In both the waxes and the slurries employed in investment casting, the control mechanisms involved in the contention between kinetically and thermodynamically driven processes are of joint scientific and practical interest. Particularly during the injection of a wax, the temperature, the material experiences and changes in temperature profile during the injection process can have effects on the flow and dimensional characteristics of a wax. An understanding of these mechanisms allows strategies to be developed that lead to improved process control and surface definition of wax patterns. Controlled stress rheometry and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) have been employed to study the behavior of waxes at the onset of congealing under flow conditions in an attempt to measure these effects. Characterizaton of the wax using controlled stress rheometry reveals phase changes that occur along with linear viscoelastic behavior. Temperature modulated DMA allows for the investigation of reversible and non-reversible phenomena in the melting and crystallization region of waxes. Temperature modulated DMA also provides high sensitivity for small and slow changes in crystallinity, e.g. during recrystallization. The combination of controlled stress rheometry and DMA yields new information about local processes at the surface of polymer crystallites.