How to Make Encaustic Medium

Step 9 Using Encaustic Medium

Okay, so now you've got this, what do you DO with it?

Basically, you:

heat your medium on the skillet
paint on a rigid and porous surface (wood is good)
use natural bristle brushes to paint with it
use various metal and wood implements to drip, scrape and manipulate it
use a heat gun to remelt it on your surface
use an iron to push it around
use different colors to make images
embed paper and objects into it for collage

Outside of painting, it's a great material for model and mold related work. I've used it for casting into an existing mold, then reshaping the cast piece and making a fresh mold from it. Silicones, rubbers and resins rarely stick to it. And by rarely, I mean I've never gotten it to stick to those things, but I haven't tried every single available product. It's harder than normal wax so it doesn't melt or soften in warm weather nearly as quickly. It also stands up to mold making and casting materials that heat up from chemical reactions longer than most other waxes. It's great for some prototyping because as soon as you're done you can re-melt it for something else. It's also pretty easy to carve.