birdcharm

I think in some ways, it can depend on the types of scents you use in your candles. Are your scents anything that someone would wear and are your scents body safe? If so, there are many options for little sample products using that scent which you could give away without too much expense. If they are not those types of scents, then little samples would need to be in the form of a "smell only" type of thing, i.e., not to wear. For instance, I had someone ask me to see if I could find a dupe for her, which I did. It was a body safe oil that was a floral mix, so could be worn, and I put some on a little cotton cosmetic pad along with some carrier oil and placed it in a very little zipper bag. I also gave her a dram bottle of another scent, mixed with carrier oil so she could try it out. For "smell only," one thing that costs very little in order to share a scent (among some others, of course), is incense. As for "who is serious" before sending anything ... well, imo, I've always felt that everyone is a prospect until they become a customer.

So far it's at least looking the same ... I've got a nice, smooth top and can smell the scent. I'm really curious to test burn this, I'll just have to put it out of my mind for a while!

I'm no math wizard, but wouldn't that be like when you average something? 180 + 92 = 272 divided by 2 = 136 ... ???

I just received an order of GW464 from Candlewic and I will pour one tonight. At first glance ... the bags in the box did not have a date shown on them as with previous orders. My wax from earlier in the year is much whiter and dry ... it could be from age, but I do not recall it having a slight oily feeling to it as this does, and this is definitely an light creamy/ivory color -- I don't mind it, but it does appear to be a bit different.

Hi & welcome ... According to my notes, an LX30 is a wick to be used for candles that are about an inch greater in diameter than the one you are describing. What other types of wicks and sizes do you have available to you right now for testing? I think you know you are really trying to accomplish quite a bit in a short amount of time, but it's not to say that with a highly concentrated effort that it can't be done. YET, I wouldn't try to hurry for "production" right now, I'd focus on making a safe and well-burning candle, you can get to the rest later, imo.

Your fragrance oils will last longer if you have them bottled in dark glass (amber, blue, etc.) and keep them in an inner cabinet where they don't meet up with extremes, esp. heat. I've never heard of refrigerating them. For your candles, it's best if they are not kept near a heat source. I cure mine in a cabinet, if they have lids, I keep them off for a little while until the candle is fully cooled.

A friend of mine recently ordered twelve of these jars she'd like filled for the holidays, I'm pretty sure it's the same one, 12.5 ounce ... is this the same one? Status Jar She has brought one over for me to do a test with ... I've poured it only half way for wick testing using my (older) stock of 464, using a #2 cotton square braid. I've got a new batch of GW464 headed my way, which I'll be testing soon, but I'll use my old stock on this project since I have enough and that's what I'm currently going to test with after my sample one cures. May I ask you how much wax you melt for this jar?

Just to mention, I did write the supplier that posted that and let them know that what they wrote was "confusing" ...

Anyone, please feel free to correct me if I don't describe this correctly. A pound of wax by weight is about 19 or 20 ounces by volume ... this measurement is used when determining how much wax to melt for your containers. The amount of scent used is not based on liquid measure (or volume), but on weight, as is the wax. I recently read the following on a supplier's website: "Did you weigh your FO and add it to the correct amount of MELTED wax? If you added 1 ounce of FO to 16 ounces (1 LB) of wax BEFORE it was melted, you have now added 1 ounce of FO to about 19 ounces of melted wax."

Maybe they did some testing with low flashpoint oils and there were some safety concerns. Do you feel we should consider this when purchasing oils?

I believe the recommended pouring temperature is at about 125-145dF ... I pour it at about 140-150, a little less if I got busy with something else and it cooled down a bit more, stirring once again before pouring. It seems that the tops were smoother at around 140-150 rather than 125. For the suggestions you mentioned to pour at 190, I've never seen that in regard to soy wax.

That does sound interesting! I missed that one in wandering through the list. "A cheerful blend of fresh mint, blooming jasmine and pine needles" -- that's how they describe it. There are good reviews for it too and I'm saving your comment in my notes for future reference. This is a great topic, imo, thanks @ellajoan

The manufacturer is recommending that fragrance oil with a flashpoint over 190dF be used in their wax, stating that this is due to possible sinking of the scent. So, with this being the case, they are specifically addressing the flashpoint and posting a guideline for particular scents that should/should not be used with their wax. I don't know if this is a good guideline to use with all soy waxes, but they seem to feel that scent can drift/sink in soy wax.

