Sealing wax beads or wax sticks: which suits when
Sealing wax comes as beads and as sticks, and you usually cannot tell the difference on the seal itself. What matters is what you melt it with and how many seals you need: beads go in a melting spoon and suit single seals, colour changes and mixes. Sticks go in a hot glue gun and come into their own for series, such as wedding invitations. How the melting itself works is covered in the article “Melting sealing wax” – this one is about the choice.
What is the difference between sealing wax beads and wax sticks?
Mainly the tool. Beads are melted in a melting spoon over a tealight, sticks in a hot glue gun. Ours are both made of flexible, break-resistant wax – you usually cannot tell the difference on the finished seal.
Beads are small pieces of wax that you count out and melt in the spoon. Sticks are 11 mm thick and 135 mm long and are pushed into the back of a hot glue gun, which releases the wax in liquid form at the tip.
The material of our beads and sticks works on the same principle: flexible wax that does not break when bent. On the finished seal you usually cannot tell whether it was made from beads or from a stick.
Which is better for beginners?
Beads with a melting spoon. You can see when the wax is ready and dose it precisely by the number of beads: three beads make a seal of about 25 mm. If you already have a hot glue gun for 11 mm sticks, you will get on just as well with sticks.
The spoon is more forgiving because you can watch the wax: it shines and flows when it is ready, and you can wait a moment if it gets too hot. The quantity can be counted – three beads for a seal of this size, and after a few attempts you have the amount down.
With a glue gun you first have to get a feel for the quantity: you press evenly and stop after a few seconds. In return there is no waiting for the tealight. If you already have the gun at home, you can do without the spoon.
Which is better for many seals, such as wedding invitations?
Sticks in a glue gun. It keeps the wax warm, and a seal takes seconds. One stick makes 12 to 16 seals – for 80 invitations that is 5 to 7 sticks. With beads it would be 4 packs of 25 g. In both cases add about ten per cent for the first attempts.
For a series, the time per seal is what counts. The spoon holds wax for two or three seals, then you top up and melt again. The gun stays warm and delivers seal after seal as long as you keep feeding the stick.
For the maths: a 25 g pack of beads is enough for around 20 seals of 25 mm, a stick for 12 to 16, depending on the size of the seal – tested ourselves. For 80 invitations that comes to 4 packs of beads or 5 to 7 sticks. In both cases allow about ten per cent extra – the first seals are practice. With this buffer it is 5 packs or 6 to 8 sticks.
What is best for mixing and changing colours?
Beads. In the spoon you can marble two colours and switch from seal to seal. In a glue gun the old colour has to be pushed right through before the new one comes out clean.
If you want a different colour for each envelope or want to swirl gold into a deep red, beads in a spoon are the better choice: beads of two colours melt side by side, and once poured they create a marbled effect. Before the next seal, let the spoon run empty and take the next colour.
There is always a remnant of the previous stick in the gun. When you switch, a blend of both colours comes out for a while until the new one is pure. That does not matter for series in one colour, but it does for constant changes.
Sealing wax for a hot glue gun: does any gun work?
Only one built for 11 mm sticks. Glue guns are made for 7 mm and for 11 mm sticks; our sticks do not fit a 7 mm gun. And only flexible sealing wax belongs in a gun – brittle wax breaks in the feed.
The diameter is stated on the gun or in its instructions. Our sticks are 11 mm and fit the usual standard hot glue guns of this size. Small craft guns are often built for 7 mm – an 11 mm stick jams right at the entrance.
Classic brittle sealing wax sticks for lighting with a flame are unsuitable for a gun: they break when fed forward and can clog the device. So only use wax that is explicitly flexible in a gun.
Can wax sticks also be used in a melting spoon?
Yes. A piece of stick cut off with a craft knife melts in the spoon just like beads. So if you only have sticks, you can do both – series with the gun, one-offs and mixes in the spoon.
The choice is less final than it looks. A piece of stick, cut off with a craft knife and melted in the spoon over a tealight, makes a seal just like beads. Only the counting falls away: you estimate the amount by the length of the piece and go by what is in the spoon.
It does not work the other way round – beads cannot be loaded into a glue gun.
Frequently asked questions
Do seals made from beads or sticks break more easily?
Not with our beads and sticks – both are made of flexible, break-resistant wax. Classic brittle sealing wax sticks of the kind you light with a flame break more easily.
How many seals does a pack of beads make?
Around 20 seals of 25 mm from 25 g, assuming three beads per seal. Larger stamps need correspondingly more.
How many seals does one wax stick make?
12 to 16, depending on the size of the seal – tested ourselves. With a large stamp it is fewer.
Can I use beads in a hot glue gun?
No. The gun needs a continuous stick that it can feed forward. Beads belong in the melting spoon.
Which type survives the post better?
That depends on the wax, not the shape. Flexible wax survives the sorting machines much better than brittle wax – and that applies equally to our beads and sticks. More on this in the article “Melting sealing wax”.
