[Jewelry making - Article 00119] - Re: [Orchid] Final Wax Smoothing?

[Kate Wolf]

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Hi Gang,

    I use felt sticks and small hard felt polishing wheels to smooth
    waxes. These can be cut down to shape, so you can reach into
    difficult areas. 

    I usually use these dry, as solvents tend to clog them up. I also
    like those tiny rubber abrasive rods that are used on metal- the
    coarser abrasives work well, and can be shaped to a point- i use them
    in the flex shaft at a very low speed. 

    If i use a solvent, it's one of the orange oil based ones, like Wax
    Brite or Wax Kleen. These are solvents, and should be handled with
    care, but are not as toxic as some of the other solvents that have
    been mentioned here. After using solvents, I rinse the wax off, to
    avoid further melting of the wax. (Also, i do all finishing before
    using softer waxes (such as Touch Up or Relief Wax) on the carving
    wax- as these softer waxes would be eroded much quicker than the
    hard carving wax.) 

    Often, after i smooth the wax, i will go over the surface with a
    black brush marker (wipe the marker on a bar of soap, so it does not
    bead up on the surface of the wax). I wipe off the excess ink. This
    allows me to see details on the surface of my silver and gold
    carving waxes. Wherever my eye is pulled, there is something that
    needs to be finessed. I keep inking, touching up with my carving
    tools, and going over it with felt, re-inking... until i look at the
    piece and am not distracted by any details. 

    There are some free wax tutorials on my websites
    http://www.wolftools.biz and http://www.wolfwax.com I'm in the
    process of shooting some free video tutorials (this is helping me get
    geared up to shoot a series of full length videos.) I hope this
    helps. 

    Have a great day! 

Kate Wolf in Portland Maine, hosting wicked good workshops by the bay 
http://www.katewolfdesigns.com

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