Black bits!?

I've just unmoulded 3 pillars and the tops are covered in 'black bits'. It looks like dirt thats somehow got into the wax (lord knows how, was fresh wax, clean pot, clean moulds).

Is there anyway of getting this off or do I need to repour? Obviously if I repour, I'll have to scrap them first.

Would this by chance be a new color dye you have used? I have this problem with one scent mixed with one dye I use. It's supposed to be teal colored Ocean candle. Ruined dozens of candles and couldn't get it to stop. To stop this, I pour scent, then wax and whip furiously with an electric whisk. While wisking at full speed, I add drop..................drop...............................drop...............................drop....................drop.........can you tell that this is irritating? LOL. It mixes right then. Needlesstosay, I dont carry this scent anymore....

I find that parafin wax will frequently have dirt in it; I usually can't see it by just looking at the wax, but I always filter my wax before pouring into a mold or other container, & will see bits & pieces of "gunk" in the filter.

I had this problem and in my case it was little specks of the non-stick material around the rim of my Presto pot. So now I pour through a tea strainer... catches any other unwanted matter too, like dust, pet hair, insects, etc.

thanks for your replies. I'm going to strain it. I've used this colour (pink) quite a few times (albeit its a hobbycraft one ).

I have a big plastic sieve (like a big tea strainer) would that do, I thought you used a pair of tights

cheese cloth can be used to strain/filter the wax. I use 3-4 layers when I strain fresh beeswax.

I use the fine paint strainers from Sherwin-Williams - don't know if you have that there, but maybe something similar -- have seen people use the coffee filters.

All you need is one piece of a paper towel, clip it to the sides of a pour pot. Melt your wax and pour some in, make sure it has a little dip so it will hold the wax while it filters through. I do it all the time. The wax needs to be hot and if it's paraffin and it starts to cool it won't sift thru so make sure to keep it heated. Just pour a little at a time and it will get fine glitter out.Everyone has paper towels.

All you need is one piece of a paper towel, clip it to the sides of a pour pot.

thanks sharon, will give that a go today

Hadn't thought about the paper towels..duh. But I do like using the cheese cloth for bees wax cause I pour it thru several times to get all the little bee droppings out. It does tend to clog up as the wax cools on the cheese cloth but I just hit it with the heat gun and keep pouring.