KMommy

Wow! Can I hire you to photograph my products? I think you did an awesome job!!!!

Good job:yay:

After frying bacon I open all of the windows and turn on the fans to try and get the odor OUT of the house and people actually want that smell in a candle? I am still surprised at some of these food odors that people actually want. The pizza would make me constantly hungry! LOL

Grumpy Girl has talent but you did very well also!

Sounds like you have some excellent suggestions here! I believe the CO suggested use is 1/2 T per pound. When used at higer amounts there have been some problems reported in testing.

Old Mill FO's are wonderful! I would suggest you try them at a lower % than you normally use. I tested a few at 7-8% and within a few days(some a week or so) I had FO bleeding. Lower % is all you need with these!

I am with Stella and Grama on this also. I make mine so that there is a THIN shell. I find that if I wick up I get blow outs. I like the glow that the pillar has as the candle burns down. I try to test until the pillar has burned down to the middle. There have been times where a wick didn't seem large enough but as it burned down it consumed more and worked out ok. However, based on your photo I think you might have to wick up.

Oh, I see. I think your correct in not doing refills. I reuse containers for my own personal testing but I don't re-use the containers from customers. I should add that I do know there is a food grade paraffin.

I've used tumblers that had previously had either soy wax or paraffin wax. I wash them very well outdoors just to make sure no wax gets in my drain. I scrub with a brush and when all of the wax is gone I use vinegar and water then rinse well. This was just for my own use so I didn't have any problems. I didn't sell them to the customer as use for anything other than candles. I don't know if anyone here is old enough to remember the wax candy lips that use to be filled with gel. When I was a kid they were popular around Halloween. They would either be just funny lips or a mouth with ugly teeth. We all ate those and didn't have any problems. You'd be surprised how much paraffin is used in food products.

I switch from soy for the same reason as you so I understand how you must feel. I've used that wax in the past and didn't find that I had a major problem with soot. I had soot problems when I used CD's and RRD's in containers. Especially the larger size CD's. To be honest I really didn't experiment much further with them since I had so many other wick types on hand. I do have some FO's that no matter what type of wick I tested they always produced soot. I agree with Stella that all candles produce soot, some just produce a very light grey soot that is hardly detected. Black soot covering the jars wouldn't be ok with me either! Are you testing the candle in a small closed room? I find that if I burn a candle in a small space with the door closed I have more scent throw and soot issues. Once I increase the air circulation(most of the time simply by opening the door) I have better results. If you have some LX wicks on hand you may want to try some of those. Also, customer service at GL is wonderful so if you keep having problems you may want to contact them. I know it's fustrating so hang in there:)

I have to say my hat is off to you for even MAKING candles in that heat with no air conditioning. I am not a hot weather person and heat like that would not make me a very happy camper!!! I have noticed that my wick sizes will sometimes need to be increased when it gets colder. So you may want to re-test a couple of the candles you are making now when fall/winter roll around.

Very nice job! You are making me hungry!!!

Thank you Stella! Your explaination makes sense and sounds. I will try your suggestions and report back.

Good for you! How do you think the CD wick compares in scent throw to the RRD?

I used Agree and Gee faithfully back in the 70's and the 80's. I loved both those scents. I've tried the dupes of Gee and IMO they do not smell like the shampoo. I still have several bottles of the orginal Gee shampoo. I haven't tried the Agree dupe yet but I have heard that it suppose to be a good dupe of the shampoo. Breck brought back the original shampoo scent I wish they would bring back GYHST and Agree. If you order the Agree let us know if it smells like the old shampoo.

Sorry, I don't have a working digital camera right now. It could be the crystalization but it really looks too white IMO to be attractive. Most people think it looks dusty or that it looks like it has some sort of powder on it. If I add more color and try to make it darker it increases the white areas. I have located a photo on a site that has palm pillar that looks like the problem I am having. I am not sure if it would be ok to post that here. It really looks like frosting that occurs in soy.

I had this happen when I used that wax and also with Joy wax. Changes in the wax seem to happen more with certain brands or suppliers than others. I have also noticed that my wicking will change depending on the season. It isn't uncommon for me to have to wick up during the winter. Good thing you re tested before you sold any!

I have been trying to make dark colors for pillars such as a brown, burgundy dark blue but I am getting a lot of white areas on the pillar. They do not come off when polishing. Infact polishing them makes it worse. It almost looks like frosting in soy. Some of the white areas are very shiny and others are dull but they both take away from the over all dark color of the pillar. I have tried pouring at different temps. but that hasn't helped. I pour into hot molds and allow to cool slowly in a warm area. I've tried cooling them in a slightly warm mold instead of hot and that hasn't help either. I am not using any additives and I have tried both liquid and dye chips. The problem mainly occurs with darker colors. If the frosting is there in the lighter colors it isn't as obvious. Anyone else had this problem with dark colors in starbust palm?

Ok, this is very odd! I posted a reply here and now it's not displayed! I think I may need another cup of coffee:p I am glad to see this information in writing! I am so very tired of the false information that is being verbally spread about paraffin. Nice to see this in writting! Thanks for posting!!!

Well, I never posted this because I thought I was the only one that had that problem since I've read so many possitive reviews on this FO. I love it out of bottle but I never did get a strong throw in a candle. It was very light for me. In tarts it was wonderful just not in my candles. I've tested it in soy and paraffin at 7%. I can not burn citrus or mint candles because my nose picks up on a fuel smell. For some reason this FO has a fuel smell, to my nose anyway. When I tested it DH returned home from work and as soon as he walked into the room where the candle was he told me that we must have a gas leak because of the odor in that room. I pointed out the candle, when he walked over to it he said that was it and would I please put it out and never burn that candle again! In all of the years I have tested candles he has only said that about 2 FO's. It's such an awesome FO out of the bottle, OOB it is my favorite Mango Papaya. Just didn't work for me in a candle.

I've tried several Pomegrante FO's and the two that always worked the best for me in both soy and paraffin have been the Pomegrante from Scents for Soy(now Fragrance oil Central) http://fragranceoilcentral.com/index.html and Peaks.

Between the two suppliers I have always prefered Peaks oils over BC. It's ashame that those oils and shipping cost so much from RE. If you sell your candles that will certainly increase your selling price. If you order from Peaks I think you will pleased!

I really like all of your candles, the colors are so vibrant!!! That rustic is perfect! I know what it's like to work with cats trying to help you! It's for that same reason that I know have a door on the area that I work in. One of my cats had this habit of sleeping right next to my feet when I was working. She was so quiet that I would never hear her walking up to me. Then one day I didn't realize she was there and almost tripped over her while carrying hot wax!

I detect that smell from some citrus and mint FO's. Using the same FO other testers don't pick up on it at all. However it is so strong for me that I can't burn a citrus or mint candle at all. I have seen it mentioned more than once where someone has reported an odd smell with some scents when using the coconut oil. I had this problem myself and my oil was new. It was sort of like a plastic or spoiled smell. I quit using the CO because if I pick up on it then maybe one of my customers might smell it as well.

I've been following your thread because I've had some of the same problems you have mentioned here. I had a lot of smoke with the larger CD wicks and my melt pools were always lop sided because of the bend in that wick. I'm cheering you on so keep us posted!