Everito Bandito

I wondered about this myself.

Best looking job of wire brushing on a candle that I ever saw. :smiley2: I love seeing clever and practical being put together to make a fine finished product. I really like the outcome. I used to have a real rooster that looked very similar to yours. His name was Billy Jack...that was years ago. Still love rooster stuff.

I didn't. I just put them in the freezer at the beginning (empty) The molds came out of the freezer covered in frost. At that point I thought about the condensation water factor for a moment. Then figured what the heck, pour some hot wax in (150 degrees so it wasn't super hot) and see what happens. Never did put them back in freezer after that. But when I took the candles out of the molds, I was thinking along the lines of what candleman was thinking, too bad I couldna get that shock effect throughout the whole candle.

Thank- you, Michael and Scented - come to think of it, these are my first layers also. I did use the freezer, had those babies deep chilled...lol...and it did a pretty radical number on the blue topped one...LOL.. (shhhh)

Well, according to the wax melt temp provided on this site. That candle would have been a lotion at my house for the last several weeks...LOL

Even though the thread title does state "wax skillets" those look so real that it just didn't register in my mind either until I read further. Way to go, very nice job.

Thank - you candleman, I see what you are saying now, the vybar kills the mottle. There is so much to learn and remember. I'd better write that down.:smiley2: Next time I will just use stearic and decrease the scent load to about 3% - 1/2 oz pp. which is what I think the wax is rated for.

I got these candles from my supplier but I had to put them togeeether myself. wax was 1343 scented with Amaretto Nog .80 oz pp. I made these Saturday morning but wife was out of town for the weekend and had my camera. I definitely had some frosting stuck inside my molds. I chilled the molds and then later as they were cooling, read on candletech that I shouldn't have chilled them. I added vybar 103 about 3/4 tsp pp. to help with the scent load. Stearic at 4 heaping tsp. pp and let cool at room temp for a bit over 9 hrs. Besides chilling the molds what else did I do wrong to lose much of the frosting? Thanks for any help. edited to add: I also used a pinch of UV inhibitor pp. (is this ok to use with rustics?)

Well, it's been many moons since bandito been called a hero, you just made bandito's day-O. Have fun - let's make some more candles

I just have 0 experience with it. My apprehension comes mostly from what I've read and seen on this board. Mostly from looking at pillar burn pics. I wouldn't say that you or I should be worried about working with palm. It's just seems to me that it's a different animal and has a learning curve all of it's own. I'm personally just not ready to take on a new field of learning, right now. Who knows, I may get bored with what I'm doing and try some palm in the coming months. From most of the pillars that I have seen, I think that the basic idea is to leave an outer shell all the way down the burn. You can go to the gallery forum and then do a search on "search this forum" button and probably just type *palm* and you should get some pillar burn picks. I'm sure that there are some members here who are very good at working with palm wax. I doubt that they are the least bit worried or apprehensive. :smiley2: They sure do make some gorgeous candles.

I love the look of palm wax - I have yet to try it - I just wanted to say that my hat is off to you for going for it. :smiley2: I'm a little apprehensive of it.

Really do like those candles. The colors are great, very vivid. :smiley2:

Basically it means to gently turn/push the edges of the pillar candle in with your fingers toward the flame. This is done while the candle is burning and the wax is relatively soft.

Way to go! I like those a lot! Very Nice!

I like the looks of your chunk candle too. It's a great first! :smiley2: I'll also like to see candleman's tips and techniques. Always like to learn more. One of these days I plan to make some chunk candles and just hope they will look half as good as yours. Way to Go!

