Brad Ford

Where are you located? You have a couple of options...it will likely come down to shipping costs.

What Vicky said...good job!

...wax prices are going up soon too....

If you are using Vybar or Polyboost - keep your Micro percentages on the low end. They are both used to accomplish similar goals. As a general rule, keep micro below 10%. With Micro added you can cut your Vybar amount a good bit too.

If J50 has any pet it's not much...micro is the real variable here. Micro is nothing like paraffin. Paraffin - regardless of melt point or refiner - will just about have the same Vis and Pen number (hardness)...there are exceptions of course. Micro can melt as low as 130F or as high as 200F. It can be soft and sticky or hard as a table top. The viscosity can vary quite a bit as well. So, without knowing what micro is used in the available candle blends - it becomes a guessing game when adding other materials. J50 obviously uses a softer micro that also has a slight tack. Micro will bind fragrance - which is a good thing, but it can also be slow to release it. Mineral Oil will soften a wax blend, thin the visc, but also reduce the amount of FO the blend can hold. Pet is a double edged sword - we do offer one blend that does not have any for just such reasons. For performance reasons I would look to cut your amount in half to around 15% - however I know it does benefit appearance/adhesion. Polyboost (our product)/Vybar is a helpful tuning aid - but as you have found out - there certainly can be too much of a good thing. 2% is normally way too much. I would stay around 0.5% in typical circumstances.

I would not expect Petrolatum to increase FO holding ability. There is a lot of mineral oil suspended within pet - depending on how much Pet you add - you could be increasing your overall "oil' content by a significant amount. Another issue you need to watch out for is Viscosity - if too much is used, you could negatively effect wick performance. Micro is the other large component and has a much higher vis than paraffin. Your finished blend could thick enough (high vis) that it would not flow up the wick well.

Thank you all for the info...it's great. Anyone else?

Thank you all. This is very helpful... anyone else?

Great Stuff! Keep it coming...

I am doing some research and would appreciate any information shared. I am looking for your typical batch size - specifically wax and fragrance quantities. For example: 3 pounds of wax and 5 oz of fragrance Thank you in advance! Brad Ford

I am doing some research and would appreciate any information shared. I am looking for your typical batch size - specifically wax and fragrance quantities. For example: 3 pounds of wax and 5 oz of fragrance Thank you in advance! Brad Ford

sigh....its always the wax....

Generally, the more components you have in a blended product, the greater degree of variability you will have. Each of the individual raw materials has spec range for melt, softness, viscosity, etc. Sometimes you could get a batch in which all the ingredients were skewed to one end of the spec - which will give you some atypical properties. Yet still be within manufactures specifications. Melt point is typically the most consistent vs softness. Conversely, this is why straight paraffin is so reliable - it's just one component and very consistent.

Melt point and softness have no direct relationship. It has more to do with the chosen raw materials for each blend.

You absolutely-positively must test every new batch - before you start production. Wax is manufactured to physical properties - NOT performance or application. If it's in spec - it's good - even if it doesn't act like you would like. You need your own QC to test for batch to batch variations. Wax - regardless of soy, paraffin, blends - or manufacturer - is not a widget. It will never be exactly the same every time. Now, the quality of products available is usually so good and consistent - it may seem like every batch is the same.

You are probably ok, but keep in mind this. When some companies say they are cruelty free or don't test on animals - they mean THEY don't do that. That does not necessarily mean the suppliers of raw materials to them don't do animal testing.

Sorry could have included more info... http://cjrobinson.com/

On Sunday, CJ Robinson Company had a plant fire. The extent of the damage is described as a total loss. It would not be surprising if this accident ended the companies efforts as a wax supplier. Thankfully, it appears no one was hurt. There are so few domestic wax companies left, it is disappointing to lose another one. http://www.timesherald.com/articles/2010/07/12/news/doc4c3aa5e9e37f5042352501.txt

Penetration is a measure of the hardness of the wax - the LOWER the number the HARDER the wax. Most paraffin's average 12-18. Most soft container blends range from 80-100 - on average. Saybolt color - color measurement of the wax, +28 and up indicates a very white wax. As you near 20 and go below - wax can go from off-white to amber to brown to black. Oil Content - All waxes have "some" amount of wax within the crystal structure. All fully refined waxes (by industry definition) must have 0.5% or less oil content. Scale waxes are usually 1.5 to 2% max. Beyond that waxes are considered Slack waxes and may reach as much as 20% oil (obviously not suitable for candles). These are standard items on CofA's (Certificate of Analysis) for wax products. Other tests may include, viscosity, melt point or congeal point, FDA Food grade status, etc. If you are not getting CofA's with your wax shipments...ask for it. It is your only way to track and confirm the wax is meeting published specifications.

Let me help with a clarification... We offer 2 soy blend waxes: 3020 - is approx. 70% petroleum based - this is our version we use to complete with 6006 and products like that 3022 - is approx 70% veggie based - which is what is being discussed here. I can see where it can get confusing - as the ratios are the same - the materials are flipped. Hope that helps... Brad

Soy wax prices are going to be dictated by crop yield and what ever the latest "Bio"- fuel, product,etc. craze that uses a soy/veggie based oil. If prices or supply of paraffin get further out of balance - you could see people move to soy just out of necessity (rather than choice) - which would put soy prices much in the same boat as paraffin at that point. Hard to tell - just hope for a bumper soy bean crop and things shouldn't be too crazy

The Chinese are likely polluting too much - but the govt. doesn't care. You have the Supply/Demand part correct, but it's not because the factories are running at 50%. One of the largest paraffin wax refineries has been shut down for a while and will continue to be for the rest of the year. ONLY in China - they are physically moving the refinery...taking it apart and moving it! Can anyone say cheap labor? So we have a very real shortage of imported paraffin while this is going on. Add the uncertainty of our economic climate - the wax importers are quite risk averse now - therefore not importing the usual amounts. PLUS - 3 wax producers in North America shut down within the last two years - domestic supply is very tight as well. Wax prices are going up for the foreseeable future - plan accordingly.

"...we fear what we do not understand..."

Sorry for the delayed response...and I apologize for being the bearer of bad news. We announced an increase for later this month. I also believe we have a better than 50/50 chance of an upward trend on prices. Crude will oil prices will move up as the economy improves and demand for fuel increases. Refineries are running at near historic low operating rates. They will be slow and careful not to increase inventories until they are sure we will not have another dip in the economy. This naturally follows the demand/supply principals - pushing cost of raw materials upward until that equation stabilizes. Pricing will not retreat until that ratio is reversed. Further putting pressure on wax pricing - domestic supply continues to slowly fall. Shell Canada announced they are ceasing wax production in Montreal yesterday. So we have two independant factors that will determine pricing going forward. Crude pricing - as wax is extracted in the production of other products (remember - wax is a by-product (waste) of the refining process. It is further refined to a form we know to give it value.) Second - wax supply - even if demand stays flat - decreasing available supplies will keep pressure on the price of semi and finished waxes. I would plan on seeing a continued rise in material prices for the foreseeable future.

These people are located in Memphis. Don't know anything about them... http://www.craftlobby.com/