Just to clarify, I wasn't suggesting to add more f/o to the 464, but to possibly try the 444 which holds more scent. As for raising the melt point ... I've always been under the impression that a lower melt point candle can create scent throw easier while higher melt point waxes can hold more scent. This is why I was attracted to the 464, as it has a lower melt point, so should not require as much scent. I must be missing something.

That's interesting ... so it has more additive? The meltpoint of 444 is slighter higher, 120-125dF versus 115-120dF for the 464; and the f/o load is higher, at 9-11%. The adhesion isn't quite as good, I think, if that even matters.

Sorry if I've missed some info here, but has it been determined that beeswax does indeed mix well with GW464 without any issues?

I haven't had any issues yet because I'm still using older stock, but that's going to change with a new order I've placed. I switched from GW444, which has a higher fragrance load than the 464 because I was trying to see if I could achieve smoother tops and it has a lower melt point, so I figured the scent throw might be better without using as much scent. It seems that the 464 may be more popular than the 444, I bet some suppliers might still have some old stock of 444, who knows!

I see, the wax can age or yellow over time. I don't really know if that's a very big deal to most people. What I'm wondering is what is it? 2-(2-Hydroxy-3, 5-di-tert-amylphenyl) benzotriazole How much is used? I don't think it's a natural ingredient ... gee, I'm not sure about this. MSDS

I think that perhaps you might try the GW444 which has a higher fragrance load ... that might help with the strength of the throw. It has a little higher melt point than the 464, so it takes a little longer to get going, but it can hold more scent. As far as mostly everything else, the two waxes are about the same in regard to pouring, wicking, surface condition, and other characteristics.

@cornerfolds ... I just did a search for "fine glitter" on ebay ... there is some there! They are sold for DIY nail polish. There are some suppliers that will send USPS small packages, such as The Candle Source, Candle Cocoon, and I see that Mill Creek offers it, which I may try. I know there are some others, plus some that have been mentioned, but the shopping carts will usually automatically add in for UPS/FedEx. I always look at the shipping policy pages to see if they include USPS. If they do, then I try to put together a small order and send them an e-mail or call to see if it can ship as a small package. If it can, they can e-mail a Paypal request or you can order over the phone with credit card. My UPS deliveries are always filthy for some reason (I think they need to wash their trucks once in awhile!), so I prefer USPS if I can, but can't always do it.

I hope you can do an experiment! That would be interesting ... especially if it helps with some of the issues. I was just thinking of cocoa butter off hand, but you're right, it's expensive, so maybe one of the less expensive natural butters. My thought was that possibly the addition of a teaspoon or so per pound might "do something" to make it so that the wax would perform closer to how it used to if there is such drastic change in composition or performance. If it worked, then maybe some of the wicking problems wouldn't be so bad. As I already mentioned, I'm awaiting a new order of GW464, so I'll have to see how that goes. I'm still using cotton square braids, so it'll be interesting to see what happens.

I have several candles of the same wax that are over a year old and they haven't faded at all without the use of any inhibitor. Now, they don't receive any direct sunlight, so that probably helps with color stability, but they are pastel in the first place, so it wouldn't really matter if they did fade a little. I personally don't think it's much of an issue unless you are making dark/bright colored candles.

I ordered it from Candlewic ... so I'll get to see/experience what you're all talking about.

Peak's wax page mentioned it, but I don't know where else I've seen it, if anywhere.

I've been curious about the universal additive with soy and if it is needed. I've been pouring without any additives. At first, I was adding a bit of palm stearic, but I don't know that it really did anything, so I quit, and don't mind because I'm on a personal "limit palm usage" plan. For paraffin candles, I add both stearic acid (the candle type) with a very small amount of vybar, but I've never used the universal additive thinking that you don't need it if you've used the other two additives, which may be true, or maybe not, I've never been quite clear on that. I believe vybar is a polymer, and I'm not sure if it has any affect on soy wax. So now, here's my question regarding melt pools and scent throw. I've always thought (could be wrong) that a softer wax may throw better than a harder one, is that true? Do you think the removal of trans-fat from the soy is part of the throw problem? What would happen if a little cocoa butter were added to the soy wax? These may be dumb questions, but I'm fairly new to soy and I've been reading all of these stories, so trying to educate myself. I am awaiting a new batch of GW464, although have 10+ pounds from the end of last year, so I'll be curious if there is a difference, probably will be considering what has been reported here.