While a crock pot will probably melt wax, it may not be as safe as some other methods because you may have difficulty adjusting the temps and holding a steady temp. A double boiler method or a presto pot would likely be safer. Buy a thermometer for whatever you use melt your wax in. A thermometer is a must. Many candle makers on this board use a "Presto Kitchen Kettle" because it's easier to adjust and hold a steady heat. On this candletech forum they are commonly called presto pots. You will still need a thermometer to check your temps. Presto Kitchen Kettles can be purchased at Wal Mart for around 22 dollars. You may be able to find a suitable themometer at Michaels or Hobby Lobby or one of the many candle supplers on the internet. This link will show you what a presto kitchen kettle looks like: http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=1-1/qid=1155282729/ref=sr_1_1/602-8835398-4323824?%5Fencoding=UTF8&asin=B00006IUWH note the temp setting dial on the bottom right corner of the pot. This dial can be turned a little bit at a time continuously instead of a "low" "medium" "high" type of heat setting. By using a dial like this one and a *thermometer* you can set your temp a few degrees at a time and then hold that temp.

Not exactly sure what you mean when saying "unmold it", but what I am saying is to turn the mold over and let the 4 in candle gently slide to the bottom. Then as long as the candle is in the mold and the mold is at a right angle to the heating surface, the bottom of the candle should melt level. Of course considering that there is no damge to the mold or the heating surface. I put my folded paper towel under my mold and usually hold the paper towel opposite corners tightly against the mold as I am placing it on my heating surface to prevent the candle from falling out of the mold. Be sure to place the mold flat (perpendicular) onto your heating suface. As the wax melts you can gently move the mold around a bit if you want. Just don't give it any radical spins. At this point you will have some wax building up in your paper towel/s. I generally take a hold of opposite corners of my paper towel and hold them against the mold as I'm lifting the candle away from the heated surface. I am using the paper towel/s to help keep the candle from sliding out of the mold. Then since you have a 4 inch candle in a 6 inch mold don't turn it all the way back over. Just bring it out at a horizontal angle so as not let the candle slide all the way back down into the mold. As you take it out of the pan you may have some wax drippage from the paper towel, so have something in place to catch that or deal with it according to whatever way you find to be best. After a bit of practice it's gets easier and you will likely come up with some new and better ideas on how you like to do it. The bottoms of my candles usually have a bit of the imprint from the paper towel molded into them, but I have yet to see anyone turn one of my candles over and spend more than a couple of seconds inspecting it. If they do take the time to gaze at it then they can at least tell that it is a genuine hand poured candle and not a factory press one. :smiley2: By treating it gently, I generally don't have much surface damage to the sides of the pillar. If I do create any scratches or blemishes, I can usually smooth them out with knee high ladys hosiery than I had my wife get for me. The hosiery makes for a pretty good polishing cloth.

Durham, N.C. - shipping prices are pretty good. http://www.candlescience.com/containers/jelly-hex-jars.php

Thanks for posting these picks. I always like to see test burn picks. These look like 8 oz square masons. Is that true? I have had plenty of dancing flames testing these jars with a 50/50 blend of J223 and eco pure soy. Our waxes are a bit different but I found an eco 10 and a cd 16 to be acceptable. I still wasn't really all that pleased with the burns. Thanks again for showing your testing. I just got some 464 in yesterday.

Really like that, very pretty candle and blue is also my favorite color. :smiley2:

SoyCandle.com also has some pretty good scents (try creme brulee - I haven't tested it in a candle yet but it sure smells good and strong out of the bottle) and their shipping prices are pretty good , too.

Exactly :smiley2:

I haven't used this was, but while you are waitng for some answers. you can click on the seach button up top between new posts and quick links and type C-3 into the field, then click go. You will likely find a good bit of info on this wax using search. It's the search button on the upper bar and not the search this thread button. Good luck with it and have fun. :smiley2: edited to note: I think that you must use at least 3 characters to get a search to work: C-3 would work. C 3 would not. Hope this will help you find some answers.

4 inch pillars in a 6.5 inch mold shouldn't make a difference as long as they are not stuck in the molds.

It's likely to be similar to J223 which I suppose is much easier to find. On this chart - *compatability* is different. http://www.astorwax.com/html/astorlite/astOrdOnline/spectrum.htm this page says that it has better retention: http://www.astorwax.com/html/astorlite/astNews/innovation.htm This place sells it, but for that price I'd want it to have my breakfast ready for me when I wake up in the morning. http://www.herbalhut.com/detail.aspx?ID=16630