candledisaster

I might need to go back to the drawing board. Many of the suppliers I buy from say on their product description 1-10% Microwax. I even tried a few with more Microwax than Paraffin and I didn't smell/notice any major differences. It could be my testing is flawed! Added some more lines to my testing. I'm enjoying the testing but I seriously didn't expect to be doing so many - but I want a really good product. download (19).jfif

Amazing replies and gives me a lot to get my teeth into and a bunch more experiments! From what I can understand Vybar isn't PE, but PE is a "olefin" so it looks like it's in the same ballpark. I was never great at chemistry! My current best blend for CF and HT is: Paraffin 31% Microwax 4% Soy 41% Palm 4% PE 10% FO 10% I had a previous experiment where I replaced the Palm with Beaswax and it performed really well for visual, cold throw but not as good for cold throw. I think my next experiments will be adding 1% Beaswax and playing with the PE %. I've had good results where the PE was just 1%. I just got hold of some hydrogenated rape seed oil and I'll be experimenting replacing the Palm with that instead. Now it's time to read that patent 10 times until I understand it! I'll give the batch idea a go too - great idea, especially when I ramp up production! Thanks both, really happy to see some feedback when I woke up this morning!

Hi all. I'm living in Asia and it's not possible to easily get Vybar. I believe it's Polyethylene Wax (PE Wax) with a low melting point. Vybar is a polymer and so is PE Wax. The mention of Polyethylene, Vybar and polymer comes up interchangeably in a few candle patents as an additive that helps FO. I currently have three types of PE Wax, one is a powder, the other two are a wax - and all have a melting point over 110°C. They're a little different from each other but seem to hold the FO well and give a good CT. The issue is this melting point makes the process of making candles [at home] a little more troublesome, as I need to heat up over 110°C (tricky when using double boiler method), cool down to 85, add FO, cool down again to 72 then pour. I've gone down the rabbit hole on some chemical web sites but I though I'd reach out on here before going further. I have just bought 5 more different PE Waxes from other suppliers to see if I can find if they have a lower melting point - I just need to wait for them to be delivered and by next week I'll know if I've found it. Has anyone managed to drop the melting point of PE Wax to make this process a little easier or any general advice with this type of additive?

It sounds like you're more worried about time and money - the rest of it is just research and doing it. Time, set yourself realistic milestones. I started a month ago and I don't expect to get my first real product out for another month or two. Every other day I'm trying to make at least 6-10 candle tests and other days I'm working on the business side of things. I think you could get away with testing/experimenting/business with 20 hours a week if you want your first product within 2-3 months. Candle making and testing is fun and I estimate it should take 50% of your initial time with 50% on preparing the product, business and marketing. Once you have a product that is selling candle making will be a bit more "on rails" and go down to 10-20% of your time. Money, set your monthly limits and line that up with your time. The cost to entry in candle making is relatively cheap. To get through testing and to make a good candle I'm estimating just 500 USD - this includes basic equipment. Don't buy anything expensive or in large quantities yet. For my first real batch I'll use the same equipment and spend up to about 300 USD and then see if they sell. So far I've gotten a single 250ml candle down to about 2.55 USD including glass, excluding packaging and shipping. I want to "go to market" with at least four different scents and a stock of 10, so about 40 candles in total. Meaning with a bit of padding I'll have stock costing about 150 USD and I have a remaining 150 USD for some basic marketing (which isn't a lot). Anyway, I'm rambling but I hope this helps as I'm just starting this journey myself.

It's typically done by percentages and then depends on the wax, additives etc... You'll see from 6% up to 12%, generally people say 8-10%. You need to test to see what your wax/blend can hold. I have a few FO's that have a little bit of colour to them. The colour helps me test to see if that colour sits at the bottom of the container or if it sweats. Currently my basic Paraffin (90%) + PE Wax (10%) blend is struggling past 8% and I have a pool of FO at the bottom if I go up to 10%. But I'm testing different blends to see if I can load up the FO up to 10-12% - but I'll only do this if I get good results. To possibly hold more than 8% read up about "Triacylglycerol", which is a fatty acid found in most waxes/oils that can help hold the FO and can be added to the blend. Variables are: Wax and blends - try different blends and additives The quality of the fragrance - buy from different suppliers Wick and container - how well the wick will suck up the wax/FO and throw it I'm new on this journey and at the first steps, so for anyone who is a professional please correct/add to what I've said! Watch 50+ candle making videos - you'll get a lot of good information.

I came across this patent and it mentions two things... Stir FO for at least 20 minutes Heating up to 75°C (167°F) and not above Where typically I read mixing is a 2-3 minutes and heating is above 85°C. Their blend doesn't seem to be anything that's unheard of, Paraffin, Microwax, Soy wax, SE and Vybar. I'm quickly making a homemade stirrer, 3d printer + some electronics to roll up some tests - no way am I going to sit here for 20 minutes stirring. Also any opinions on covering the mixing container/jug while stirring? Any opinions on this or has anyone found these two variables working better generally - bath and body know what they're doing I presume!

Hi all. I'm using flake colouring for my candles and finding it so hard to clean the metal melting pots after. Seems like a silly question but anyone have a quick hack for getting the colour out quickly so I can continue on testing and making?

It's also called "PE Wax" and it does come in a wax flake form, though mine comes as a powder. I'm in Thailand, so most other countries get the benefits of preblended waxes I am trying my best to try and reproduce those blends with as many known additives as possible!

I'd like to hear other opinions on this but I add 5-10% Polyester Esterin. This takes away the Paraffin shine and makes it matte. Very much like a 100% Soy candle. I've not gone deep enough with PE yet (I'm still in testing phases) but I've done various tests with it and without it and it increases the cold throw significantly for me. Any opinions on PE? I haven't found much online about it, mine comes as a powder.