Jeana

I don't think that 70-75 is cold really. Last year it was way colder in my shop than this year. The room temp would be around 60-65 and I didn't have any cracks on the top or the bottom layers. I just pulled a tester from the order I just made and it is burning hotter than it should be. It's not enough to wick down, but I just hope people are trimming their candles

Depending on the price of your FO, and how much your are increasing it, it can add up to an additional .20 to each candle, or more. If I switch over completely to one of my easier to get Paraffins it will be .31 per candle more. That's not much different. Don't you have to retest everything when you are adding more FO anyway? I just started playing with 4630 because I have it on hand, and I have used it for years to mix with 464. I have rarely seen consistency issues with it over the years. Right away I noticed the throw puts my soy candles to shame . If I switch over there wouldn't be problems with frosting, cracking, or varying batches of wax. I feel this would be worth the .31 more per candle.

This is a layered candle. The bottom part was poured about 175-185, I always pour the colored part this hot or hotter. I' don't check the temp every time I pour. The top part (the part in the pic) was poured no hotter than 135. The next set I poured I did the tops even cooler, like around 125. I still had lots of cracks around the sides. I was able to repair them, but took more time than should have to finish the order. My shop was still around 70-75 for the next set of candles too. I ran a test on one of these latest candles and they are burning hotter. That is frustrating too. So not only am I getting the visual issues of the wax, now I see it is burning differently too.

That's why I started this topic to hear what people have to say about some paraffins on their own. I know I see smooth creamy paraffin candles in stores all the time. I have played with various types of it before. All the ones I've tried are hard, and don't look any better than soy. They seem hazy where they have pulled away from the glass, which doesn't look too different from frost on soy. The ones I've tried don't crack though so that seems like a bonus. But that's why I've alway turned back to soy or soy blends. I also started this topic to see if Paraffins have the same trouble with varied batches. Does anyone use 4730 by itself? I haven't tried that one alone.

I had some very good batches in the fall. The bad ones started in Dec. and have gradually gotten worse.

Thank you, but if I stay with 464 at all I'll be mixing it with something other than 4630. I've been getting some good results with mixing CB#9 when it comes to helping the look and behavior of 464, but now I'm dealing with the zero scent throw. There is no cure to that other than switch to a higher quality of wax. I always pour hot. Usually I get far less frosting pouring hot. I open several new 464 cases each week, all with different batch numbers. There is no way I could test all those boxes each time I open one. Even if I did, what a waste of time to try to perfect each batch of candles for each box I open. That's impossible to make any money that way. I have had delay some very large accounts as it is by some of the changes I see. They aren't happy when I do that. And it costs me thousands of dollars to delay my orders. There should be higher quality control on these waxes. They don't care they get their money and walk away.

@moonshine I was planning on going with either 415 or 444 because I heard there were less issues with them. I'm glad I didn't. I did a few tests with them and they were far less quality that 464, so I stayed with what I know. Where do you get your coconut wax from? I just ordered a sample of a coconut blend from Cal candle supply. And I ordered a sample of one of their straight paraffins. There are too many reviews of 6006 sooting so badly I'm afraid to try that. No one trims their wicks so I know I can't make a candle counting on that LOL. Is Nature wax the only manufacturer of coconut wax? I see that it is to be poured very hot 200+. That's a little hard to maintain that temp when pouring many at a time isn't it?

Moonshine, I mix with a little paraffin, but I’ve used the same recipe for about 7years. I have the exact same recipe and scent hanging around in my shop from other batches of 464 that look great. Smooth, creamy and soft, with no frosting at all. That’s why I know it’s not me, it’s the wax. Funny you mention the coconut wax. I have my eye on some from California candle supply. http://calcandlesupply.com/sc-21-wax-coconut-hybrid-blend/ It’s more expensive that’s for sure, but if it’s higher quality and more consistent it could be worth it. I hope you can find your new wax soon. I don’t get it, soy used to be very consistent until about 3 years ago. Now you never know what you’ll get, especially with Golden brand waxes.

When was the last time you bought your 464? And where did you get it? I get mine from Candlescience. Maybe yours were from later last year. Those were good batches. The batches I've had trouble with lately were made in Jan. The case I had from Dec had a lot of frost issues, but no cracks. the photo is an example of one of the cracks. There were other cracks inside the candle too. CS says it was because my wax cooled too quickly. It was 75 degrees in my shop the entire time I was pouring and when it was setting up. I literally make hundreds of these candles every month, and have been for about 7 years, so I can definitely tell when it's me or the wax. Plus, the throw is pretty much zero lately. I thought it was the testers I was doing, but when I looked up reviews. I see many people are having this issue. Look at CS reviews of 464. There is a man on there that was buying pallets of it. He was having all the same issues I have had. I've always been afraid to buy a pallet because I feel like I would be stuck with several boxes of crappy wax. There are even people in the veggie section of this forum that are having the same issues I am. That's why I want to have an opened mind and try more paraffins. I always heard they weren't as temperamental.

