When I use the heat lamp it is 250 Watts and 120 volts and has a metal reflector around it.  At the beginning, just to get the surface started warming I use it about 4 inches away, not holding in one place, and back it off fairly quickly to 8 inches or so. It always seems a little unpredictable where the hottest spot is, as it seems to throw the most heat off the side of the lamp, maybe due to the reflector.  How far away depends on how melted you want the wax.  It can be as flowing and liquid as to much heat from a heat gun will make it if you aren't careful.  Years ago I used a red heat lamp meant for keeping chicks warm but the one I use now is clear glass. I also use wrap around sunglasses while using it so I can see properly when I'm done.  I read somewhere, here or a link from here, of a person who had a bank of them mounted together and had them 4 inches from the horizontal encaustic surface and just moved it along on some sort of track mechanism. They worked large and with a very smooth surface.

I have seen people using a heat lamp on a tripod to keep an upright surface warm to paint on, but I don't know if that fuzes the paint enough

Last edited by Lin (2012-03-09 15:45:39)