Zelda Posted December 26, 2012 Share Posted December 26, 2012 After 6 months of trying to work with soy wax, I've decided to add paraffin to the mix. I've gone from using CB Advance to C3 Naturewax and have had issues with both waxes. CB Advanced produced an lovely looking candle but had no scent throw and I just can't get beyond the sinkholes and bubbling of the C3 wax when i burn it. I've tried and tried but I just don't feel like dedicating another 6 months to a year to perfect something that i'm not 100% convinced is the right wax for me. From what I've read, paraffin is alot easier to use (although I know I have more testing ahead of me) and most importantly, has a great hot throw which is the reason why I wanted to make candles in the first place, for the scent, not the soy!So I've decided to buy IGI 4627 paraffin and mix it with my C3 wax. I love the description of the IGI 4627 wax as being soft, personally I love container candles that are made with soft wax, it seems like they always smell really nice as well as have a wonderful glow. Does anyone have helpful hints or experience with mixing these 2 waxes? I'd appreciate it & many thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justajesuschick Posted December 26, 2012 Share Posted December 26, 2012 I use 4627 and have tested a number of soy waxes but have not used the specific soy waxes you list. I only make melts.I was told to expect that the 4627 was the consistency of vaseline. Who ever told me that to prepare me was RIGHT! I do like it and it will likely remain in my rotation.Hope you do really well with it. Many here (who recommended it to me) use it successfully blended with a number of other waxes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HorseScentS Posted December 26, 2012 Share Posted December 26, 2012 I like 4627 and I don't think it's too messy or hard to work with at all. I keep a large, cafeteria type metal spoon heating in my Presto pot, and then I just drag the box of 4627 over near the Presto pot, open the plastic bag, and easily scoop out lumps of 4627 to add to the Presto. By holding the edge of the bag, I can scrape wax off the sides and out of the corners easily with the heated spoon. Each time I add a lump of wax to the pot, I just let the spoon reheat in the melted wax for a few seconds so I can scoop another lump. You'll learn a lot by using the search function and searching for 4627 and certain types of jars or wick sizes. HTP wicks work best with 4627. To get an accurate test result with 4627, I wait a minimum of 48 hours before burning, and really it's even better to wait longer, like even a week, for the wax to completely harden up. Otherwise, if I burn it too soon, I get drowning wicks and smoking and the melt pool forms too quickly. Personally, I would learn to use just 4627 by itself first, especially if it's the strong HT you want, and then after that, if there's some reason you think you want to try adding soy, then try making parasoy. 4627 can burn and look so nice there's no reason to add soy, in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justajesuschick Posted December 26, 2012 Share Posted December 26, 2012 I will add that scooping it out to weigh it on a scale is the part that is a messy mess! If you do it as Horsescents suggests, that will be eliminated as you will not need to measure/weigh to blend in to the percentage you wish. Just filling a presto full of it would be much simpler than what I do!If you do blend, I found it easier to lay a sheet of waxed paper on a paper plate and scoop out to weigh before adding to the pot. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zelda Posted December 26, 2012 Author Share Posted December 26, 2012 Thanks for all the responses! This forum is an amazing wealth of resources and i'm so lucky to have found it. I'm just about to place my first order and the minimum is 25lbs so i'm glad to read that people like this wax. For me, i'll trade the messiness for the annoyances of the bubbling sink hole filled soy wax containers i've been making! And i'm not sure why i want to add soy wax to it except that i have 20 lbs of c3 that's going to be wasted if i don't use it, but that being said, i'm certainly happy to start with just the igi paraffin and go from there. I'll just be so happy to be able to get a better scent throw with hopefully less issues that i was encountering with soy wax. I'll be happy to update the board as i do my testing and thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HorseScentS Posted December 26, 2012 Share Posted December 26, 2012 (edited) Thanks for all the responses! This forum is an amazing wealth of resources and i'm so lucky to have found it. I'm just about to place my first order and the minimum is 25lbs so i'm glad to read that people like this wax. For me, i'll trade the messiness for the annoyances of the bubbling sink hole filled soy wax containers i've been making! And i'm not sure why i want to add soy wax to it except that i have 20 lbs of c3 that's going to be wasted if i don't use it, but that being said, i'm certainly happy to start with just the igi paraffin and go from there. I'll just be so happy to be able to get a better scent throw with hopefully less issues that i was encountering with soy wax. I'll be happy to update the board as i do my testing and thanks again!I think it's more of a waste to add C3 to your 4627 and cut down the scent throw, and that just wastes the 4627. There are other ways to use up your C3 besides making candles with it, or you can sell it here on the classies. But, if you love experimenting and really have your heart set on blending the waxes, I'm not trying to damped your creativity in any way. Edited December 26, 2012 by HorsescentS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zelda Posted December 26, 2012 Author Share Posted December 26, 2012 I always thought soy wax was a more environmentally sound choice but that was before I did any research! I have now completely changed my thoughts on paraffin and soy wax after actually doing the research, however, I do wonder about other customers that may be turned off thinking the same thing I used to? In the end, I've decided to make the best burning candle I can with the best scent throw and all signs are pointing me to paraffin. Now more testing and waiting for the packages to arrive, at this point I just want to make a functioning candle without any issues! