Wick stickums VS Silicone

[Daisymay66]

Just curious as what you use in your candles? Thanks so much! :)

[tam1116]

Silicone, the wicks will never come off with this.

[kandlekrazy]

stick ums, love them

[pcbrook]

I use the stickums too!  I have thought about trying the silicone but I can see me making a big mess with that plus if I am testing I need to get the wick out of the jar so I can clean it and reuse it.

[Guest OldGlory]

Stick'ums. I would have glue all over my kitchen otherwise.

And I pre-stick'um my wicks before I start production. I have bags with all my wicks ready to go in advance so that when I start making candles all I have to do is fill my tray with jars or tins, count out my wicks, put them in the container, and then pour the wax.

[Daisymay66]

So you girls that use the stickums, you obviously feel confident that they won't come unsticked? The reason I'm asking is cause I use silicone now but bought myself a wick setter and using it w the silicone it can kinda move around and they end up not being centered but with the stickums, they don't move. I love the fact that I know for sure w the silicone they won't move..well after the silicone is dry they won't. I've never used the stickums so it makes me a little nervous but obviously a lot of people use them.

[grama]

I use hot glue with the high temp glue sticks.  They don't move!

[chuck_35550]

I use 3m Mounting Squares. Find them at wally world and cut each square in half and then six altogether per square. Peel off paper and stick on wick and then peel off the other side and mount inside your jar (I use the barrel of a meat thermometer to thread the wick through). Make sure the wick assembly is clean before using the squares. They don't come off and there's no waiting for it to dry, harden or cure. I use them as I need them and a box makes quite a few for a piece of change.

[Jcandleattic]

I used to use silicone, but got tired of the tip of the tube drying out after each candling session. So I decided to try the stick 'ums. In my tests with using them, my wicks did not come unstuck, or move when the wax became liquid in the last part of the candle. 

Also, just an fyi - I was always able to get the siliconed wick tabs out of the jars. Just pliers and a twist and they popped right off. 90% of the time, they come off smooth and clean too. 

[kandlekrazy]

As long as I either press it down hard using the hollow pen or use a wick setter, the stickums have never come loose on me.  I've used them for over 9 years now.

For my testers, I clean the jar as good as possible to get wax out and then I put the jar in the dishwasher and take it out as soon as  the dishwasher stops, the stickum will come right off for reuse in testing.  You can also heat the bottom of the jar and it will give with some pressure.

[pcbrook]

I have been using the stickums for 7 years and never had any customer contact me that the wick came loose at the bottom.  There might be different quality stickums out there.  I always use BCN's and never had a problem.  You do have to make sure that the bottom of the jar is free of any oils or anything else.  

[puma52]

Just curious as what you use in your candles? Thanks so much! :)

Hey DaisyMay66!

I use the wick stickums, but let me tell you what I do to make sure they always stay stuck. First of all I ALWAYS wash my jars...just something I always do to make sure that everything I make is clean as possible when it goes to the customer and I also know that my stickum is going to STAY stuck to the bottom of a clean jar.. Then AFTER I place my stickum or stickums (using the wicksetters - LOVE!), I ALWAYS tamp the wicks to the bottom of the jar real quick with the unsharpened end of a pencil. It may be a little extra work, but WORKS great for me! I LOVE my stickums and will never use anything else! Great time savers for sure.

Edited October 10, 2015 by puma52

[TallTayl]

I use tins. The stickums and 3m squared always popped loose from the wick tab and/or the tin bottom, especially when removing slack from the wick.

Used high temp silicone for a while, but when making hundreds at a time i just ran out of space waiting for the silicone to dry and cure.

Switched to high temp hot glue and can move a lot of tight wicked candles quickly.

Both the silicone and high temp glue stick tight through the bottom of the burn and requre a good pair of pliers ot remove.

[moonshine]

I used to use wick stickums from CS for years and always in my tester jars and never ever had a problem- then I read a thread of floating wicks and using these being a fire hazard and so I switched to the red high temp silicone crap that I hate hate hate- it always dries up no matter what I do if I don't wick jars every couple days and I don't do this- I don't make that much volume and the square Mason does not like the wick setter so I eyeball it and it smears sometimes making a flipping mess on the bottom of the jar- the warning label hides this but still....

