It’d be interesting to weigh the pipe before, wipe off all surface wax after waxing, then re-weigh.Well I know the wax is penetrating. When I did my application I put a layer of wax on the warm pipe and then held it to the heat. The pipe soaked up the wax completely and returned to a dull look after 20 seconds of heat. I repeated this about 5 times and it kept soaking it up. It started to take it up at a slightly slower rate and I didn't want to over do it. So I stopped there. My colour hasn't faded at all since doing that. It slightly changes during the course of a smoke but it returns to it's same coloured state it retains when cold.