Transferring design

Quoted text begins.RE: ". . . white soapstone that I Would like to gold leaf and then coat
with warm wax . . ."
End of quote.

Mike;

I am assuming you are going to use oil size to leaf the stone.
If so, you will probably need to apply two coats of size -- the first one
might dry more quickly that you'd normally expect (such as on a
non-porous surface like glass). This first coat of oil size will soak
into the raw soapstone relatively quickly, leaving you almost no window
to apply the leafing as it dries.
Give that first coat 24 hours to dry completely and thus seal the stone
(making the surface more-or-less non-porous). Then apply a second,
'working' coat of size.
This second coat should behave more or less normally (as far as the
initial time to dry to the tacky state, and then the window of time it
remains tacky and usable). The times will vary depending on the
manufacturer of the size, and also the type (slow set or fast set) of
size you buy.
I personally like to use Windsor-Newton 'fast' size, and in a situation
such as I just described (at comfortable room temperature) it will
achieve the tacky state within about thirty minutes, and the window for
applying the leaf will be anywhere from thirty minutes to two hours
(again, the actual time depends on the degree of sealing the first coat
of size achieved, the temperature and humidity of the air, etc.).

Once you leaf the stone the surface leafed is non-porous, so the beeswax
can't soak in those areas whether you heat it or not.
If you are only leafing partial areas and are applying wax to the
unleafed portions, I'd give the leafing at least 24 hours to completely
set before heating, and then apply the wax to those unleafed portions
only. Be careful when you buff the wax that you don't rub the leafed
areas too, or you are liable to lose some of the leafing.

Good Carving to You,
Don
http://www.dondougan.homestead.com/indexdd.html