classiccandle

Thanks Candybee. I'll try to clarify what I mean.

I have several 10lb samples of soy wax (GB444, GB464, C3, EcoSoya CB-Xcel) and a few samples of paraffin (IGI 2281 and IGI 1274) that I'd like to try blending for a better HT.

I guess I'm asking those of you who create your own blends what percentages you use. I know you'll probably use different waxes than I mentioned above but if you've used 90/10 and didn't get good results but instead got better results using 80/20, 75/25, or 50/50 that's what I'm looking for. Just a baseline on where to start without wasting a lot of time and/or wax.

Edit: I'm looking for the highest soy to paraffin ratio that works best.

Thanks again.

I know there's a sticky regarding what soy and soy blends people use but I'm more interested in what percentages you use for your soy blend. For example, 70% soy, 30% paraffin. What mixture works best for you regarding frosting, wet spots, CT and HT, especially HT?

Thanks!

Thanks everyone for your input. Special thanks to Judy for the "official" declaration info! Who knew putting a label on a candle could be so complicated? Only the federal government would make it so.

I hope this is the right sub-forum for this question, if not would you direct me to the correct one?

I'd like to know how you market the weight of your candles? For example, an 8 oz Libbey Status jar with a glass flat lid will only hold about 6 oz's of wax so do you sell it as an 8 oz candle or 6 oz candle? Do you sell by the weight of the wax or the size of the container?

Thanks!

Just a guess but if adillenal is using IE they should check which version they're using. Some employers are slow to upgrade browsers. If they're using IE 6 they really need to upgrade to IE 8.

Safari (version 5.0.2), Chrome (version 8.0.552.215), and FireFox (version 3.6.12) all for Mac work good.

HTH

Hey Ecco,

I design websites as well as perform search engine optimization services for small businesses and I commend you for putting your business online.

Having said that here are a few issues I see that I would change:

1) Change the background to white. The biggest challenge for those who do their own website is they want to design it the way "they" like it. As it would appear that you like lots of color the majority of your visitors will be turned off by the background of your site. While white may seem boring it's easy on the eyes and your visitors will spend more time on your site. It's also extremely difficult to read what's on the page since your text color is black. (Hint: the majority of the posts in this thread address this one issue the same way - change the background color).

2) Your Title is too long (it's what's between the <title></title> tags). The big three search engines (really two since Yahoo now uses Bing's search engine for their results) typically limit the title to around 60 characters in the SERPs. Any more than that is a waste.

3) Do away with the meta keywords. Again, the big two SE's no longer use the keywords in their ranking algorithms. All you're doing now is telling your competition what keywords you're trying to rank for.

4) Your meta description is good, I wouldn't change that. However, for optimal search engine rankings, each page should have it's own title and description.

5) Too many products on one page. Especially the tart/warmer page. Too many selections tends to lead to confusion and/or indecision and at that point most people will opt to do nothing. Limit the selection to around ten per page.

I think other than those few things you've done a commendable job on your site. Congratulations.

I've gotten to where I can get smooth tops with 444 and was wondering if you have to use a heat gun to smooth the tops with the 415? The fewer steps for me, the better.

I'm testing 444 and I heat it to 185°, add my FO, and pour at 170-180°. Smooth tops every time. The only differences are I don't add dye to my candles and I don't pre-warm my jars.

So do I assume correctly that you use 1/4 oz of FO when testing with 4 oz of wax?

Thanks Ecco. According to the CS website both waxes max out at 12% but the LS website says 7-9% for the 464 and 9-11% for the 444 so I'd feel comfortable going with 1 1/2 oz pp in either wax if the results proved worth it.

I'm testing GB 464 and GB 444 with one ounce of FO and getting "okay" HT. My question is, does increasing the FO to 1 1/2 ounces really make a difference in HT or is it more of a marketing ploy from the suppliers? I currently order my test FO's in one ounce sizes so I can't try adding an additional half ounce to see. If you guys have had success with the additional FO I'll start ordering two one ounce sizes to test with.

Thanks!

Russ