All you need to know about

WAX SEALING

Will's Quills now sells wax in two forms.

1. TRADITIONAL STICKS:

This wax comes in stick form and is melted using a gas torch. It has the special quality of being bendable and therefore we can guarantee it will not crack through the post. Below are a few tips to help you apply your wax seals...

...1. Melt a decent amount of wax (don't skimp). The amount of wax you will need will depend on the size of your seal. Ask our staff for help. I.E for a small 21mm round seal a puddle of wax around the size of a $2.00 coin is sufficient, maybe a little bigger.

...2. Don't press the seal too hard into the melted wax. It won't matter how much wax you initially apply, if you press the seal down hard, more wax will come out from underneath the seal and go to the edges leaving you with a thin coating in the centre.

...3. Lick and stick the flap of the envelope down prior to wax sealing. If the flap sides are left open, other letters may slip underneath, get caught and break the seal.

...4. If your design allows, you may consider sealing on your invitation or card etc. then the envelope will help to protect it. (Consider using it as a decorative rather than functional item on a card)

...5. At the Post Office, ask the staff to hand cancel the stamps for you. This will save your envelopes having to go through the stamp cancellation machine, which can damage your seals, and their machine.

...6. Consider hand delivery.

Even if all of the above points have been taken into consideration when sealing, we can never guarantee how Australia Post will handle your mail. There will always be a small chance that a seal may break, but generally this wax has been sold for many years with very few problems.

HOW TO SEAL:

The most important thing to remember with any type of wax sealing, is that your seal must remain cool. It is the act of something cold hitting the hot wax that seals and sets the design in the wax. Many seals that are available are made from brass. This is a metal which conducts heat and becomes quite hot very quickly. The manufacturers of these products assume consumers will use their seals for personal letter writing and therefore at that time just the one wax seal will be made. If you are sealing a larger quantity for invitations etc, the following paragraphs will be of the most importance to you.

Firstly, in a saucer, place about 10mm of cold water and add a couple of ice cubes. These will continually melt keeping the water cool. Stand your seal in this water while you melt the wax.

With a gas torch, move the flame slowly back and forth across the end 25mm of the wax stick and let the wax drip down to where you want to seal. When you have enough wax melted, wait a few seconds and blow the wax surface to cool it a little. Take your seal out of the water, wipe it with a cloth, then place your seal into the hot wax making sure it is the right way up. Hold your seal in place for at least 5 seconds, then take the seal gently off and place it back into the iced water.

ALTERNATE MELTING METHOD FOR BULK SEALING:

Bulk sealing can be done even easier by this method. Simply use a small saucepan with a pouring spout and a handle, on your gas or electric stove ring. Break 5 or so wax sticks into the pot & heat the wax gently until melted. If your heat is to hot the wax will bubble and spit, so be sure to allow melting, but not boiling of the wax. The pot will be unusable for anything else afterwards, as the left over wax cannot be cleaned out, and will be stuck to the bottom. Re-use it next time, or discard it.

This form of wax melting makes the wax very runny, so be sure to pour the wax slowly, so that you can control how much gets onto your paper/card and in the place you wanted it to go. Blow across the top of the wax a little longer to cool it more when using this method of pouring wax, or just wait a little longer before seal stamping.

The same way of stamping the seal and of cooling the seal is used, as shown above for wax sticks.

2. W A X BUTTONS:

This wax is sold in button form and works out comparable in price to the sticks. It has the special quality of being bendable and therefore we can guarantee it will not crack through the post. The colour range is more limited but all the most popular colours are covered.

HOW TO SEAL: A special tool called a "Heat Tool" (a craft hot air blower) is used instead of a gas torch to melt these buttons. These tools may be considered costly, so Will's Quills offers a hiring service on this item for only $15.00. For this price there is no limit on the quantity you are sealing, but you must book a time with us, to do it here in our studio at the store.

As mentioned previously keep your seal in a dish with iced water, to cool the seal. Place your wax button where you wish your seal to be. Turn the Heat Tool on and hold it approximately 20cm from wax. Heat for a minute or so, until the button has melted. Take your seal out of the water, wipe it with a cloth, then place your seal into the wax making sure it is the right way up. Remove your seal and place it back into the iced water.

ADDITIONAL TIPS :

These instructions are based on our own experience and shared with you to make your wax sealing more enjoyable. – remember the saying “Practice makes perfect”, well it applies here.

If wax is found to have stuck onto the seal itself, it can be removed by using a wood toothpick, NEVER USE a needle or metal object, as it will scratch the brass seal, this will show in future wax seals.