Thread: what is the best way to apply a paste crayon to balsa wood?

im looking to make a pasted balsa wood strop for my chrox but the problem is the one i have is a crayon, what would the best way to apply it to the wood be?

the obvious would be just draw it on and mybe smooth it with a finger, but i wasnt sure if it would be even enough or if it would clump up too much. or would i be able to mybe take a small ammount and melt it and then rub it on?

Rub it very gently back and forth until you have uniform coverage or as uniform as you can. And then use a junker blade or other scrap flat steel to smooth it out. Look at the edge before you use it for your razor to make sure it is uniform enough.

very easy to apply too much. just mark a few x's the length of it. not sure where it is but we have talked about this many times before if you search,

If it clumps, apply just a drop or two of mineral oil to cut the wax that comes in the crayon.

Depending on the crayon you have, you might have something that was designed for a power buff wheel, and if you do, the wax is intended to be hard at room temperature and workable with the friction of the wheel. A drop or two of mineral oil makes it easier to spread (the same as it makes things like beeswax spreadable at room temp) and prevents it from being hard enough to clump.

If you find that the drop just soaks into the balsa, you can put the drop of oil on the wax stick and then rub it around a little with your finger before using the stick to apply the compound to the balsa.

Originally Posted by DaveW

If it clumps, apply just a drop or two of mineral oil to cut the wax that comes in the crayon.

Depending on the crayon you have, you might have something that was designed for a power buff wheel, and if you do, the wax is intended to be hard at room temperature and workable with the friction of the wheel. A drop or two of mineral oil makes it easier to spread (the same as it makes things like beeswax spreadable at room temp) and prevents it from being hard enough to clump.

If you find that the drop just soaks into the balsa, you can put the drop of oil on the wax stick and then rub it around a little with your finger before using the stick to apply the compound to the balsa.

its a pretty soft stick, its the one from SRD.