What is Blooming, and how can it be prevented?
Blooming is a whitish haze or spots that appears on the surface of a wax painting. This can occur when the wax has been exposed to extreme cold, causing unsaturated hydrocarbons in the beeswax to migrate to the surface and crystallize. The addition of resins, or waxes that contain saturated hydrocarbons help prevent this. These include damar resin or microcrystalline wax. The saturated hydrocarbons solubalize the unsaturated hydrocarbons of the beeswax and prevent the blooming that occurs from cold.
