ddweller Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Yesterday I made my first wickless candles to test, unscented and with no dye. Melted 464 at 180 then I let it cool down to 100 degrees before I poured them into 4oz tin cans. The wax looked cloudy when I poured them, then I left them to set for about 6 hrs before I tested them. I checked up on them an hour later and inserted my wicks while the wax was still soft. About 2 hrs later, 2 of the 4 had very smooth tops while the other 2 had more frost and felt rougher. Even tho they looked ready to test, I decided to give them several more hours. Everything was going smoothly. No flickering, good melt pool imo but I could be wrong, a little bit of curling, not much mushrooming and the best part was.... very little smoke after blowing out the candles! Never in my life have I seen a candle produce so little smoke. That's always been my biggest pet peeve with candles. So I wake up this morning and check if the candles still have a smooth top and nope! Both have this curdled milk top Now I either poured too cold or I should buy a heat gun to melt the wax after inserting my wick in the soft wax. I think It might be the latter because there are like a bunch of little needle holes in the center but none on the outer edge. Any help would be greatly appreciated http://imgur.com/43bdgVc,VBN3DcS#0 <-- Pics are here since they're too big to post here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chappy6107 Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Did you only let it cure for a few hours after pouring before lighting the wick? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chefmom Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 I'm not a soy expert, but the times I did play with 100% soy...that's what it looked like for me after burning and setting up. If you don't want smoke when you extinguish a wick, take a skewer or long bent piece of metal and push the wick over into the melt pool of the candle. This will extinguish with NO smoke at all. It will also prime the wick with a little wax for the next burn and then right after you can be sure the wick is standing straight in the center as it should be for the next time. its the only way I extinguish anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddweller Posted February 5, 2015 Author Share Posted February 5, 2015 I let the candles cure for around 6 hrs chappy6107 and thanks for the tip Chefmom. I usually either blow them out or pinch with wet fingers which I don't do anymore even tho it's kinda cool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddweller Posted February 5, 2015 Author Share Posted February 5, 2015 Oh, does anyone else get the occasional bubble? this is my first time ever lighting a soy candle and don't know if that's normal... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonshine Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 That crater look after burning 464 is normal- it's a soy thing and no matter the temps played with it always hapoened My 415 does it as well but just as bad If it really bothers you you could look into adding additives like beeswax or steric Palm- may help or may not but my experience with 464 is that is pretty normal and does not effect the burn at allBubbles?? That's a different story....what exactly do you mean and are you seeing this while pouring or little bubbles after it sets up or are you seeing actual bubbles when you burn? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddweller Posted February 6, 2015 Author Share Posted February 6, 2015 when they burn there's like 1 maybe 2 at most but they're really small like 1 mm. I wanted to pop it but decided to let it be and see what happened and eventually it went away after about 2 hrs burning. Kept a close watch on them the entire time in case something happened Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest OldGlory Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 What you are describing is how soy candles look after they are burned. Nothing you can do to change it.Bubbles could be a result of pouring too fast. Slow down when you pour, keep the pouring pot close to the top of the jar/tin so no bubbles are formed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chappy6107 Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 do candles need to cure longer that 6 hours if they are only wick & wax? Or do they need a minimum of a week cure like candles with fragrance/color/additives do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest OldGlory Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 Depends on what you are testing for.If you are testing for the right size wick, you still need to give it at least 3 or 4 days until the wax has a chance to set up. The wick will burn soy wax differently the first day (wax is still pretty soft) than it will the 3rd day (wax has had a chance to harden) and give you a false read.If you are testing for hot fragrance throw with soy wax I would suggest waiting 2 weeks before you test burn.These conclusions are based on actual experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.