The principal waxes of interest to the painter are bees' wax, carnauba, ceresin and par-affine.

Bees Wax is the best known. The crude wax is frequently bleached for use where whiteness is an object, by spreading it in thin layers and subjecting it to the action of sunlight. The melting point varies with the hardness of the wax. The average being about 140 degrees Fahrenheit.

Carnauba Wax occurs in thin films on the leaves of a palm growing abundantly in Brazil. It is hard, somewhat brittle, and melts at 183 degrees Fahrenheit.

Ceresin is a form of paraffine wax resulting from the purification of ozokerite or mineral wax found in nature.

Paraffine wax is obtained from tar in the destructive distillation of wood, coal and other bituminous formations and from crude petroleum. Very few chemicals have any action on it, as it contains several of the least alterable organic compounds. It is, therefore, superior to bees-wax or any vegetable wax for this reason. Its melting point varies from 86 degrees Fahrenheit to 176 degrees Fahrenheit, or thereabouts. The higher the melting point, the harder and denser is the wax. Waxes are soluble in turpentine, benzine and oils.

Smalt

Smalt: was originally glass and other vitreous mixtures containing oxide of cobalt. As found in the market at the present time, it is composed of coarse silica, or some silicious substance, which has been stained with pigments of various colors, mixed in a suitable medium, or by the use of ana-line.