Babean28

:smiley2: Good luck! It can be a very long, but rewarding effort.

Babean 28, where do you purchase the CDN wicks? I"m in Texas and would like to find a supplier in my state but am willing to buy from other suppliers. I've found the CD wick but not the CDN.

I use JBN - Just By Nature - www.justbynature.com. They are located in Mesquite Texas - so you're in luck! Your best bet is to purchase the sampler pack. I think it's around $11.00 for 5 of each wick.

I took this directly from the JBN site - it should help you to understand the difference in CDNs v. CDs.

"The CDN wick is considered the highest premium wick by seasoned candle makers. It is a coreless, non-directional, flat braided wick with a special paper filament woven around it. This configuration is engineered to promote maximum and consistent capillary action while insuring a wick trimming flame posture. The CDN series is used in many different applications and is especially compatible with the harder-to-melt viscous waxes of both soy, vegetable and paraffin base. The CDN series of wick is identical to the CD series except that it has been treated with a special patent-pending process to resist the corrosive action of the acidic nature of natural-based candle waxes."

Ok I changed formula.

Every one looks PERFECT.

Nice job RMS!

I recently switched from CDs to CDNs. With the change, I'm testing CDN12s and CDN14s for my 12 oz Status Jars. I've noticed a significant difference from the CD to the CDN wicks. Less mushrooming and from what I can tell, a cleaner and more even burn. I highly recommend that if you're not sure which wick to use, that you try a sample pack of CDNs from JBN.

THANKS EVERYONE

Stella helped educate me on "tempering" too! I've noticed a definite improvement in both waxes (CB135 & C3) when I temper. I noticed an improvement in smoother tops and less frosting. Can't say my wet spots are getting any better, but I'll take what I can get!

Thank you for all your advice.

I thought about warming my house a little in the evening.

Perhaps to 74-76 degrees.

I like the idea of putting them in the oven.

I tried that once though and the tops came out horrible, but i heated the containers. I wonder if I just leave everything them in the oven, without heating the containers if it would be better.

I like the idea of putting them in the oven too. Stella is right - I followed her advice on this when using C3, and it's amazing how different the results were. It worked best when the wick hadn't already been trimmed though.

I use 11/2tesp ea of USA and CO pp and pour b/t 100*-110*

Thanks! I'm going to back down on the amounts I'm using of each and see what happens. I too am pouring between those temps. How high are you bringing the wax temp before backing it down? Also, have you ever tried tempering this wax? I've noticed an improvement in frosting when I do this.

I use CB 135. I add CO and USA to the wax before I add color. I was having trouble with purples, blues and reds frosting. So far no frosting and nice creamy tops on all colors with the addition of these two additives.

Ohhh....go ahead - rub it in! J/K! I've been testing CB-135 and C3...and now CB135 again. I still haven't found my "happy place" with either wax (sigh) but I'm still plugging along trying every combo and process.

When you add CO and USA, how much are you adding of each PP and what is your pour temp? I'm using 1 TBSP of USA PP but my recent experience has been spongey tops. I'm contemplating backing off on the USA and trying the CO next.

I have also found that some BEESWAX and Cocunut oil make it extra smooth with great adhesion.

Just My opinion.

Have you, or anyone else, tried USA with CB-135? Just curious.

Tell me about it - screaming is right! I switched from CB135 to C3 so I could save on shipping. I'm still testing C3 but with little success. At this rate, I may consider going back to CB135 as after S&H it's a little cheaper than the next vendor with the C3. I did have better results with the CB135, but again, I was trying to be thrifty! Oh well - I wish TNA the best...(sigh).

I to got the email from Laura about her going out of business. It was sad to get this information. And I wish her the best in her new endeavors. Below is the email I got. You will notice that there was NO mention of ANY reasons for her closing. No mention of cost.

You are right, there was no mention of cost - in THAT email to her customers anyway. However, I correspond with Laura on a frequent basis and received a private email from her where this was mentioned. I'm not going to paste that communication here but no one can tell me that cost is not a factor for any of us nowadays with the cost of soy wax. If we're feeling the pinch, then certainly various suppliers will as well.

