Cold Wax Medium is made from naturally white, pure beeswax. Formulated to knife consistency, Cold Wax Medium makes oil colours, Gamblin Mediums, and Gamvar thicker and more matte. It can also be applied alone as a matte varnish.
As an oil painting medium, Cold Wax Medium can be used to make oil colours thicker and more matte. Its soft paste consistency can be thinned to brush consistency by dissolving in a small amount of Gamsol.
You may add Cold Wax Medium to Galkyd oil painting mediums or Drying Oil (linseed/Stand) to reduce gloss. Use up to 25% wax to reduce gloss in a painting medium without adversely affecting the strength and flexibility of the medium.
When adding Cold Wax to a fluid medium, thin it first with Gamsol. On a separate palette, add a small amount of Gamsol into some Cold Wax and blend thoroughly with a palette knife until you achieve a very soft paste, nearly slurry consistency. This is your matting agent. Add the desired amount of Cold Wax slurry into a premeasured amount of fluid painting medium. Mix/shake thoroughly until you can hold the jar up to the light and it looks uniformly cloudy.
Straight Cold Wax Medium can be applied to a dry painting as a removable, matte varnish. Once applied, the Cold Wax can be left to dry for a matte finish or gently buffed for a soft lustre. Cold Wax Medium can also be used to reduce the gloss level of Gamvar Picture Varnish.