Hi all! I’m a long time lurker, never had to post before bc the search tool has been my saving grace! But! I can’t find much on my (potentially) new wax, IGI 4636.
I tried searching the forum, but it seems my new wax isn’t very popular. I’m beginning to see why. I not only have no HT, but no CT at all. If it wasn’t for my post-it’s I’d have no idea which jar was which scent.
I previously used soy 10 and while decent, I didn’t just ‘love’ it enough to justify the outrageous shipping costs. And I live right next to Lonestar as luck would have it! So I made it my personal mission to find a new wax from them.
Since I know soy doesn’t throw as well as paraffin (& a great scent throw being my main concern, other than safety! Of course!) I figured I’d just go straight paraffin going forward. Why did I pick 4636 over something like 4627 you may ask? Well bc the ratings/reviews on Lonestar’s website, and the fact that I’d seen lots of troubleshooting posts about 4627, but obviously next to zero about 4636. If people aren’t coming here to ask questions, it must be “easier” (used loosely for obvious reasons) to work with, I thought. So 4636 it was.
So here’s where I’m at:
10oz tumbler 3” inner diameter
10% FO (3 from WWC eau de mer, lemon blossom and sea salt, and marine dew and wild lavender, one from north woods- South Pacific waters, and one from Lonestar- banana palm leaf)
Wicks tested: LX 18, LX 16, LX 20, CD 8, CD 10
Heat to 190 (am I heating it too high?)
FO added at 185
Pour at 150-155
Cure for 3 days
It LOOKS beautiful, but that’s it. LX 16 waaay too small. LX 18 burns nicely, but left a little more wax on the sides than I’d like. I like to leave just a little on earlier burns. I like for it to gradually melt away over the life of the candle. LX 20 flame height was too big, it got smaller after a trim, but I had to trim it so low to get a good flame height that it didn’t really get hot enough after that. Both the CDs smelled like fuel or just like “something burning” in every scent.
I also used the same FOs as above in IGI 4826 paraffin tart wax and I’m having the same problem. NO CT or HT at ALL. What on earth is going on? Coming from soy, I expected some improvement, especially in the tarts. But my other soy tart wax (GB 416 that I also get from LS was (is) knock your socks off awesome regardless of FO used. I’m just going back to that bc I see no reason to fiddle with this wax that isn’t working at all (the 4826).
That may end up being the case with the 4636. I’d like to continue trying since I got 20 lbs of it to test with, I want to give it a fair shot before I throw my hands up, UNLESS you guys already know this wax is garbage.
I’m trying to be brief lol let me get to my actual questions. I’m just flabbergasted and have some potential theories?
Okay, so first, since some FOs throw well in soy, and others don’t, can the same be said for paraffin? As in the FOs I got from WWC threw “ok” in soy, but absolutely non existent in paraffin. Not even CT. Are there FOs that are only for, or better for natural waxes? I thought this bc after an online chat support session with WWC they said their FOs are formulated to be used at 10-12%. That’s too much for me. ESP at $72 (before shipping) on 16 oz (I know, I know, you don’t need to say it, believe me I already know.) They also said I should “try to add a little paraffin” after I told them I was using 100% paraffin. So I just let that go. I just think they’re are a bit shady in general, so I won’t be repurchasing from there, regardless. But since soy is so popular maybe FOs are being formulated more toward natural waxes than paraffin? Any thoughts or knowledge on this?
Second, the banana palm leaf I got from LS was the only one with CT and HT. Could it also be said that companies formulate their FOs to go in the waxes they offer?
Am I clogging the wick with FO at 10%? The LX 18 worked great with LS FO, but as mentioned before, even the tart wax has no CT or HT even with LS FO. It just smells like wax, not even, just… nothing. I used 10 and 12% but 12 is my upper limit for FO I’m not using more than that in anything regardless. But the fact that 12% won’t even scent a wax melt is mind boggling to me when paraffin is supposed to be so much better. I’m just going back to my soy tart wax.
So- wrapping up I swear.
Should I try a different wick series? HTP? Zinc?
Or- should I just move on to a different wax entirely? If so, any suggestions?
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and I am grateful for any feedback you can provide.
EDIT: I do not use any dyes