How to wax in Minecraft

Minecraft has a ton of different things that you can do including fighting hostile mobs, getting rare loot, building houses, and exploring the blocky world. There are also some finer mechanics that you must know to play the game more efficiently. For example, you must know that using a diamond hoe or golden tools is completely pointless.

Wax in Minecraft is a very useful item especially after the release of The Copper Age game drop. This sticky yellow block has a specific use; waxing copper items. With time, exposed copper blocks and some items can develop a layer of oxidation.

While this is mostly an aesthetic change, in some cases it affects the functionality as well. This article will explain how you can wax items in the blocky world.

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Using wax in Minecraft

The most difficult part of waxing in Minecraft is finding a filled bee nest (Image via Mojang Studios)

You can use wax on copper blocks and items to prevent them from oxidizing. This includes copper blocks such as bars, bulbs, grate, lanterns, slabs, etc. Copper armor and tools do not oxidize so you don’t have to worry about them. To wax in Minecraft, you need to first collect honeycomb from bee nests.

Locate a bee nest and make sure that it is full. Filled nests have honey dripping out of them and you can notice it easily. Before interacting with it, you need to make sure that the bees are taken care of. To do that, place a campfire right under the nest.

Once that is done, take a sheer and then use it on the nest. This will give you a honeycomb item. The difficult bit is done. Now all you need to do is equip the honeycomb and then use it on the copper items.

Right when you craft any copper item, use honeycomb on it. You can see yellow particles coming around the block showing that the item has been waxed. Once done, the copper item will not turn blue over time. If you have items that have oxidized, just use an axe on it multiple times to remove the layer and then wax it.

Copper golems in Minecraft will stop moving after they are oxidized (Image via Mojang Studios)

As mentioned before, in most cases, oxidation does not affect the functionality of the copper items. For example, an oxidized copper chain will still work normally. However, the newly-added copper golems will change once they are oxidized. Once these golems turn blue, they will turn into statues and you can change their poses and use them as prop items.

But waxed copper golems will also remain mobile. You can always bring the oxidized copper golem back to life after removing the blue layer with an axe.

In summary:

How to get wax (honeycomb):

• Find a bee nest that’s full; you’ll see honey dripping from it.
• Place a campfire directly beneath the nest so bees don’t get angry.
• Use shears on the nest to collect honeycomb.

How to wax copper:

• Equip the honeycomb and use it on any copper block or item.
• Yellow particles indicate it’s successfully waxed.
• Waxed copper in Minecraft will not turn blue with time.

Fixing oxidized copper:

• Use an axe repeatedly to scrape off oxidation layers.
• After cleaning, apply honeycomb to keep it from oxidizing again.

Functionality notes:

• Oxidation usually doesn’t change how copper items work (e.g., chains still function).
• Copper golems are different; once fully oxidized (blue), they freeze into statues.
• Waxed copper golems stay mobile and don’t freeze.
• You can revive an oxidized copper golem by scraping the blue layer with an axe.

The process of waxing in Minecraft is very simple. The only challenging bit is finding a bee nest. Also, it is important to not forget keeping a campfire under the hive or else the bees will start attacking you.