Introduction Dammar, also known as dammar gum or dammar tree sap, is a natural substance obtained from trees in the Dipterocarpaceae family, primarily those belonging to the genera Shorea or Hopea (also known as Balanocarpus). The process of acquiring dammar involves tapping these trees to extract the gum. However, in some instances, the gum is found in a fossilized form on the ground. The color of the gum ranges from clear to pale yellow, while the fossilized variant exhibits a gray-brown hue. Utilization of damar tree sap: In encaustic painting, dammar tree sap serves as a common ingredient to solidify beeswax and elevate its melting point. This incorporation of dammar allows the wax to achieve a higher level of translucency and a more polished surface, helping prevent wax from blooming. When creating your own encaustic medium, dammar tree sap needs to be melted along with the beeswax and strained. It maintains the translucency of the paint and prevents blooming or whitening. Additionally, it can be polished to attain a glossy finish. The proportion of dammar tree sap mixed with beeswax depends on personal preference, typically ranging from four to eight parts of beeswax to one part of dammar tree sap, influencing the desired hardness of the final product. Dammar varnish can be produced by dissolving the sap in turpentine. Note: The Tree Sap you receive may slightly vary in size, shape, and color from the photo due to the inherent natural diversity of the material.