Danni5173

It's pretty but I don't use it at all. I also avoid foods with palm and never use palm in my soap. The sustainability of Palm is an issue even with the RSPO. People in my area, don't like it and won't use it. The thing is, there are very few people who even care about it so you might get a couple of people who won't buy your product because of it, there are plenty of people (even crunchy ones) who will still buy it. 

If you are not a firm anti-palm believer, do whatever you feel you want to put out there. Don't let other people dictate to you what you should make and shouldn't. If you believe in the cause, then don't make Palm candles.

It's all about what you want to do and how you feel about it.

Never have had soot with 1343- 6% FO- usually a 1/0 square braid.

I stirred for the first few times when I first started, now I can tell by sight and I know when the wax is ready to pour. 

More pillars - I am having WAY too much fun.

first one is 1274, frozen mold, no treatment on the bottom, cranberry spice

second one is 1343, frozen mold, frozen rag on the bottom, gingerbread

third is 1274, room temp mold, frozen rag on only the middle layer, blackberry sage

fourth is 1343, frozen mold, frozen rag on other pours, Muir Woods

Those are beautiful! Aren't they addicting?

Weird that you had FO seep- never has happened to me. So weird how different people have different results. 

Doesn't the mottling wax have to be poured hot to mottle? I think it's going to be a lot of fun playing with pillars again.

That's what they say but I get better mottle when I do rustics- lol. It's funny how we all can have varying results with the same wax.

Not here- I just stick with 1343. I'm with Flicker on the throw. 1343 is better. I use 6% and the candles come out great every time with whatever fragrance, I have never tried 3% FO because I was afraid it wouldn't throw very well.

When I tried the 1274 for more consistent mottling, the throw was not as good but the mottling was better.

I think you'll be ok blending the two but you don't really need to unless you are trying to finish up the 1274. Just curious why do you want to blend them?

Your 3 x 6.5 mold- I think holds somewhere between 22 and 27 ounces of wax- I'm not sure on the exact number since I use this mold but I only use a pound of wax at a time. The size of this mold is wonderful though. I love it. If your curious, for me, with most scents, I use a 1/0 square braid. I can get away with a 2/0 square braid with some scents but not all that many.

Hey Ladies-

Thank you so much. :-) Puma, your method worked like a charm. I'm doing it that way from now on. 

I told you Ravens, operator error and thankfully not bad wax.

Thank you both again! I really appreciate it!

Danni, I really like the mottling on that candle! I want that effect along with the sort of uneven exterior. I have both 1343 and 1274 so I'll play with both - but pour them cool and add stearic. It will be an adventure for me!

Yeah- I was going for the whole candle look too but of course, pillar candles are never that consistent. Pillar candles are addicting and a load of fun, maybe because they are a little less technical. I like sloppy. LOL

I love that purple- really pretty.

Love these- beautiful job! I was wondering if you could make rustics with 4625- now I know. Thanks for sharing.

Stearic really helps with the rustics but I think you can do rustics without it. I would freeze your mold and pour cool- that should give you a nice finish. I think stearic can help to bind the FO but I always use 1oz pp in 1343 and never have had a candle oozing fo.

I don't sell so I don't  worry about the pits- but now that I know how to get rid of them, I think I will. LOL Thanks Scented! They do lend themselves to the rustic nature of the candle, so I don't think people will complain but you never know.

Here is the top of my candle- the whole thing didn't mottle so I messed up but it's still a great candle. I just poured it at the wrong temp. But the mottle, looks like snowflakes- my favorite! :-)

http://s8.photobucket.com/user/stinkydancer1/media/IMG_0028_zps734029e6.jpg.html

For rustics, I do what everyone else does- pour it cool and sloppy with the stearic. 

For more of a mottle and a little bit smoother candle (less rustic), I pour warmer (170-185) with a teaspoon pp of mineral oil. I subtract the teaspoon from the fragrance oil amount. I do this with 1343 wax and 1oz pp of fo. I actually just did one- if it mottles right, I'll throw a pic up here tomorrow. 

Pillars are super easy and a lot of fun to make especially when you get sloppy. You never know what a candle will turn out like, until you unmold. 

Thank you Danni. I'm going to try the 60's zinc wick in this wax and see if that helps with burning. Yes, this wax seems fairly easy to work with. I heated wax to 185-190. Took it out of the double boiler and added the FO. By this time the temp had already dropped to about 175-180. Stirred for a couple minutes and poured.

See- easy peasy! :-) I hope it burns well for you.

Hi Danni,

I LOVE the 4786 wax! It is my mainstay also! Your 4786 ought to be throwing like crazy. I have veered away from the the regular instructions on this wax and it has served me very well. I heat my wax to between 155 and 160 (165 at most if it is really cool in the candle cave) (color and UV powder already in pot), add my scent, stir like crazy for 30-60 seconds ( a little longer if vanilla is in the scent)and pour in my jars. I use the zinc wicks. I know heat is the devil on our scents....heat? need to change to another wick? Is candle scent pretty new? I do not know what else it might be. I hope I helped and hope through some tweaking, you get your wonderful 4786 hot throw back.

Hi Puma,

I'm going to follow your directions right now in fact! Wish me luck. I could have soap nose but I haven't really made that much. My family leaves the house for the day and can hardly smell the candles. Maybe this batch of wax doesn't like the high heat that I'm adding the fo at, no idea. All I know is this is my go to wax when I want almost instant scent gratification. :-) I mess with the soy and para soy just to learn about them, paraffin is my favorite. 