Well, I just received an email from my C3 supplier stating that they are closing their doors. They cited reasons of soywax prices having doubled in the past few years (among other reasons). I was very fortunate because I didn't have to pay for shipping. Besides my not having to pay for shipping, I've lost a great vendor and support to candle making. I hope everyone doesn't mind my posting my woes...I suppose this was bound to happen eventually and I needed to share. (sigh) :undecided

I'll miss you Natural Artisan!

Went to pick up a prescription today and the candles were gone...so I asked about them and they were in the clearance aisle for $5.00 so I guess soy didn't go over at Wally's! I bought one, it's made in the USA..I'll take some pics later.

Well that was quick! I'm surprised they didn't clearance price it for $5.55 You'll have to let us know how it burns for you.

I too saw that Wally's is carrying a new line, and while it looked like soy to me, I didn't see "pure soy" or any mention of soy on the label. And yes, they did look horrible so of all things, I chuckled to myself and walked away while watching various people in the aisle toss parrafin candles into their carts instead.

Off topic - $8.88 is such an odd price to pay for a candle. :rolleyes2

My niece loves that fragrance ~ she buys those candles all the time ~ LOL ~ She's been asking me to find that fragrance. I found one listed in the classies yesterday ~ I think it was from WSP ~ I'll let you know ASAP if it's a true dupe or not

Hey there! That would be fantastic! I look forward to hearing what your results are! Thanks! :smiley2:

~Faith

Hello there,

I haven't tried mixing my own scents, but I did find a great dupe for Vanilla Lime on JBN - here's the link. http://www.justbynature.com/fragrance-KM.html

Good luck with the rest. :smiley2:

Hey everyone,

I have searched and found duplicate scents for Firewood on-line but before I placed an order with any of the vendors, I wanted to know if anyone here has ordered one and tried it, or who has the best. Henri B's version is amazing and I obviously want the best dupe of this possible!

TIA,

Faith

Ahhh, finally in the last post, I see you are using C3.

C3 will develop this crack under a lot of circumstances. It needs to cool slowly. This means on a rack (the cooling surface can either rob the bottom of the candle of heat or cause it to be trapped, depending on what it is made from), out of drafts. Covering with a box or cooling in the oven or a styrofoam cooler are good solutions because the air is not disturbed and the candles will cool more slowly. The softer, more fragile top wax is being pulled downward as the bottom wax contracts. The top needs to stay warmer longer so it isn't pulled so as the bottom cools.

Hey Everyone,

I took Stella's advice and wanted to share my results.

I used C3 wax, no FO and no dye - just straight wax. I placed the jars on a cooling rack and poured at 130*. I then placed a box over the jars overnight (total of 12 hours) and kept the room temp stable at 75*. The next morning (today) the jars had great glass adhesion and no circular cracks or cave ins (yeahhh!!!). BUT - the tops were very grainy - almost slushy looking. When I touched the tops, little pieces of wax stuck to my fingers like sand...and it was very soft and almost oily. Upon further inspection it looks like it might be grainy about 2 inches down from the top.

Again, the good news is that I slowed down the cooling of the wax resulting in no circular cracks or cave ins, but now I'm thinking I've slowed down the cooling process maybe too much. Is that even possible??? I know I need to continue testing pour temps now that I've changed the process, but I would like to know what people think for why I got the results I did...

Thanks! :smiley2:

I noticed this with a handmade candle I bought. I could pretty much tell it had been made with C-3. There were a lot of holes and air bubbles. When experimenting with different soy wax I did notice that this was pretty characteristc of the C-3. But it does have a really good scent throw.

I'm exprimenting with C3 now and I haven't yet had this happen to me...I suppose it might only be a matter of time though. This candle with the foam was a hand poured candle as well, and interestingly enough from a woman who makes and sells them fairly close to where I'm located. I imagine that since I get my C3 from a local supplier without having to pay shipping, that she might be getting her wax from the same vendor...and she only offers Naturewax.

