Wax isn’t cheap, and I’m always looking for the most efficient way to get a fast base without burning through a brick every tune. In this video I break down the two most common ways people apply hot wax—drip-on (the classic “melt and drizzle”) and crayon-on (rubbing the wax on the base first)—and I run a simple experiment to see if one method actually uses less wax. I walk through how each application style works in the real world: what it looks like on the base, how it spreads when you iron it in, and what that means for mess, control, and waste. The big takeaway is that your technique matters as much as the method—heat control, keeping the iron moving, and getting an even film before you scrape are what decide whether you’re wasting wax or not. If you’re tuning regularly, small changes here add up, and this is an easy place to save money without sacrificing glide.