How to use gilding wax

If you’ve been looking to bring your papercraft and multi media craft designs to life, then look no further! All you need is a pot of gilding wax and a little bit of know-how. Go and grab yourself a pot, and let’s get chatting about how you put it to good use!

What is gilding wax?

If you’re a fan of our Crafter’s TV programming, gilding wax gets used quite a lot in the demos, but if it’s totally new to you, we’ll explain exactly what it is. This glitzy tub of goop is a mixture of very fine metal particles, wax and acrylic resin, which gives it a stunning sheen and a brilliant reflect when held in the light. It truly is a sight to behold!

What can you use gilding wax on?

While we’re huge fan of using gilding wax on embossed areas of our papercraft projects, gilding wax is actually a very versatile thing to have in your stash! It can also be used on metal, wood, plaster, glass and thick cardboard, so it’s perfect for multi media projects too. This means that you can embellish cards, furniture, home decor and so much more with just one little pot of glitzy material.

In papercrafting, gilding wax works particularly well with embossed designs or elements that are slightly raised, as it creates a bit of gorgeous depth and dimension.

How do you use gilding wax?

For papercrafts, there are a few different ways to use gilding wax, but this is our favourite:

1. Lay down your glass craft mat and place your embossed project on top
2. Choose your favourite shade of gilding wax and open it up
3. Gently dab your finger into the gilding wax. The way to go with it is ‘less is more’, so don’t scoop out a whole lot – just dab your finger
4. Using the glass mat, remove the excess by dabbing your finger against the surface
5. Once you have a thin layer of colour on your finger, swipe it across the surface of your embossing and slightly buff, holding your project steady with the other hand
6. Allow the gilding wax to dry before adding any extra embellishments on top. If you’ve applied a thin enough coat, this should only take a minute or so

For more precision, you can use a brush, or for waxing a larger surface, try out a blending tool. Always remember, though, less is more, so make sure that you’re applying a thin layer. You can always build up the layers for more opacity!

If you need a bit more of a hint, take a look at this video by Sara Davies to see gilding wax in action!

We hope that this quick little post has given you the boost of confidence that you needed to get your gilding wax out and add a bit of glitz to every project. We’d love to see how you put yours to good use, so tag us in your photos on Facebook UK, Facebook USA,  Twitter, Instagram UK, Instagram US, Pinterest UK or Pinterest US using the hashtag #crafterscompanion.