Sculpting Wax Recipes

From left to right: talc, paraffin, carnauba, candelilla, crayons, more paraffin, beeswax

Every wax recipe has it’s own unique qualities, however the subtle differences can be challenging to distinguish if you’re just starting out. The longer you work with wax you may decide to experiment with your recipe.

The following are a few recipes that we’ve tried and think you might like using as well.

Scott Hensey Wax

Scott Hensey, famed sculptor of many Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle villain toys for Playmates, among other great toy lines, has been using his personal recipe for many years.

Percentages by weight:

  • 7% Carnauba

  • 7% Candelilla

  • 2% Beeswax

  • 40% Paraffin

  • 44% Talc

  • Crayons (enough to achieve desired color)

Below is an interview Scott did with Make Magazine, talking about his wax recipe and sculpting process.

“Kenner” Wax

Stephen Geddes shared a recipe with us from his time working for Kenner on the original Star Wars toy line.

Percentages by weight:

  • 8% Carnauba

  • 6% Freeman Wax (alternate Microcrystalline White)

  • 4% Microcrystalline Brown

  • 31% Paraffin

  • 51% Talc

  • Titanium Dioxide – muddle in linseed oil to produce a thick ‘oil paint’ (alternatively, use white crayons to avoid powder clumps)

  • Crayons (enough to achieve desired color)

Wax Lab Guys Wax 1.0

Our first of many home-grown recipes.

Percentages by weight:

  • 7% Carnauba

  • 3.5% Candelilla

  • 5.25% Beeswax

  • 17.25% Paraffin

  • 43.75% Talc

  • 23.25% Crayons – Ratio of 10:1 white to other color – darker crayons are very potent, so start with a little of the dark pigment crayon and add the wax look the way you want. It’s okay if you don’t have exactly 23.25% .

Azbro Wax

Azbro Wax, based on an earlier Hasbro wax receipe, is produced by Chavant for The Compleat Sculptor in NYC.

You can purchase it here at sculpt.com: Buy Azbro Wax