The wax that I was removing was up to 1/4" inch thick and a heat gun, wooden scraper, a rack from a roasting pan to get the shell off the surface and rags made the job manageable. The kicker was that a black colorant had been added to the wax and this wax/colorant combination made the job a little messier, so that even after the wax mixture had been removed, you still get a nice black tint to you hands. That said, I was still very satisfied with the results and I appreciate everyone's input.