glowworm

Success!!! Seeing I was using soy today and could pour cooler I tried only using duct tape pressed very tightly around the wick in a crisscross pattern like the video. I warmed the mold slightly in the oven because last night I poured into a room temp mold and although I had no leaks I did have a few little pits and a rougher looking finish. Tonight, thanks to everyones help, for the first time ever I unmolded a beautiful candy corn pillar, no pits, no leaks and a squeaky clean wick. I'm sure tomorrow will bring a new dilemma/disaster but for tonight I am so happy.

I am definitely going to check into that aluminium tape for my parrifin and palm pillars...I never would have thought of that. Thank you guys for the great advice!

Thanks for the link Puma. Those candles are beautiful! I'm wondering if she uses any putty or does she just use duct tape. Her wicks were perfect. When I used the mold sealer my wicks always had a little gunk left on them. I'm going to try some tonight...wish me luck.

That's what I normally do with my other wicks. The LX wicks curl to one side while burning which has been making my candles burn slighly uneven. It hasnt really affected the quality of the burn its just more of an aesthetic thing for me. Maybe I just need to be not quite as picky.

I use a parrafin blend for my pillars and usually pour at 180. I could lower it some but It seems to me when Ive done that in the past the finish was duller and I would get little pits.

So far with this wax combo I have only been using the 3-4" molds for testing with the pre-tabbed LX wicks. In order to try twisting them i have melted the priming off, secured the bottom and twisted while melted the top a little with a heat gun just enough to allow hot wax to fill in around the wick. It works for testing but doesnt make for the prettiest top...and its a pain in the butt.

Thanks for the pics...and the advice. I am just trying to figure the first option out. Would I just take a piece of spooled wick and thread it through a wick tab and a piece of foam from the bottom of the mold, twist and secure? Do you use anything else to seal the edges of the foam? I tried using a large wick stickum once and even with duct tape I ended up with a steady stream of hot wax dripping through the seams of the tape.

I'm not even sure if LX wicks come in spools but I will check. If I have to use a wick pin is there any creative way to twist the wick that doesn't mess up the top?

I need help finding the easiest and least messy way to wick a pillar without a wick pin. I finally came up with a recipe that I am happy with using LX wicks but in order to get an even burn they need to be twisted. I have made a giant mess several times now because wax keeps leaking through the wick hole without the wick pin.

The only time I was succesful was when I loaded the bottom with wick sealer puddy and duck tape around the entire bottom of the mold. Problem is in order to get the pillar out I have to take all of it off to break the seal, which is time consuming and messy in its own right. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you candybee...it does.

That's the part that has been bugging me for awhile. I could see they were visually blended pretty quickly but figured the additional stirring was important to bind them at a different level. Thanks for everyone's responses.

I have been playing with a combo of 4786 and 6098 for awhile now and like the results so far. Years ago the same person who advised me that stirring for 2' was really important also told me that in order for two waxes to bind properly and completely they need to be heated to 200*. I tend to live by the saying of "if it's not broke don't fix it" but there's just a few things in my process that I am trying to get a better understanding of the reasons behind why I am doing them. The waxes look completely blended far before they reach that temp but I thought maybe something changes molecularly at around 200 that is needed to complete the process. ???

Well I'm definitely going to try to decrease my stir times. Is the reason for only stirring for 30 seconds or less because over stirring decreases throw or is it just a waste of time?

When combining waxes for blends how do you figure out what temperature is required to make sure they bind together completely?

When I first started out someone told me that stirring that long was important to make sure everything is fully incorporated. I am happy overall with my results so I never thought about changing anything but it does seem like a bit of overkill sometimes. I keep my wax around 180 while stirring so I can pour immediately once I'm done. I'm pouring more these days so I'm just trying to find ways to increase productivity without sacrificing quality.

I have always added my fragrances at around 185 and stirred for 2' to make sure everything is fully incorporated. Just wondering what the "norm" seems to be.

I have never ordered from fragrance buddy...are their dupes as good as the originals in most cases? If I do order from them any other really good ones that I should try?

Does anyone have any Tea and Cakes they would be willing to part with. They don't have it at pure fragrance yet (not sure if they are going to) and I only have a little bit left. I do have about 12 ounces of Sugar Cookie Royale I could trade...

That is really good to know...thanks. I don't know why I even started messing with soap....now I have another addiction I need to get help for.

Thank you Candybee. Sorry I forgot to mention that I am using the HP method. Do you think soap made with GM (or any milk I guess) would go bad faster than soap made from just oils and/or butters? I tried finding out what the "norm" was for handmade soap as far as expiration goes but I didn't have much luck. I did find one article/blog that said 1-6 months...does that sound about right? If it is right it seems like they would be going bad soon after they were done curing.???

I was wondering if anyone could tell me how long a bar of goats milk soap is good for if you add the goats milk after it has sapponified? I am relatively new to soap making and after making several batches of bright orange soap I am slightly discouraged to say the least.

After some more digging I found a technique where the goats milk is added at 90 degrees pretty close to when its ready to mold. I like the thought of this because I would assume the wonderful properties of the goats milk would not be denatured from the lye and soaping process but I am afraid it would go bad fast because it hasn't really been cooked in the soap. Any suggestions or ideas?

Check to make sure that the vanilla stabilizer is safe for M&P soap. I know the one from WSP is designated for CP, and there is another for M&P, and I was told they shouldn't be used in the wrong application.

Most suppliers will be able to tell you if a fragrance has vanilla in it, and most are pretty good about calling it out in the descriptions as well. For the record, I have seen a couple of FOs that turned after 2 weeks, but it wasn't drastic. Also, check with your supplier about how long they say the Vanilla Stabilizer lasts. I have heard rumor (but haven't seen it myself) that over a longer period of time it still will turn, it just happens a lot slower than if you wouldn't have used it at all.

Thanks for the info...I will check it out.

Its not unusual for some FOs to discolor the soap color to tan, brown, dark brown, etc. This is especially true for FOs with any vanillin content.

WSP has a vanilla stabilizer. Don't remember off hand who else carries it. It helps with discoloration caused by vanilla FOs.

I tend to buy my soap FOs from suppliers that have tested their oils in CP and tell you if it may discolor your soap. If it discolors in CP it will do it in M&P.

Thanks Candybee! I have some vanilla stabilizer that I bought from brambleberry. I will try that and see what happens and I will also check the FOs that I use more closely. Is there a time frame that this discoloration takes place in usually? For example, if it hasn't turned in a week or two...am I in the clear so to speak? Or is it just a crap shoot when certain FOs will turn if they're going to?

After making unscented and undyed goats milk M&P soap for myself for awhile I decided to try making some small orange chiffon bars for spring. I used non-bleeding liquid orange dye and they were beautiful for the first couple days but then by about day 4 they all started turning a ugly brown. The one I used was the worst...it looked really gross.

Is it because of the fo I used or is there something else I was suppose to add to stop this from happening? I just read the post from jackbenimble so now i'm wondering if that would solve the problem. Any ideas? TIA

Thanks Faithfulscenter! I ordered today and those were all on my list. I also ordered clean cotton, orange dreamsicle, creme brûlée, lemongrass and orange, Hawaiian breeze and almond cake. Now comes the hardest part...waiting . I am hoping at least a couple of these play nicely with my wax. I'll let you all know once I get them.

Will do. I need more FOs like I need a hole in the head but I just can't stop...HELP ME!!!!.

I am about ready to place my first order and was wondering if anyone had any favorites or any I should stear clear from?