once you’ve firmly placed the seal into the puddle of wax, hold it still for about 5 seconds, and then slowly peel the seal away from the wax.<br /> <p><br /> Remember to be careful. The wax is hot and you have open flames and paper around. Be sure not to leave children unattended and keep an eye out for burning your fingers with the hot wax.</p> <h3>5. Adding ink dust</h3> <p>After your seal has dried you can add the finishing touch of either gold or silver ink dust using a <a href="http://www.inscriber.com.au/products/j-herbin-ink-pad-stick">J Herbin ink stick</a>, or <a href="http://www.inscriber.com.au/products/j-herbin-ink-pad">pad</a>.<br /> <p></p> <h3>Further Reading</h3> <ul> <li>Download our wax seal guide <a href="http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0031/5612/files/How_to_Guide-_Wax_Seals.pdf?1246858459" target="_blank">.<span class="caps">PDF</span> download</a></li> </ul> <ul> <li>Download our guide to creating wax seals using wax cakes and wax blocks <a href="http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0031/5612/files/How_to_Guide-_Wax_Seal_Cakes.pdf?1246858459" target="_blank">.<span class="caps">PDF</span> download</a></li> </ul> <ul> <li>Download our guide to using the wax glue gun and glue gun sticks <a href="http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0031/5612/files/How_to_Guide-_Wax_Gun.pdf?1246858392" target="_blank">.<span class="caps">PDF</span> download</a><br /> <p></li> </ul> <h3>Shopping:</h3> <ul> <li>Browse our <a href="http://www.inscriber.com.au/collections/wax-seals">wax seal</a> collection.<br /> <p></li> </ul> 2009-05-22T17:38:09+10:00 sealing-wax-tips-and-tricks 3324552 2009-05-22T17:38:09+10:00 315612 2009-07-06T15:37:24+10:00 <img src='http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0031/5612/files/wax_guides_picture.jpg?1245718717' alt='' /> <p> <h3>1. Melting the sealing wax</h3> At Inscriber we provide several types of "wax":http://www.inscriber.com.au/collections/letter-sealing-wax that can be easily melted using a torch lighter or match directly onto the wax or wick. Or for an easier option you can use our "glue gun wax sticks":http://www.inscriber.com.au/products/j-herbin-wax-gun-sticks and "special wax glue gun":http://www.inscriber.com.au/products/j-herbin-wax-gun. <p> If melting the sealing wax directly from the wax stick or block, using either a torch lighter match hold the stick in one hand (your preferred hand), and the torch lighter or match in your other hand. <p> If using a torch lighter, aim the flame at the end of the stick, right over the area of your paper where you want the wax to drip. If using a match, hold the match under the end of the stick, and as the stick gets hot, the wax will drip down, through the flame, onto the paper. <p> <h3>2. Stirring and shaping the molten wax puddle</h3> Once you have melted a tiny puddle of sealing wax, approximately a 5 to 10 cent coin size, you then begin to round the puddle of wax into the shape of your round seal. You can use the stick of wax as your stirring tool. Stirring allows you to feel when the wax begins to stiffen a bit and after a few tries you will develop a sense of when the wax is at the perfect temperature to take the most detailed impression. <h3>3. Creating a moisture barrier</h3> There are two things we need to be concerned with at this point: * what sort of wax is to be used: flexible sealing wax or traditional formula wax; and
 * what material is the seal made of. <p> If using "J. Herbin's traditional formula sealing wax":http://www.inscriber.com.au/products/j-herbin-regular-sealing-wax, a moisture barrier MUST be created on the face of the seal before impressing it into the wax, no matter what material the seal is made of. <p> If you are using "flexible sealing wax":http://www.inscriber.com.au/products/j-herbin-wax-gun-sticks, and your seal is made of metal (gold, silver, bronze, brass, copper, or steel), than a vapour barrier is NOT necessary (this includes wax gun sticks). <p> There are several easy methods of creating a moisture barrier on the face of a seal: * The simplest is simply to breathe on the seal just as you might breathe on your glasses if you were going to clean them. This is highly effective. * For glue gun users the ice cube method is popular. Place the seal face-down on an ice cube in between impressions. This causes condensation, especially if the seal is warm from the previous impression. <p> <h3>4. Impressing the seal, when and how</h3> How can you tell if you’ve impressed too soon? The wax seal will be shiny. The sharpest impression will have occurred when the wax seal appears to have a matte surface as opposed to a shiny surface. Practice and experience will soon lead to instinct as to just how long to allow the melted wax to cool before impressing the seal into the wax. Once you’ve firmly placed the seal into the puddle of wax, hold it still for about 5 seconds, and then slowly peel the seal away from the wax. <p> Remember to be careful. The wax is hot and you have open flames and paper around. Be sure not to leave children unattended and keep an eye out for burning your fingers with the hot wax. <h3>5. Adding ink dust</h3> After your seal has dried you can add the finishing touch of either gold or silver ink dust using a "J Herbin ink stick":http://www.inscriber.com.au/products/j-herbin-ink-pad-stick, or "pad":http://www.inscriber.com.au/products/j-herbin-ink-pad. <p> <h3>Further Reading</h3> * Download our wax seal guide <a href="http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0031/5612/files/How_to_Guide-_Wax_Seals.pdf?1246858459" target="_blank">.PDF download</a> * Download our guide to creating wax seals using wax cakes and wax blocks <a href="http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0031/5612/files/How_to_Guide-_Wax_Seal_Cakes.pdf?1246858459" target="_blank">.PDF download</a> * Download our guide to using the wax glue gun and glue gun sticks <a href="http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0031/5612/files/How_to_Guide-_Wax_Gun.pdf?1246858392" target="_blank">.PDF download</a> <p> <h3>Shopping:</h3> * Browse our "wax seal":http://www.inscriber.com.au/collections/wax-seals collection. <p>