Remember: NatureWax C3 is not "soy" wax - it is Premium Vegetable Candle Wax". The ingredients from their TDS are: "INGREDIENT STATMENT: Hydrogenated Vegetable Glycerides". In fact, today I couldn't even find where they are calling it vegetable wax on their website any more - it is now called a "premium natural candle wax.":whistle:

Yeah, I just love how it's a "Premium Vegetable Candle Wax" - LOL!

The "spitty" look is common with soy-based waxes. While it is common as the melt pool develops, it usually ceases with full melt pool. I think of it as a transitional occurrence when the temp is not quite warm enough in the melt pool yet - not sure if that is really the case, just how it seems to me.

Hi Stella,

You use C3 with USA, right? I just didn't know if additives could be the culprit for this foam since any soy candle I've ever burned/created has never done this.

So another question: soy wax is naturally ivory, right? (Well, in most cases that I've seen it anyway.) I've tested CB135 and C3 and both cool naturally to a creamy ivory. This candle is whiter than white! Can soys vary by color when in their natural state or is there a dye that makes it white? Will adding white BW brighten the wax?

I just have all sorts of questions today! :smiley2:

Hey Everyone,

I was given a soy candle as a gift from someone (they didn't know I have been making my own) so I decided to burn it today. After burning the candle for two hours, I noticed there are tiny bubbles within the melt pool. They are collecting away from the flames (it's a double wicked 9 oz tumbler). The bubbles and melt pool are almost to the point of being "foamy" - and I'm just perplexed by this as I've never seen it before.

Does anyone know what causes this? Is it possible that it's an additive within the soy? I haven't used USA or any additives myself so I've never had this experience before. I'm just REALLY curious about it!

Thanks!

Faith

Ahhh, finally in the last post, I see you are using C3.

I love it when you post, Stella - I always learn so much from you!!! I like that you are a fellow C3 user as well.

Thanks for the advice and insight above. It all makes perfect sense. I like the idea of the oven. I haven't thought of that, nor have I read anything on that before (except for pre-heating containers). For now, I'm going to begin putting a box over the candles and set them on racks for even cooling. I haven't been doing either of those things.

I'm hooked on the C3...I love how easy it is to work with (despite my current tops). I especially enjoy the no shipping! I'm dedicated to making this wax work - no matter how long it takes! Your advice will certainly help get me there more painlessly, and I'm sure you'll see more posts from me as I navigate through!

Thanks again!

Interesting, with CB135, I haven't had this problem. How long are you heat gunning for? Because I'm doing it just long enough to smooth the top out and there's no "depth" of remelted wax on the sides of my tumbler.. I hope that makes sense... and at times I have to heat gun more than once.

Maybe I'm heat gunning too much - I have had to get a melt pool to the edges when using the heat gun to try and level the top. The circular cracks and cave ins I'm getting aren't small - they are deep. Heat gunning, will certainly smooth it out and eliminate the crack, but there's still a deep crater or downturn at the center. I've switched from CB-135 to C-3 since a local supplier is close by and I can save on shipping. It'll be best for me if I can make the C-3 work...

For soy, buy yourself a heat gun in your HD or Lowe's paint department and zap those rough tops away!

The tough part about doing repours is that it can leave a little line between the old and repoured wax. If you do want to proceed, typically the temp of the wax is a bit higher than your original pour to try and melt the old wax a bit so it blends in. Most ppl would keep the remaining wax in the melting pot and use that. You wouldn't want to create a new batch of wax just for the repour.

Hi RS,

Oops, should have mentioned that I've tried the heat gun! My bad. Using the heat gun has caused the top of the candle where I melted the wax to shrink away from the glass and then I have a circular looking wet spot. I'm just not sure about leaving the wax to cool in my pouring pot - I'd have to double boiler it to re-melt and that's not how I've beem melting my wax.

Have you ever heard of anyone using silicon ice-cube trays to pour their wax into and then after they've cooled, pop them out for a remelt in the microwave? Or is that a no-no with the FO already in the wax?