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HorseScentS Posted December 26, 2012 Share Posted December 26, 2012 (edited) I always thought soy wax was a more environmentally sound choice but that was before I did any research! I have now completely changed my thoughts on paraffin and soy wax after actually doing the research, however, I do wonder about other customers that may be turned off thinking the same thing I used to? In the end, I've decided to make the best burning candle I can with the best scent throw and all signs are pointing me to paraffin. Now more testing and waiting for the packages to arrive, at this point I just want to make a functioning candle without any issues!I know what you mean, I went through the same thing. But, most customers don't care what wax is used, they're looking for candles that burn properly and throw a strong scent, and look nice in their homes. It is frustrating when we run into those cutomers that have been totally brainwashed against paraffin by all the erroneous soy hype out there, but you have to deal with customers like that no matter what product you sell. If you research sales training, there are some very effective ways to turn those customers around honestly and ethically. I don't have time to post about how I used to handle that when I was in sales, but maybe later I can. It's a pain in the butt to have to deprogram brainwashed customers, but you can convert a lot of them. Edited December 26, 2012 by HorsescentS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmc Posted December 27, 2012 Share Posted December 27, 2012 Like all soy, C3 has its quirks. One can achieve a beautiful candle with great ct/ht and no bubbles with C3. Using USA (universal soy additive) helps to smooth out the tops and wax and by tempering the wax it will give you a creamy, beautiful candle with no bubbles and that looks great after subsequent burns. You can learn more about tempering if you're interested by doing a search on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zelda Posted December 27, 2012 Author Share Posted December 27, 2012 I've tried it all, or at least most of it with C3 wax, and believe me, I wanted it to work. I have USA (not UA) and it actually made my tops more bumpy, I couldn't believe it! I've also tempered my wax after doing a search on the boards. I've been on the phone with the scientist at NatureWax 4 or 5 times so far (he's so super nice) and we've been trying different pour temps and still can't get success, I know everyones been there but it's so frustrating! Pouring hotter gets air bubbles, pouring cooler gets them too! The tops always look horrible and lumpy unless I don't rip the wick. If i "rip the wicks" after they set about an 1 hour it does get rid of some of the tunneling and major air bubbles I get around the wick when I don't rip the wick but not enough for me to feel comfortable to sell them since they still bubble afterwords, always around the wick. I also have to remelt the tops where the wick was ripped with a heat gun which ends up looking bad. I don't know what else to do. My father is a chemical engineer and even he's gotten involved with my testing, we just can't seem to get it right. One possibility is I live in the East Coast close-ish to the ocean and our apt. is drafty, I cool the candles in closed wooden cabinet and keep our apt. temp at 70-71 degrees but maybe I just don't have enough mastery & control of my environment? One thing I wanted to avoid was doing a second pour but maybe it's necessary with this wax, the scientist said it wasn't though. Regardless, I just want my life a little easier when it comes to making candles, but I'll try some more until my IGI 4627 arrives, thanks for the words of encouragement! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmc Posted December 27, 2012 Share Posted December 27, 2012 Zelda, for perfect tops yes, I ALWAYS did a repour. Most pour C3 around 160* and said their tops are very smooth. For me at that temp, I got alot of frosting. I found that by pouring at 110-115* gave me no frosting and beautiful colors. I use 3/4 tbs of USA pp and add it to unmelted wax. I heat it to 185*, let cool all the way down to AT LEAST the slushy stage (to save time, I would heat in evening, let cool overnight, then heat back up next day and proceed as normal), then heat back up to 185*, add color, remove from heat, add fo, pour at 110*. This does require a bit more work but produces a great candle. By pouring cooler, I never had frosting issues nor wet spots. By doing a repour, I was guaranteed a perfect top : ) Paraffin may be easier, Ive played with both...but I love C3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schmism Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 nice thing about even adding a little soy to your paraffin is you can market your candle as a "soy blend" for those who think soy is better than old fashion paraffin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillowBoo Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 I have tried quite a few too many waxes and always come back to my C3 and 4627 blend. I use about 9% FO with additives. I have actually hadpeople tell me they couldn't burn the candles after a while because they were too strong, (go figure). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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