A product of excretion from the wax glands of bees, which hardens rapidly when it cools and serves as a building material for the honeycombs, has also been used by man for many purposes since time immemorial. In painting, not only is the peculiar encaustic technique significantly based on it, but there are numerous cases where wax in paste form, whether only as an additive, or as an independent coating, is extremely appreciated. In practice, bleached waxes are mainly used. In the past, only natural sun bleaching was used, in which the starting material, which was already as light as possible, was poured out in a thin layer and exposed to the sun for a longer period of time. Today, wax factories have mainly switched to chemical bleaching processes by boiling with sulfite-containing water, to which chlorinated lime solution is added until the wax is decolorized. Store in closed containers and at temperatures not exceeding 25°C.