Hey Ravens- I would assume it's more me than a bad batch of wax. This is what happens when a soap maker makes candles even just for fun. LOL The Wu's I use are Zinc's, I have regular zinc's from Peak as well. The Wu's are a nice wick. :-) I don't know about the cotton ones though.

Thank you both and I will report back. I'm using a definite in your face scent- Pumpkin Brulee so hopefully the wax works with me today.  How long do you guys cure? I usually do 3 days- is that enough?

I don't know if it's just me or what. 4786 used to be my stand by wax, my old faithful that always threw any scent and burned great. 

I don't make candles all the time but I make them for personal use and special soap customers that I have. I love to play with wax- I'm pretty much bored with soap but I worked hard for my client base and I love my customers. I just go through burned out periods.

Anywho, I recently got a slab of 4786, made a couple of candles, cured them a few days and no HT. Huh? What? CT is great but no damn hot throw. The candles are burning great. I use wu zincs of Lx's whichever I have around. The fo's throw amazing in soy but not 4786. I feel like I'm in the twilight zone.

I'm not sure what I could have done wrong. 

I  mix my FO somewhere between 185-190 and pour somewhere between 170-175.

Any idea what could be wrong? Is it something I did?

Any help would be appreciated! TIA!

Oh the Cookie Cottage sounds yummy!

It is phenomenal!! Throws like a beast in soy or any other wax for that matter. You are so lucky, you live near Peak. They are my most favorite supplier. Illinois is boring- all I get to go to is Soaper's Choice which is great since I buy oil's by the large buckets but no fo's there. :-(

I know the emergency expense feeling- we are having that same kind of year, :-( I'm going on a soap/candle equipment shopping spree soon. LOL Have fun with all your new stuff.

I'm not a fan of Cd's in this wax at all. Cd's burned very sooty and smoky for my taste, the Cd's are awesome for soy though. I would stick to Lx's or Eco's. Zinc's work very well since this blend is mostly paraffin, I like the Wu zinc's , they burn beautifully and are low smoke. Some people get freaked out by them because of the metal core. I don't sell my candles so I'm not that concerned about the zincs. I always stayed with 1 ounce per pound for fragrance. Always cure for a week before burning for scent throw- sometimes 2 depending on your fragrance. You can test the wick in 48 hours, some scents throw and some don't. 

6006 is a beautiful wax and nice to work with, very easy, once you have it wicked. 

Good luck- it's a wonderful wax.

I don't know if it would be an exact dupe because it has been awhile since I melted the Vanilla Cookie Crunch, but Cookie Cottage by Peak is close. If it isn't, it's a great scent anyway. LOL :-)

I use my recycled wax to make tea lights since I love tart burners that use them. 

Really pretty candles especially for your first ones!

I have test many, many waxes over my years with candles.  In the end you can't make a wax do what it doesn't do.

 

You can't make a cow lay an egg.  If you want eggs you have to find a chicken.

 

If you want 100% soy, then you embrace soy wax and all of its attributes.  Every wax has it's ups and downs, every wax has its own set of rules....science dictates those rules.

 

You can tweek the commercial waxes, you can buy raw ingredients and blend your own.  In the end experimentation is the only way you will have definitive answers for yourself.

 

I make candles based on what end product I wanted, how I wanted it to look and burn.  I make scented containers that are palm and parasoy, paraffin and beeswax and beeswax blend pillars and votives and hand dipped beeswax tapers (probably my favorite to make and burn).

I think this quote said it all. I'm going to add: if you think 100% soy candles are going to be anywhere near paraffin as far as throw and looks, get out of that mindset. Soy is a totally different beast. In my opinion, they aren't anywhere near as good as a paraffin candle or a well made (mostly paraffin) parasoy.

My business has survived through all the bashing for almost 10 years. We don't put wax down, but I have a hard time shutting up when people claim their scents are all EOs like bubble gum (oooh so realistic too, to quote them), and Chestnuts and Brown Sugar (so rich and tempting, to quote them) etc. I know we're still standing and we haven't seen any of them around for a while. 

It's not professional to knock others, but that doesn't keep them from creating scenes to try to drag you into the fight. It's why I stay home and make the product, because it's just too hard for me to keep my mouth shut. I believe we still keep an info sheet around about the different waxes and where to educate themselves on the science of candle making. 

We put ingredients on our soap and other B&B products so the people who buy know what their getting. 

I feel (and am) the exact same way. Well said. 

continuing hijack for a bit - sowwy.

 

Palm burns so different from what people are used to... I personally prefer it. No matter what scent I throw at it Palm wax buns and smells perfect. Made a nice set of wedding candles for a local customer who was thrilled with them. I called them "Frost Candles"

 

Glass is my first hesitation. Heavy to haul around and ship.

 

anti-Palm freaks is a big other. I use certified  sustainable and organic Palm in my B&B products, but can't easily find that same sustainable cert for wax to allay their fears and pull the plug on their loud, vocal protests.

 

Obtaining my favorite wicks is the third Nobody makes it easy, do they?

Ok- not a palm freak but a soap maker who won't use it. I stay away from Palm in all areas including food. Sustainable palm isn't really all that sustainable. It isn't really regulated, so you are probably paying more for palm that really isn't sustainable. Nobody is policing it so they can say what they want. Deforestation is very real concerning Palm though. 

Maybe not stirring as much to help the fo bind to the wax? It's weird that it would just start happening.

Does it happen more when you use 1.5oz pp? I would back off and just use 1oz pp. Have you changed pouring temps or waxes or anything?