BlueFeather

10 hours ago, Candybee said:

Years ago when I was making paraffin, soy, or parasoy candles I found my fav go to wick was always the zinc. I sold those candles for a number of years and in all that time I had maybe 1-2 people ask me about the wick. I found customers mostly wanted to know how long the candles burn, if they burned clean, the price, and/or what wax I used. The vast majority simply never asked anything about the candles. Back then as well as now my number #1 question is how many hours does the candle burn? HTH

That does help, thank you! I think I just needed some reassurance that the zinc wicks wouldn't discourage people from wanting to buy my candles. It sounds like nobody is that interested in the wick!

On 1/26/2018 at 12:20 PM, Scented said:

We've been asked, but people don't freak out on the answer. We just assure them they are not lead wicks. 

Ok, good!  I think because I live in Colorado and many people here are especially interested in natural, organic, etc. products, I was just concerned they might be a little leery of the zinc. But yeah, I think if I just let everyone know the wicks don't have lead I'll be ok. Thanks

40 minutes ago, Jcandleattic said:

I have never, not once ever, been asked what my wicks are in the 20+ years of selling and using zinc wicks almost exclusively. 

Maybe I've been lucky, I don't know, but if I ever did get posed the question, I would be truthful about it. 

That eases my mind, thank you!

Thank you for the link, I will check that out! That's what my worry was too, that people might think they were lead wicks. Yes, it seems that there are a lot of scented candles that are advertised as 100% natural, or vegan even.

48 minutes ago, Scented said:

Well zinc got a bad wrap and everyone assumes that zinc is the lead wicking that has been banned from the US. Here's a link to a little about the history, but I don't think most customers go looking to see what the wick has. However, should they, you're armed with answers. 

There's nothing wrong with zinc wicks. 

I would call the "natural" wicks a marketing ploy designed to get people thinking they are buying a totally clean product. 

 

Hi everyone! I think I may have finally, after over a year of testing, figured out a wax and wick combo that works! The wick I think I am going to go with is a zinc wick.

Has anyone run into any issues with customers not wanting to buy candles made with zinc wicks?  I'm curious if a lot of people have the perception that the zinc wick is somehow dangerous. One of the reasons I ask is that I have seen candles being sold that specifically advertise that they don't use zinc wicks, only "natural" wicks.

I'm concerned that maybe my candles won't sell if people see that little metallic glint in the wicks. What has been your experience with this? Do customers care?

Thank you! I am definitely leaning towards the parasoy.

HI!

I have been reading that parasoy wax can have a much better hot throw than straight soy.  I have only used 464 wax and I have recently been able to make some candles with good hot throw, but so many more that do not throw at all. I know it can depend on the FO used in the candle, and the type of wick too, which I'm still figuring out (with the help of posters here!).  I want to have consistently great smelling candles, not ones that only smell in a tiny bathroom with the door closed  Can anyone tell me what the benefits of using 464 over a parasoy blend, like 6006, would be? What are the main reasons you have chosen 464 wax if you use it? Is it worth it to keep trying or switch? Thank you!

1 hour ago, Trappeur said:

Ditto exactly what everyone just said.  Those are the exact wicks I use too and wax and it will work.  Also, how long have  your candles cured for?

That does make a difference.

 

Trappeur

Thank you! I know I just have to keep trying! I let this batch of candles cure for two weeks. I was having a really hard time getting any hot throw just doing a week or so cure, so these I let go a full two weeks. I had been hoping that trying the CD wicks, plus the cure time, that these candles would be "the ones." The hot throw has definitely improved, so now it's on to more wick testing.

10 hours ago, bfroberts said:

Don't worry about the top of the jar.  Wick for the bottom of the jar.  Since a jelly jar tapers, you'll want some hangup at the top.  It will melt off as your candle burns further down.  If you have a full melt pool early, your jar will be too hot further down the jar.   I used Premier wicks in 464, and they worked really well in that wax.  Good luck!

Thank you! I kept reading, mostly on supplier sites, that you should have a full melt pool after about 2 hours, so I did have a full melt pool early. I'm so happy I found this site!  I'll try the Premier too Thanks again!

Thank you so much for replying! Yes, I think it's a standard jelly jar. I'll give those other wicks a try!

Hi! I am new to candle making and new to this forum. I am making candles with 8 oz jelly jars from Candle Science. I'm using 464 wax and my latest candle was made with Sex on the Beach FO, also from Candle Science. I used a CD 10 wick and I let the candle burn for about 4 hours to see what would happen. The wick mushroomed alot, and the jar was really hot to the touch, like too hot to pick up. I've read here that that means the wick is too big, but it seems like during the first half of the burn if I went any smaller it would be way too small. Any advice? Should I try different wicks? Could it just be this particular FO? Thank you!