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I Lack Pouring Skills


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Yes... my name is Chris and I am pour dysfunctional.   This is the first time in 20 years that I've poured a candle.  Actually, I take that back.  The last candle I helped my kids make was an ice candle in a mold.  Anyone remember the days of ice candles?  No?  Man I'm old. 

In any case, I poured a 50/50 blend of bee wax and paraffin in containers a few minutes ago.  Because I am a klutz, wax dripped down on the outside of my containers.  Is there some easy method to remove said unwanted wax from the outside of the container once the candle sets? 

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44 minutes ago, Rivermist_Chris said:

Yes... my name is Chris and I am pour dysfunctional.   This is the first time in 20 years that I've poured a candle.  Actually, I take that back.  The last candle I helped my kids make was an ice candle in a mold.  Anyone remember the days of ice candles?  No?  Man I'm old. 

In any case, I poured a 50/50 blend of bee wax and paraffin in containers a few minutes ago.  Because I am a klutz, wax dripped down on the outside of my containers.  Is there some easy method to remove said unwanted wax from the outside of the container once the candle sets? 

Hi Chris! Although I'm not a chandler I am part of another dyspouria...  (It's unsettling isn't it?) Yeah, I remember ice candles from that blue Reader's Digest book of crafts... Wow... The things they used to tell us to do... Glass jars with steel lids and nail holes in them for mixing and pouring lye solutions, using crayons to color EVERYTHING... It's a wonder I'm still here. 

NOT what you asked about though... nap

First I think it would be best to ask WHAT is your container made  from?  Bright shiny tin? Frosted glass? Clear Glass? Un-glazed ceramic? Depleted Uranium? An old mayonnaise jar you couldn't find the steel lid for to poke holes in it for mixing up your lye solution? (BTW: DO NOT USE GLASS to mix lye... EVER...)  

So let's say it's NON-porous and all slicker'n a green snake fart. You can cool it and scrape off the majority of the wax drips and then follow up with some turpentine on a rough rag to remove the wax, and then wipe that clean with a little naphtha. Mineral spirits or kerosene will usually work in place of turpentine for petroleum products like paraffin wax (kerosene itself IS a a fraction of paraffin.)  And gosh... There's TONS of polar solvents that'll tear beeswax up, but meh, acetone as I recall will tear it up pretty good like MEK, ethanol, methanol, Sterno, isopropanol, and most notably acetone are the ones right off the top of my head. Those won't touch the paraffin though... 

There are 4 major solvents everyone needs in crafting (and in their home) Clean dry Acetone, Naphtha, Clean dry  >90% Isopropanol, and Mineral Spirits. I like to add into that list , Turpentine, Toluene (or xylene, toluene is a broader solvent though) and TONS of automotive brake cleaner. I keep both the chlorinated (for rubber parts) and non chlorinated brake cleaners on hand but mostly the non chlorinated stuff. 

Lost yet? Good. That's what I'm here for... Side tours of worlds you never wanted to see. 

I'll recap: Let it cool and if the container is non-porous scrape the cold (COLD wax) from the sides with a wood scraper or something... 
Wipe the remaining streaks clean with either turpentine or mineral spirits and then wipe THAT residue off with some naphtha or acetone. (either will work, though naphtha would be better) 

HtH,

Sponiebr, 
The Executor of Bad Ideas and Sundry Services. 



    

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3 hours ago, Sponiebr said:

 

Soniebr, who woulda thunk there is so much to all of this.  I poured wax into two glass containers, and 1 pottery jar.  The glass containers were kind of a trial, so I don't really care what happens to them.  The pottery jar is a different story. 

    

 

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1 hour ago, Rivermist_Chris said:

 

Yeah there's A LOT to "it", and cleaning up drips ain't even part of "it" yet. If the ceramic jar is glazed then follow the same instructions above as for glass. If it UN-glazed, that is SIGNIFICANTLY more difficult to deal with, and honestly I'm not sure it would be worth the effort or chance of damage to the jar to correct the problem... It can still be cleaned but it involves extreme heat which might damage the piece. (there are a few other extraction methods but, gosh, you'd have to be REALLY enamored with the piece.)  Like I said at the start of my last post I'm not a candle maker, I'm more of a disaster maker... 

 

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It took me forever not to make a mess in the beginning, I had to keep reminding myself to slow down.  You're not alone.  With time you get used to the pour pot you're using and it becomes easier and way less messy.  Good luck with the pottery jar, you may be able to melt the wax down and get as much as possible out.  I'm sure our pottery users will chime in.

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The best trick I learned is to pour "low" when the pitcher is full. If the pitcher is half full or more, move your containers to the edge of your counter so the lip of the pour pot is level with the container when pouring. Keep a paper towel handy to catch drips on the pot lip. Surface tension of the wax in the pot is pretty high!

 

For spills ll s a plastic or metal putty scraper is your best friend. They come in narrow to very wide sizes. The widest helps clean the floor drips at the end of a session. 

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1 hour ago, Candybee said:

Heat gun. Heat that dripped wax then wipe clean with a paper towel. Is there anything a heat gun can't do?!!! Just aim it on the wax and not yourself. Should be okay if you do this. Ask me how I know!

A heat gun is your best friend..........take what candybee said as ''''words of wisdom'''  :-)

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16 minutes ago, coconut said:

It is packed away but look up eaby item 351925094510. Clamps on to the funnel or a coffee can.

At first glance it looks like a mediaeval torture device 😋

 

I bet it will work great! I'll give it a go and see. Thanks for enlightening me to this piece of equipment!

 

is this the same? https://www.webstaurantstore.com/8-steel-pizza-pan-gripper-for-2-deep-pans/1249540.html?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=GoogleShopping&gclid=Cj0KCQiAvrfSBRC2ARIsAFumcm-DCeSVHXxhnqyTdQkXj8ZQxaNNI3h64htbgbl6gPGSvTMngznXSz8aAj0EEALw_wcB

 

 

Kinda makes me think about pastry and confectionary funnels. They have a plug that stoppers the hole to cleanly portion batters... 

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On 12/26/2017 at 9:10 AM, coconut said:

I solved the problem in an antique store. Small kitchen funnels made of aluminum paired with a handle with a clamp on one end. Pours are neat and tidy.

Genius!  I have a ton of those funnels and I bet I can find that clamp in my store.  While my glass pour pitchers work really well, one in a while I swear there's a leak in one and it pours all over the clamshell or candle glass.

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2 hours ago, TallTayl said:

At first glance it looks like a mediaeval torture device 😋

 

I bet it will work great! I'll give it a go and see. Thanks for enlightening me to this piece of equipment!

 

is this the same? https://www.webstaurantstore.com/8-steel-pizza-pan-gripper-for-2-deep-pans/1249540.html?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=GoogleShopping&gclid=Cj0KCQiAvrfSBRC2ARIsAFumcm-DCeSVHXxhnqyTdQkXj8ZQxaNNI3h64htbgbl6gPGSvTMngznXSz8aAj0EEALw_wcB

 

 

Kinda makes me think about pastry and confectionary funnels. They have a plug that stoppers the hole to cleanly portion batters... 

Yes that looks like a new version of the one I have. It works great. The aluminum funnel is easy to clean up with a heat gun or on a paper towel on a cookie sheet in the oven.

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