birdcharm Posted November 26, 2017 Share Posted November 26, 2017 I've just finished a test burn with GW464 in a 12oz Libbey Status Jar. I thought I'd post my results here and if anyone has any comparisons to offer, it might be interesting. It burned almost to the bottom and at that point I timed it at about 41 hours. This was comprised of 8.9 ounces of wax, 1.5 t. stearic acid, just a little over a half-ounce of scent using a #2 square braid cotton wick. The flame was very steady until getting toward the bottom where it starting to dance a little, producing a little soot on the glass, but there was no mushrooming. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerven Posted December 4, 2017 Share Posted December 4, 2017 How was the throw? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trappeur Posted December 4, 2017 Share Posted December 4, 2017 How was the throw? Trappeur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trappeur Posted December 4, 2017 Share Posted December 4, 2017 OOps....Kerven just asked the same..... Trappeur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdcharm Posted December 5, 2017 Author Share Posted December 5, 2017 Both C/T and H/T were good! For this project I used WSP's Frasier Fir, Sandalwood Incense, and Spiced Cranberry. My first test was with 6%, but the C/T wasn't as strong as I wanted it, so I increased it just a bit, probably was at about 7-8%. With the Fir, I added just a couple of droppers of a "Natural Pine" which is a resin type of scent that I bought at Candle Cocoon at some point and I'm trying to use it up, it's not so good imo by itself, but mixed well in a very small amount. To the Sandalwood Incense, I added just a little of another sandalwood I have and some buttercream, making for a unique, smooth sandalwood-type of scent (friend adored it). After a day, I put the lids on and a week later, upon opening lid, I was pleased with the results and happy that my heat gun didn't decide to burn out in the middle of the project as it waited to the very end, although I would have liked to have gone over a few wet spot areas, but glad that all of the tops had been gone over! Now I need a heat gun. I know folks here like pictures, nothing fancy ... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerven Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 I see no wet spots or extreme frosting from heatgunning... I'm jealous now. Oooh, fir and a resinous pine - that sounds nice! Did the Sandalwood Incense have any patchouli in it? I'm going to have to give square braided wicks a try since I'm determined to use up this 464 before switching to something else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdcharm Posted December 7, 2017 Author Share Posted December 7, 2017 10 hours ago, Kerven said: ... Did the Sandalwood Incense have any patchouli in it? I don't think the Sandalwood Incense has any patchouli in it ... I think it has a hint of musk, but I'm pretty sure WSP's "Soothing Sandalwood" might have patchouli in it, and I read about their "Mystical Woods" described by a reviewer's comment as "Sandalwood, Patchouli and a hint of Bergamot" -- I might try that sometime, although I'm afraid if the patchouli would be too strong and I plan to sample their regular Sandalwood next time around, but I went with the "budget scent" for my first order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerven Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 Quick question. Where did you get your square braided wicks? All I'm finding are unprimed spools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdcharm Posted December 8, 2017 Author Share Posted December 8, 2017 4 hours ago, Kerven said: Quick question. Where did you get your square braided wicks? All I'm finding are unprimed spools. I've ordered from a few different places, but my last order was from Cierra ... it is unprimed in 10 yard amounts. I hand-tab my wicks with a 6 or 10mm sleeve/collar fastener that I purchased loose years ago. I'm in the habit of doing that, so it doesn't bother me much and their primed with the same wax that will be used for the candle. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerven Posted December 8, 2017 Share Posted December 8, 2017 Hmm! I need to read up on priming wicks. Is it a messy process? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdcharm Posted December 8, 2017 Author Share Posted December 8, 2017 It's not that messy really, lol, especially not compared to those caramels I just tried to make! There are probably several ways to do it. For my personal candles, I will often first cut the wick to the length I need, thread it through the wick tab and secure tightly with lineman pliers. Then I melt a little wax in the bottom of a melting pot, metal can, etc., dip the wick into the wax and lay it out on waxed paper. If I am not sure yet of the lengths I'll need, I sometimes do longer pieces and then cut and tab later. Or, if I'm making the candle for someone else, I'll cut to length, dip, then tab. Doing it this way makes the wick come out much cleaner having been threaded through the wick tab with the wax on it. You just need to do it over some newspaper to catch the wax sprinkles (excess wax) that will fall off from going through the metal tab. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerven Posted December 8, 2017 Share Posted December 8, 2017 I hadn't thought of waxed paper. I was imagining having to dip and somehow hang the wick to keep it straight - like making tapers but with one dip. The thought of having wax dripping all over the place (if I'm doing it, it's going to happen) made me cringe a little. I use a bucket under the faucet of my presto pot to catch drips. Might be able to rig something high enough to do a few feet at a time and have it hang over the bucket but, until I need a lot of wicks, the waxed paper method sounds best. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mzphee Posted January 12, 2018 Share Posted January 12, 2018 What was the burn results? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdcharm Posted January 12, 2018 Author Share Posted January 12, 2018 The candles burn very nicely and steady, no mushrooming, good throw (for a soy candle). Now, I've been working with my newer stock of GW464, the one that feels much damper than my old stock. I was heating to 185dF and cooling to 150dF or a bit under in order to get smooth tops. This batch hasn't been as easy regarding the smooth tops until I raised my melting temp. and lowered my pouring temp. I've been experimenting a little bit in that regard and the last two I poured by heating to 200 or just a little over and allowing to cool to 125, gently stirring once again before slowing pouring, has resulted in shiny, smooth tops without need for any repair. (I added a little less stearic acid than in my previous candles, reduced to 1 t. for 9 ounces of wax to see how it goes.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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