That's actually not bad at all for the ink. Much cheaper than I expected.

I actually mix 464 with 4630 now. Sometimes it makes it worse. Like right now it is making it harder, which I think is contributing to the cracking. I order from Candlescience right now. They have the 4627 and 6006. Their reviews complain about the 6006 having a lot of soot, and inconsistencies of batches too. I saw 4633 too I may order a sample of that one next time. I have tried the 4627. I found it hard to wick. Have you personally used the 6006? When I go to the candle isle at different stores, I get so jealous of how nice, creamy, and consistent other people's candles look. I have candle envy lol.

I am so tired of dealing with the batch to batch changes of 464 soy wax. I've used it for the last 10 years, but I can't take it anymore. I have very large cracks and zero hot throw this time. Last month it was extreme frosting (I have to color one accounts). Its so embarrassing to tell your accounts you can't help how crappy their candles look and throw. It's because the wax changed AGAIN. It's driving me crazy. Can anyone recommend a smooth creamy paraffin or para/soy? I want something consistent. Is that even possible with any wax? I'm on the west coast so It would be nice to have distributor if possible.

Thank you for posting this. It is so nice and smooth. Boy, this would be so nice. Can it do larger labels, like the cigar band type? I only see label machines printing small labels. And how is the ink? Does it go fast? Is it expensive to buy the cartridges?

So I looked this up and its around $3000. Wow, I wish I could get one of those. Maybe one day It looks like it does a great job. You can post some videos to make us jealous, LOL.

Sorry for another Cotton core question, but still testing to replace the ones I was using from Peak. I found a couple sizes that are going great with the exception that they start to lean over, even when the wick is anchored. And the melt pool isn't too deep, or even complete yet. I got the samples from Candle Wic and they do offer high melt point wax priming, which I think could help, but only by custom order, with a minimum of 500 wicks. That's a big commitment for just starting to use these wicks. Does anyone have any hints to keep them from leaning over? Or does anyone know of a supplier that sells the cotton cores with the high melt point priming at lower quantities? I'm using a soy wax, with the standard 2.75" - 3" diameter.

I'm going to try Maestro/Onlinelabels again. I saw they have extensive info for lining up printers now. I'm crossing my fingers it works this time.

Ok, thank you. Ill look at that.

Unfortunately I don’t have any friends who are crafty. But I may try to find some “how to” classes in my area. I would like to see it work, I’m still curious. I guess I am a little like you

Gosh one would be pushing it for me right now, lol. I guess I need to look in another direction.

I'm going to try online labels again. I have a different printer now so maybe I'll get lucky with alignment this time. They have a couple nice band labels I haven't seen before like in the pic I posted. They are still a little expensive when you add up hundreds of them, and something else to make sure I have in stock. The printer you got sounds very interesting. Which model did you get. They look very pricey, but I have to move toward something like this soon I'm sure. I get really tired of DIY everything.

I downloaded Gimp. It's a little intimidating. And I tried Maestro before. I have one of those printers that won't line up with the template, so I usually print on full sheet and cut them myself. I want to get away from that now. I'm not super good at labels, but one thing that helps me for design and content ideas is to go into stores and take notes on what I like and don't like on the labels of products similar to what I'm trying to label. It helps me to be more creative, and has helped my labels look more professional on content. I've got a long way to go on the actual labels themselves though. (Printing and shape)

I've tried so many time to do labels in word. I can't get the hang of it at all. I keep going back to my VERY old label program I've been using for years. It's such a limited program though. I didn't think of using powerpoint for the gradient backgrounds. Something to think about.

This is something that would be nice to be able to do. I was thinking the Cricut would be good for this. Is there another way to make a modified type of cigar band?

From what I'm seeing, the newest model is 2x faster than the last model made. Can you cut more than one sheet at a time? I'm just wanting to do different types of cigar band label styles for soap, nothing intricate. They don't have cartridges its all online now. I've never seen one at work in person, so I still don't get exactly everything works

I've been doing 300-900 soap labels at a time by hand with a slicer for years now. It has to be faster than by hand right? Maybe it isn't LOL. But I want to get more creative with my soap labels now. Since I have many different accounts, and they change their products all the time, I can't see buying labels from a printer. I can see getting stuck with a lot of extras. Not sure how to handle this.