Choosing the Right Wax

Our most common questions over the years has been, "Which sealing wax best fits my project needs?", "How do I use this type of wax?", and "How much wax do I actually need?".   Please find brief suggestions below for specific situations for using wax. For further explanation of how to use each type of wax and our related wax melting tools, please visit our page "How to use Sealing Wax".

1. I would like to give a seal and wax as a gift.
Which wax is best for gifts?

Being given seals ourselves as gifts in the past, we couldn't wait to use them!
Choosing a wax with a wick allows for immediate use, anytime, anywhere.
With a wick, one can melt wax without any extra tools.

2. My seals are going to be mailed.
What wax is best for mailing?

Our top recommendations are our

Cire Souple line

Glue Gun Sealing Wax

Faux Wax

Waterstons

LetterSeals.com Wick

We do not recommend these following waxes for mailing:

J. Herbin Cire Banque

J. Herbin Irredescent

LetterSeals.com French Blend.

Cire Souple produces a shiny finish; Glue Gun Sealing Wax has a matte finish; Faux Wax is
shiny finish. The strongest holding of the three is our Faux Wax, which will hold to smoother
papers better than actual waxes (such as vellum).

3. I have a large event and need to produce many seals, and need them to be mailed.

When faced with the time crunch of creating seals and mailing, we strongly recommend using
a sealing wax product designed for use with a glue gun. Using a glue gun will greatly increase
production time and is very easy to use.

Our two products designed for use with a glue gun are our Glue Gun Sealing Wax and our
Faux Sealing Wax.

Both of these waxes are our top recommendations for mailing.

Faux wax has a slightly higher performance percentage for surviving mailing and holding to

most papers.

If you want to use a wax not molded to fit a glue gun, we have two sizes of melting pots which
allow one to melt down a quantity of wax, and spoon it onto the project.

This is also very fast and easy to use.
One could easily melt down both wick and non wick waxes for this method. (Just fish out the wicks when melted).

Don't forget that we also create mailable self adhesive seals we can create for you with Faux Wax
and a double sided adhesive. Take the time and effort out of seal production and allow us to use our
time and materials to get the job done for you.

4. We are creating a large amount of seals, but do not need to mail them.

Since mailing is not an issue, any of our waxes would apply for this use.
We are addressing how to best create a large amount of seals.

The quickest and cleanest method of seal production is our Glue Gun used with
Glue Gun Sealing Wax or Faux Sealing Wax.

If you want to use a wax which is not molded to fit a glue gun, we have two sizes of melting pots which
allow one to melt down a quantity of wax, and spoon it onto a project.
This is also very fast and easy to use.
One could easily melt down wick and non wick waxes for this method. (Just fish out the wicks when melted).


5. What is the most traditional sealing wax you carry?

We are very pleased to offer several lines of waxes from J. Herbin of France.
These waxes have been produced for hundreds of years and create some of the most beautiful seals we have seen.

6. I need a seal to crack or break upon opening.

For a seal to crack, it needs to not be flexible - as our mailable waxes are.
Our recommended wax for this use is our

J. Herbin Cire Banque

LetterSeals.com French Blend (more flexible than the Cire Banque)

This wax is formulated to be a security wax (referred to as "Bankers Wax"), breaking upon tampering.


8. Please explain how to use the waxes that don't have wicks.

We have two wickless lines of wax products designed for use with a glue gun, with which they can be used.

Our glue gun waxes, and our other wickless waxes, can be melted for use in the following ways:

* Break/cut off pieces, place into our melting spoon, and hold over a flame to melt (our alcohol lamp, candle flame, or heat gun).
* Melt sticks or pieces in one of our two melting pots and spoon onto your project.
* Hold the stick downwards to your project, and apply a flame from a lighter or small torch (a bit tricky, but can be done with great success).
Wax will flow as if you had a wick with the stick. Be careful to not actually light your wax on fire.

9.  How much wax will I need for my project?

Our estimate for wax use is based on a round ¾” coin and the resulting seal being on the conservative side of sizes.  The conservative seal has enough wax to push up into the detailing of the sealing coin, and a thin lip to exude out the side of the impression.  If your preference is for thicker seals, or more excess on the sides, please adjust your use estimates. 

Please keep in mind that you are welcome to return any unused waxes; over ordering for project needs may be a safety net you will need to meet your deadline.

Based on our estimates, here are the amount of seals per purchase and cost per seal you can generalize to your project needs.