I do not wash my jars but I do spray them with alcohol and wipe clean with paper towel to remove any residue...I have very hard water and even with the water softener glass always comes out spotty and hand washing them and drying....lets just say too much more time

I would love to go back to stickums.....but now I worry about that 1 possible floater that someone doesn't notice and sets their house on fire

[beechcreekcandles]

We use high temp radiator patch repair glue we usually buy from a Napa auto store. It comes in a red tube and have never had a wick come unstuck yet

[Trappeur]

I've always used wick stickums and wouldn't go anywhere else. Just recently I tried Aztec's and Flaming Candles stickums and am very very happy with them. If you are not comfortable with using the stickums the other I recommend is Permatex high temperature gasket sealer (the red one). A board member from long time ago here (Stella) used that extensively and I tried and it was awesome. You needed pliers to pry the stickers off.

Trappeur

[Clear Black]

resurrecting an old thread here instead of starting a new one. I just got an order of wick stickers from Flaming Candle and have made 8 candles so far. 6 out the 8 have had the stickums/wick come loose after I pour my wax in. I was using hot glue but that had similar issues as well. 

 

Can someone link me to what type silicone they use so that I may try this approach as well?

 

TIA

[Trappeur]

How are you putting the stickums in the jar - what steps do you take?

 

I get mine from Flaming Candle and I have never had 1 come off

 

Also what temperature do you pour your wax into the jars?

 

Trappe

[Guest OldGlory]

I swab the bottom of my jars with alcohol before putting the wicks (with stickers) in. And I pull on the wick immediately to see if it will lift the jar. If it comes loose, I swab again, wait for it to dry, and try again.

[Clear Black]

How are you putting the stickums in the jar - what steps do you take?

 

I get mine from Flaming Candle and I have never had 1 come off

 

Also what temperature do you pour your wax into the jars?

 

Trappe

Up til this point, I have done nothing but place the stickum on the wick and adhere to glass bottom. I do push down on the wick tab with as much pressure as I can to ensure a good seat, but something isnt working right.

 

Should I be cleaning the bottoms of the jar with rubbing alchohol or something similar? 

 

Also, I pour at about 145*-150* so not incredibly hot.

[TallTayl]

Sometimes my jars, especially the cast iron or ceramic, need to be warmed with a heat gun before sticky things stick well. The aluminum tins sometimes too. All benefit from a good alcohol swab.

[Clear Black]

Sometimes my jars, especially the cast iron or ceramic, need to be warmed with a heat gun before sticky things stick well. The aluminum tins sometimes too. All benefit from a good alcohol swab.

Not to sound foolish, but what type of alcohol? Just plain Jane rubbing Alchy?

[Guest OldGlory]

Cheapo rubbing alcohol is what works for me. Isopropyl.

I use a pair of kitchen tongs (same thing I use to flip bacon as it fries). I use one paper towel folded down to about 1.5" square, fold that in half and pour some alcohol on it. I just hit the middle of bottom, where the wick will go. Then I wait for it to dry.

[Clear Black]

Cheapo rubbing alcohol is what works for me. Isopropyl.

I use a pair of kitchen tongs (same thing I use to flip bacon as it fries). I use one paper towel folded down to about 1.5" square, fold that in half and pour some alcohol on it. I just hit the middle of bottom, where the wick will go. Then I wait for it to dry.

Picked up some Isopropyl at Waly World this morning. I will pre-clean as you suggested but will also try pre-heating like TT suggested. Maybe the extra heat with help the stickum bond a bit better. I also picked up a tube of the high heat gasket silicone also suggested to do a side by comparison. Hopefully one of these two fixes will work 

[TallTayl]

Cheapo iso alcohol is what i have on hand. I use 91% Iso for other things, and so it is typically what goes into the candle jar. I'm not very precise about it. Squirt a bit in the jar. Wipe out with a paper towel. Make sure it is totally dry before warming or sticking the wick.

Ammonia as mentioned above would work too. Since i use bleach in my shop i don't want to worry about mixing them accidentally in a sink, pail or rags in the garbage can and gassing myself out.

Used to use the red silicone gasket sealer but it just took too long to cure for the volume i had to do. (Letting the wicks cure overnight took too much space). It worked *really* well though. Had to pry those wicks out with needle nose pliers! High temp glue works well for my candles. i still need to pry the tabs out with pliers from my containers.