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How to Wax Dip Bottles

I’ve had a number of requests asking how I wax dipped my 120 Minute Clone bottles, but I haven’t made a batch worth aging for some time. Thankfully, my recent American Stout turned out fantastic, so I decided to set aside a six pack for a little while. I figured this was a good opportunity to do a step by step walk through on how I wax dipped the bottles.

 

What most everyone is after is that Maker’s Mark ‘look’. Sadly, we can’t achieve that through paraffin, candle, or crayon wax alone. If you choose to go with a 100% wax mixture, you’ll end up with something similar to New Glarus’ wax dipped bottles — which are very nice, but aren’t quite what we’re after. The trick to the Marker’s Mark look is some plastic, which is easy to add with hot glue sticks.
DSC_6856.jpgI like to use crayons for the wax component, as they are dirt cheap, and come in tons of colors. Feel free to blend them, as it works just fine. The important thing to remember is the wax to hot-glue ratio.

 

3 Mini Hot Glue Sticks : 1 Crayon

 

Make sure to use the mini glue sticks, as they are easier to work with and melt faster. If you can only find the full-size glue sticks, note that they contain a pinch over twice as much hot glue per stick.
DSC_6859.jpgThe next step is to strip the labels from the crayons. The easiest way to do this is to this is to cut the label straight down the center.
DSC_6861.jpgNext you need a find a container to melt them in, preferably one you don’t care about. Empty soup or soda cans work great. I was making a smaller batch, hence the half-can. The mixture melts faster and more evenly if you break the crayons and chop up the glue sticks. Although, it works either way.

 

Now we come to the interesting part: Heat. Gas ranges work well, but you’ll need to be careful not to burn yourself. Electric ranges really don’t work at all, as a double boiler won’t get hot enough (212F.) I’ve found the best method for me is the oven (or toaster oven). Just set it on 350*, place the can inside, and stir it every 10 minutes or so. After about a half hour (and some judicious stirring,) you’ll have a nice even mixture.
DSC_6865.jpgFinally we come to the fun part, the dipping! This takes some practice to get down, but after a few bottles, you’ll get the hang of it. Dip the bottle fully into the can, and quickly pull it out. I immediately give it a quick twist, flip it upright, and set it down for the wax to drip down and dry. Although the wax takes a few minutes to dry, it’ll ‘set up’ within seconds, so if you want wax to run down the side of the bottle, you need to work fast. The wax will cool off some, so every 6-10 bottles, you’ll need to pop it back into the oven for a few minutes. If all goes well, you should have some beautifully coated bottles.

 

Three things to wrap up. First, this is purely cosmetic. Don’t expect the wax to provide an oxygen barrier or anything like that. This is all about presentation, and it’s a great way to finish that ‘special’ batch. Secondly, these are a bitch to remove. You typically need to use a knife to get a cut started, which you can then rip off. And lord help you if you try to remove them when the wax is ice cold. Finally, please be careful doing this. We’re heating wax and hot glue to 350*. Yes it will burn if you drip on your skin. Wear gloves or something.

13 thoughts on “How to Wax Dip Bottles”
  1. Joseph Smith 12.14.2012 on 5:27 AM Reply

    Thanks for the write up. Neat trick on the toaster oven. Going to bottle my barleywine in a couple weeks and I think this will look awesome!

  2. Scott 12.14.2012 on 5:39 AM Reply

    I hope it helps! Good luck, and let me know how they turn out.

  3. Brett 12.14.2012 on 3:20 PM Reply

    Thanks for posting this! I had already purchased a pound of the wax beads from the LHBS…wish I had seen this first! I do have a few questions:

    1) At this temp, are we worried about the bottle potentially breaking due to heat shock?
    2) Is it necessary or recommended to dip the bottle in some water after waxing to "set-it?"

  4. Scott 12.14.2012 on 3:27 PM Reply

    1: It crossed my mind, but so far with 50+ bottles it hasn't been an issue. The glue/wax mixture doesn't stay hot for long, so I don't think it significantly heats up the glass too much.

    2: Nope, it sets very fast. As it is, if you want any to drip down the sides, you need to work fast.

  5. conpewter 12.15.2012 on 2:11 AM Reply

    Ah looks like you found my thread on homebrewtalk, bottles look good 🙂

  6. Andrew Willing 01.17.2013 on 7:34 PM Reply

    So, why is this not an effective barrier against air/O2? It certainly seems like it would be…

  7. Scott 01.17.2013 on 8:16 PM Reply

    It doesn't 'seal' as well as you would think. I mean, I'm sure it does more than a bottle cap alone, but I wouldn't let that be the driving force behind dipping your bottles. Do it because it looks cool =)

  8. Olan 01.11.2014 on 4:44 PM Reply

    Came across this on reddit. Excellent tutorial, and man, it makes those bottles look great. Thanks for the how-to!

  9. Kerstin Smith 12.09.2014 on 4:40 PM Reply

    This comment has been removed by the author.

  10. Nicholas 02.28.2015 on 4:01 PM Reply

    therefore wherever on the body the waxing has taken place get your self a decent quality combine of tweezers and take away those last stubborn very little hairs. the higher quality the tweezers the simpler the hair are removed, for more information click here male waxing.

  11. Phil 02.27.2017 on 4:55 PM Reply

    Do you have an estimate for how many bottles you can wax with three sticks of glue and one crayon?

  12. Dusan Kovacevic 12.02.2019 on 6:39 AM Reply

    Does anyone know the weight of mini glue stick and crayon so it’s easier to nail down the ratio with other products?

  13. Tonya 01.26.2022 on 9:02 PM Reply

    We have dipped our bottles containing altered liquor stored in glass bottles with twist type plastic caps like syrup bottles. We were using crayon wax and candle wax but I have noticed it gets fragile and bits break off this seems like a way better method but I have a few questions.
    1. Do you think it would be to hot for.tje plastic cap?
    2. Is there a way to add a thread or something to “cut-into it to unscrew it as it will be reused?

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