Beeswax

Beeswax

Beeswax, Cera Alba, is produced mainly by the honey bee, Apis Mellifica, and is used by the bees to build the hexagonal wax boards of the hive. The wax is melted out of the tablets when the honey production is over and cleaned of impurities and bleached if necessary.

Beeswax has been used in a multitude of areas in many cultures throughout history. It has been widely known and widespread since antiquity; for lighting and fuel, in cosmetics and medicine, for surface treatments and in wax painting, also called encaustic.

Beeswax has amazing properties. It is water-repellent and protects against the ultraviolet rays of light. It is relatively unaffected by humidity, but at the same time open to diffusion.

Beeswax softens and becomes malleable with heat. It can be added to oil to increase flexibility and resin to increase hardness.

Beeswax can be melted in linseed oil to obtain an oil wax for treating wood. The wax's melting point is around 63 degrees.

Zinc, copper and iron discolour the beeswax, so use aluminum or something else for melting. when working with beeswax.

ATTENTION! HEATING OILS AND WAX CAN BE ASSOCIATED WITH A FIRE HAZARD AND THE WORK IS PERFORMED AT YOUR OWN RISK!