Waxing up

Waxing up is the process whereby the cut and sometimes partially painted glass pieces are assembled on and stuck to a glass sheet - called a glass easel - before raising it to a window to get the light that it will receive when installed. This allows you to see what the current state of the window is and how it would look when installed. It shows up weak areas, or pieces which are not really compatible. Although it is used mainly by those who do a lot of painting on their glass, it is equally valuable to assess the composition of a leaded or copper foiled piece. It does ensure that you do not get surprises when you have finished a piece and the light shows through.

The wax used is sticky and stiff enough to hold the glass, but not so sticky as to be difficult to get the pieces off the glass or the wax off the pieces of glass being prepared.

Also some users of the glass easel method paint representations of the lead lines on the back side of the supporting glass to ensure the values of the lines are appropriate for the amount of detail for the various areas of the panel.

Recipe
250gm block of beeswax
2 teaspoons of Venice Turpentine

Method
Bring the two elements just to a simmer, stir it well and cool.

This produces a tacky material that when warmed in the hand sticks to the glass and the easel. When it cools it sticks firmly.

Use a palette knife to loosen the wax from the easel.