[Jewelry making - Article 01275] - Re: [Orchid] Final Wax Smoothing?

[Jay Whaley]

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Justine,

    Can we assume you are working with a machinable (hard) wax? If so,
    there are a number of ways to smooth the wax. Depending on what kind
    of surface you have, and what kind of detail will help determine what
    method works best for you. 

    You can use abrasion, heat or flame, solvents, or a filler.
    Experiment with everything. 

    A scraper, made of a knife-edge graver, or other similar sharp
    shapes, works great to smooth down broad surfaces, like pealing
    potatos, or a flat-bottomed graver works well in a pulled motion,
    like drawing, on smaller areas to smooth rough surfaces. 

    You can try a flame or a heated air tool to "melt" the surface of
    the wax slightly, but be careful with this, as you can melt detail
    quickly. Sanding sticks of assorted grits will work well with hard
    waxes, and the application of a wax solvent with the finer grits will
    do a terrific job of smoothing surfaces. Solvents can also be applied
    with the traditional piece of nylon stocking, as well. 

    Patch-Eze, or Disclosing wax, made for the dental industry, is a
    great filler for smoothing out small abrasions or pits in wax before
    casting. I usually use a clean finger to apply and smooth it before
    investing my models. 

Jay Whaley UCSD Craft Center

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