Bailey

I make pillars mostly, but my adult son makes containers and he definely prefers Comfort Blend, 4627 I think it is. Sticky to get out of the bag but definitely a one-pour and great scent throw. my 2-cents worth :rolleyes2

Well, to me Love Spell is a strong scent so you might get away with cutting back on that one, but I agree with the other comments, whenever I have used less I am not happy with the scent throw. I use 1343 most all the time.

I notice they had smaller HTP wick size listed than we need here for our comfort blend containers, actually we are using 2 sizes UP from their suggestion, but at least it is a good starting point!

I use IGI 1343 with stearic

I wipe down the presto pots and the pouring pots and metal spoon while still hot (or use heat gun on the pouring pots if they have cooled -that's why I have some tiny permanent scars on my forearms, heat gun = HOT! LOL) , then if I think there is still any residue in the bottom of the pots, I use a tiny bit of mold cleaner on a paper towel to get the last little remaining off the surface. That works great for me.

Well, maybe you could plug your presto pot into the cigarette lighter, let the candles cool on the roof not sure where you would keep your FO's though, maybe the console?

LOL, I did the same thing. I was going to use up some wax that isn't my favorite and FO's that I have had and now I went and ordered MORE last week! I did a big cleaning out about a year ago and sold some wicks and FO's that I wasn't using, now very slowly my shelves are starting to get overflowing again

Please let me know how your testing turns out, you can pm me if you want! I would be interested in your results!

Grama, I would be glad to send you some square braid wick to try- I have partial spools of #1 square braid, #2 sq braid and 2/0 sq braid. I could cut you off a length of each to try if you want. Would be glad to pop them in the mail to you at no cost. Generally, looks like 2/0 or the #1 would be appropriate to try with 2-3" pillars, #2 for 3-4" pillars. As I mentioned, I never got around to trying them myself as I am happy with the flat braid and did so much wick testing that I decided to cease and desist testing for a while! I will probably be giving these a try myself now that I have some time to work on my candles again.

For sure I would rather have a little shell left than a blow out, for safety reasons. My last square burned completely, it was perfect! Guess what , I misplaced my note book and it was a candle I made a year ago and I can't remember what wick I used! I am thinking it was 27-ply flat braid for 3" square mold (1343 wax) but it may have been 30 -ply. I tried so many wicks. I kept all my notes for wick testing in a 3-ring notebook and I guarded it with my life. Now, I can't find it!!

There is a 27-ply flat braid that some suppliers offer- I use 24-ply and 27-ply flat braid more frequently than 30- ply for my pillars. I can't answer your question about the difference- I have some square but never use it because I have had such good results with flat ply

I make 3" rustics almost all the time, and I use 1343 wax with steric and use 24 flat ply wicks with 3" dia molds and they burn beautifully. the melt pool is perfect, doesn't quite get out to the edge, leaves a nice size rim of wax around the melt pool and no blow-outs.

I agree 4625 is a good wax. I also use 1343 most of the time with flat braid wicks (usually 24- ply in 3" pillars). I recommend either of these waxes!

IMO , Rustic Escentuals has a really nice cranberry called Cranberries. I love cranberry scents and have tried a lot of them. alot of them are blended with spice. "Cranberries" is not spicey, just smells like pure cranberry. I have only used it for candles, so not sure about its suitability bath and body applications

I think these are beautiful! Can you tell me how you get the "rustic" finish on the subsequent layers? I always have good rustic on first layer poured but the next layers arent as rustic and by the last layer (bottom of the candle) no rustic, just looks slightly mottled. I would appreciate your suggestions! Am using 1343 wax, first pour at around 145-150 F. Have been doing second layer 10 degrees hotter... thanks~

The last 3 batches of pillars I have made have scents that ended up totally disgusting me before I was done, to the point that I am reluctant to give them to the person I was going to give them to. I just noticed another thread that talks about scents that make you gag. I should have posted this on that thread! One is a Day-star fragrance called Honey Propolis - maybe it is just the sweetness of this fragrance. but it also happened with the other fragrance I was using - Lavender Cucumber and Sage, which is a rather light scent. And last week, I threw 6 candles away that had a spa-type fragrance called Badedas, and now even my Pink Sugar is bugging me. :undecided

After doing the modifications to add the spigots to my 4 Presto pots, I find I don't ever use the spigots. Takes too long and they get jammed up with wax and I had occasionally wax drips on the floor from the spigots. Now I just dump the wax directly from my presto into my pouring pots. I like how the electrical cord just gently separates from the pot when you lift it up to pour.

thank you all for your great suggestions. I will definitely not pour the second layer hotter next time. I guess I always have poured my subsequent layers a little hotter than the first one, seems like I read it somewhere but it makes sense that wax doesn't remember what temp it was initially poured at! As for the water bath, it is in the basic Rustic/Cold Pour instructions (Techniques and Ideas link) here on the candletech forum that said a water bath will aid in clean release. I would love to not mess with the water bath. I will try that next time. But I have to admit, I do get a clean mold release so maybe it is because of the water bath. thanks again everyone!

Hi, I have been making Rustics for some time now- I think they are my favorite pillars because they are so forgiving (blemishes and imperfections are ok!) My question is this: My first layer always looks good - lots of frosting, etc. But when I let the first layer cool down and pour a second layer at 10 degrees hotter, I lose the "rustic" look on this second layer and subsequent layers. Can someone give me advice on how to make the second and third layers also look rustic? I use IGI 1343 with steric and usually do my first pour at around 148-150 degrees into chilled or cool molds. Then I wait until the first layer has set a bit before pouring 10 degrees hotter for second layer. I dont put into water bath until I have finished all my layers. Any suggestions will be most appreciated!

Very nice Rustics!

I am anxious to hear what happens when you take this wax out of the mold, I will stay tuned for the rest of the story so please keep us posted!

Hi all, I noticed 1343 wax is currently out of stock on a lot of web sites. I did find it on a couple sites but not where I usually buy from. What's up- is availability becoming an issue? or is it just the time of year that everyone is ordering a lot of wax???

I just read a thread about this recently but now I can't find the thread. As I remember, a lot of people said they love Rustic Escentuals, Daystar and Peak Candle Supplies for fragrances. While I haven't tried Daystar myself, Rustic Escentuals and Peaks are my personal favorites. I also buy a couple of scents from Cierra Candles that I can't find anywhere else.

I bought some Pier One Candles last year and after one burn the wicks were buried and after unsuccessfully trying to dig them out, I had to throw them away. They sure looked cool when they were new, though

Well, no time for pies but I did make some Sweet Potato Pie candles last night that smell as good as the real thing! I haven't posted for almost a year- haven't posted on the new site yet, so this is my first post - TA Da!