Are you exploring cold wax for oil painting and curious about which cold wax medium to try? Do you live in Europe and you can’t find the Gamblin cold wax medium for oils? There are other cold wax mediums that work too!

In my latest YouTube video, I compare four different cold wax mediums: Zest-it, Kremer, Gamblin, and my own ‘homemade’ wax. (find the recipe here). Each of these products has unique qualities that can change how your artwork looks and feels, and in this post, I’ll give you a quick overview of what I found. I don’t want to recommend one over the other; I just want to show you the differences!

Cold wax medium is fantastic for adding texture, depth, and a beautiful matte finish to oil paintings and as most of you know I am quite addicted to it! So I loved comparing and testing these 4 mediums!

Zest-it: Zest-it has a lovely citrus scent and a slightly stiffer texture than the well-known Gamblin, which helps create more pronounced textures that really stand out. Its color is a bit more yellow than Gamblin (though less yellow than my own blend), but it doesn’t alter the color when mixed with oils. The drying time was similar across all the cold wax mediums.

Zest-it is made with genuine beeswax, linseed oil, and damar resin, which differs from my homemade wax that includes beeswax, damar, and an odorless mineral spirit (like Gamsol). You can also thin down Zest-it with their own solvent, Zest-it Solvent, though I haven’t tested it yet.

One huge plus: Zest-it stayed firm even in a warm studio, which I find to be a big advantage as my studio in the south of France can become very hot! https://www.zest-it.com

Kremer: This cold wax medium is the stiffest of the four, which takes a bit of getting used to but can work well for creating strong textures. Kremer’s website doesn’t provide much detail, but it’s said to be made with solvent, beeswax, and damar—similar to my homemade wax. The medium comes in a beautiful, though somewhat heavy, glass jar, which may add to shipping costs. It’s a bit whiter than my blend and Zest-it, yet it doesn’t alter your colors when mixed with oils. Kremer's cold wax can be thinned with either a solvent or solvent-free gel. https://www.kremer-pigmente.com/en/shop/mediums-binders-glues/79226-cold-wax-medium.html

Gamblin: Gamblin’s cold wax is probably the most well-known in the market. It has a smooth, thin consistency, which makes it excellent for glazing techniques but, for me, can be a bit too fluid for building texture. To add more body, I used to mix in a little marble dust, which helped create thicker textures. One thing to note: in a very warm studio, it can become even thinner! It can be thinned down with Gamsol, solvent fee gel or alkyd lite.

My home-made wax: My homemade wax is made from beeswax, damar, and solvent. I started making my own cold wax when it became difficult to find in Europe. It’s a bit easier to find now, but I still love using my own blend—I’m so used to it! The consistency is somewhere between Zest-it and Kremer. Check out the recipe here.

I hope that you liked this video, don’t forget to subscribe, there is more to come!

If you want to continue your cold wax journey, check out my cold wax (oils and acrylics) classes here: