Softening German wax

Good Morning Orchid,

I have recently shifted over to using my brown “German Pitch” in my
chase & repose work, and would also like to start to use it to hold
small items I’m engraving. It leaves much less of a mess to clean off
of my silver than the black pitch does. But the way it is now, as it
cools and hardens it seems to take on a very brittle state and does
not seem to “move” very well. As I am working on it the stuff cracks
apart and my piece will pop up out of the wax/pitch.

I was hoping someone here on Orchid might have some recipes to
soften it up a bit to make it slightly more malleable.

I seem to remember a string from a few years ago where people shared
some of their pitch/wax recipes, but I cannot find it when I search.
Does anyone have any great recipes for altering the consistency of
German pitch they would like to share?

Thanks,
Teresa

Does anyone have any great recipes for altering the consistency of
German pitch they would like to share? 

There are some linmks to pitch informatin heRe:

To make pitch more sticky add venetian turpentine (a drop or two) to
the top surface and mix it in.

To make it more pliable mix in a little sodium stearate (fat for
soap making) to the molten material, to make it harder add a little
fine powder to the molten material (plaster of paris, fine silica).

best
charles

Hi Teresa,

Have you tried working on the pitch at warmer temperatures? You
might find that experimenting with different temps may give you the
movement you want.

Dennis F

Hi Teresa,

Have you tried working on the pitch at warmer temperatures? You
might find that experimenting with different temps may give you the
movement you want.

Dennis F