I’ve tried: q tips, swiffer cloth, nylon stockings. They all leave fibers or are ineffective. Solvents work but make the wax even softer and stickier. Advice would be welcome…thanks!
I have a risky solution: Heat. I have a alcohol lamp with tubing attached that comes out slightly above the flame and you blow in it to smooth the wax. Like I said; risky. But when you get the distance and the pressure right, you get a shiny, slick surface.
I haven’t tried a heat gun; it might be easier to control. I’ve only used this technique on carving wax, so no warranties or guarantees, neither explicit or implied!
I have not tried it, but I have heard you can gently heat it with a lighter. You need to be careful or you will melt it.
It seems that heat makes sticky wax collapse, without getting fire-polished.
Hello John K
I am curious why you need to smooth the sticky wax, how are you using it?
When I use waxolvent on injection wax it usually has to dry for a while before it will stop being sticky. have you tried that?
Hi, maybe I misnamed it; it’s the pink sheet wax that seems very sticky compared to carving wax. I like the shapes that can be easily made with it.
There are a lot of waxes on the market today, specifically designed for particular uses and properties. Each has properties of value, and areas where it does not perform very well if at all.
You may be asking something from a wax that fits into the latter area.
There are other wax formulas that you can mold while warm, but which harden when cold-er.
Some of these can take a “flash” better when heated than "sticky wax’, which I have used merely for layout work.
Sticky wax is designed to hold, but not to carve or to polish.
IMHO. Of course.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge! I like the “foldability” of the pink sheet wax so much I may just have to spend more time finishing after casting.
These days several of my customers are sending me CAD CAM castings to finish, assemble and set.
Talk about having to finish in the metal…these castings arrive having “texture” everywhere!
I WISH they were still using wax carvings, the catings from waxes are/were SO much less work to finish!
Cleanup in areas with an intricate design in CAD CAM castings can be a nightmare, as seen in this Platinum ring casting. Flat areas are not a problem, but cleaning and finishing more delicate areas is very time consuming.
Do you recieve them as this with the “texture” like that?
Printed in wax, resin or plastic?
I would have believed thst the customer had cleaned the model to the finish they want to get back.
But that is just me thinking loud.
Regards Per-Ove
FWIW, the soft, pink sheet wax is usually just called pink wax.
The kind called sticky wax is deep red and very soft and sticky. It’s generally used only for sticking other wax parts together.
I’ve only known one shop that used red sticky wax for modeling: the silver modeling shop at Tiffany. There was one model maker there who used it for highly figured appliques to be applied to trophies and such. I once watched him carving the scales into a red wax dragon to be cast and wound around a loving cup.
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I wish. I have been complaining about the texture.
I have not seen the actual printed patterns, myself, so I am unclear what material they are printing in.
The designer is doing the CAD in Russia for my
client, and the CAM printing is then done in NYC. I have only ever handled the metal results.
I have seen CAD CAM from Stuller with similar texture, though, so I tend to blame it on the CAD CAM printing process in general
One local caster I know has caste several of the this customer’s patterns and she says that they are quite fragile, and not a wax that could be “flashed” gently to smooth the “texture” a bit.
My customer is willing to pay me for my work in the metal, so it is costing them more because it costs me more in time than castings from carved waxes.
I just find it frustrating because it takes time.
This is an example of the detail, and there is more "texture"left in the deeper designs than I am comfortable leaving, but as it was, the assembly, finnishing and setting work required nearly 10 hours, and running a small trade shop I have way too much work due to spend 10+ hours on one job, even if the customer is willing to pay for my time.
hi,
…correct me if i am mistaken…i believe the resolution of the CAD printer affects the degree of stepped” texture that results…as well as the orientation of the model when being printed…
ie: i have been told that flat surfaces like a signet ring are better printed on one machine over another…when oriented to take advantage of that machines benefits and resolution…(i now forget the exact machine names…)
perhaps you could ask them what machine(s) they are using…perhaps a higher resolution printer/ company would give them better costs and surfaces…
just my musings this morning…
julie
As Julie says, I would contact the cam printers and ask what kind of tweaks they could do to improve resolution and surface smoothness.
There are a plethora of settings on most printers.
Per Ove