There are three main grades of paraffin wax: fully refined, semi-refined, and scale.  These differ mainly by the degree to which entrapped oil has been removed during refining and by color.

Fully refined paraffins are hard, brittle, white, odorless materials with less than 0.5% oil, melting points from 115°F to 155°F and have good gloss properties.

Semi-refined paraffin waxes contain more oil - 0.5% to 1%.  This additional oil detracts from gloss and the waxes are softer, light-colored and have a slight odor and taste.

Scale waxes are softer materials with 1 to 3% oil content.  Color varies from white to yellow.

Properties of any petroleum wax depend upon their various hydrocarbon molecules and degree of refining.