Candle guy Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 Hey everyone, I am just curious to see what others may be using as their wax of choice for container candles. I know that many people blend waxes much like how I do for melts. I have used GB464 soy and its not bad but the cure times are crazy. I have and still do use igi4627 and it has awesome scent throw but wicking is really tough. I want a wax that is easier to wick and had a decent scent throw without crazy cure times. Paraffin wax is a preference of mine. Any ideas as a starting point? I really do not want to keep switching waxes but I would like to experiment a bit more. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 I started out using paraffin wax. Specifically the J waxes J223 and J50. Loved them! They are still around but now made by another manufacturer. But paraffin fell out of favor for several years as soy became popular. Also, the internet was (and still is) loaded with a lot of untruths and propaganda claiming all sorts of horrific nonsense about paraffin. When I couldn't sell my beautiful pariffin candles I reluctantly decided to switch to soy. I had to learn the hard way to give the customer what they want. Anyway, after working with soy I decided it wasn't for me but tried mixing my own parasoy. After a couple years of working with and perfecting my blend and candle application I came up with a parasoy candle that my customers loved and I was proud of. But I never quite felt the full love of soy as I could not quite get my soy or parasoy candles to smell as awesome as the J waxes I loved. Next, I tried palm wax. That is what I finally fell in love with and use today. To me, it has the scent throw of paraffin and the clean burn of soy. Sort of like the best of both worlds. For me, finding the right wax was a journey that took many years of experience working with many waxes before finding the right one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candle guy Posted March 15, 2016 Author Share Posted March 15, 2016 Thanks Candybee! It is definitely a journey to say the least yet fun and grueling at the same time 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 (edited) One thing more you may find about waxes after trying and testing. Some scents just work better in one type wax as opposed to another. For example, bakery scents are best in soy. This is a generalization and doesn't mean all bakery scents smell better or best in soy only. But in general I found they seem to work best in soy. I know when I melt my soy wax in my wax melter I soon start getting this restaurant smell like the hot oil in the deep fryer. I am thinking that has something to do with why bakery works so well in soy. On the other hand I found clean scents, florals and fruits are amazing in paraffin while spice, earthy patchoulis, ambers, and unisex blends tend to work better in palm. Again, just generalizations but that has been my experience. Edited March 15, 2016 by Candybee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candle guy Posted March 15, 2016 Author Share Posted March 15, 2016 I have noticed that my brownie scent worked really well in soy but it's lacking a bit in paraffin. Hmmmm interesting point and thank you for that tip. Makes sense now 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck_35550 Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 I strongly suggest Clarus 3022 parasoy. Its 70% soy and 30% paraffin and very easy to wick. There is practically no cure time necessary, although it does get better with age. It is a soft wax and does not hold up well in high outdoor temps but otherwise there are few problems with this wax. I have been using it for over 6 years and there isn't a better alternative than this wax. The 85% 6006 and 15% soy is the only one that ever came close to 3022 IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candle guy Posted March 16, 2016 Author Share Posted March 16, 2016 Chuck out of curiosity, being that it's a mix, what kind of wicks work well with the Clarus? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candle guy Posted March 16, 2016 Author Share Posted March 16, 2016 I do have cd wicks but not cdn. Is there a big difference? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck_35550 Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 Cd or cdn will work well in this wax. The cdn wicks have a coating that helps preserve the wick and depending on who you talk to will either burn hotter or cooler. The cdn seemed to provide a more uniform burn than the regular cd wicks. I've also used lx and eco wicks successfully but the cdn wicks are my favorites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candle guy Posted March 16, 2016 Author Share Posted March 16, 2016 Thanks chuck, Does this wax require any wicking up like 4627 or is it about the norm? I am looking to see if I can get a sample from somewhere. I left an email with the Clarus people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck_35550 Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 Wicking is pretty constant, not a lot of up or down in my experience. You can get an 11 pound slab from Connie's Candles but its pricey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candle guy Posted March 16, 2016 Author Share Posted March 16, 2016 I just emailed clarus and they are sending me a sample it looks like. Thanks for the heads up on the wicking aspect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachtom Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 Chuck recommended Clarus to me as well. We have not tried anything else since. CDN works great. Southwest Candle supply carries them. Very easy and forgiving. Good luck !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candle guy Posted March 16, 2016 Author Share Posted March 16, 2016 Awesome thanks coachtom. I'll play around with the sample Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rami Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 So people prefer soy wax over all the other kinds? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicky_CO Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 No Rami actually they don't the average person just likes a candle because it smells good. The candle maker decides on wax based on what they are looking for in a candle then makes the best candle they can and them markets it if they chose to sell a lot of candle makers never sell they just prefer to make for family and friends. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candle guy Posted March 31, 2016 Author Share Posted March 31, 2016 Rami Everyone has their preferences. Some people like soy because of a cleaner and less soot kind of burn. I like parrafin and soy but it all depends. I have found with using parrafin that I get a better scent throw in most of my scents. My problem with just soy is that it takes a couple weeks for a good cure and even then the scent may not be as strong as I want. I am experimenting with a soy/parrafin blend at the moment. So far so good but it is still a little less scent than the parrafin I use. The plus side is the soy blend looks amazing and is burning cleanly. I will use parrafin, soy, and parrafin/ soy blends depending on scents and customer preference. Hope that helps 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faerywren Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 I had the same issue Candle guy. I was unhappy with the performance of soy alone, so started blending my 464 with 4630. I've never looked back. I want to try a preblended wax. but the idea of re-testing everything does not appeal to me at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candle guy Posted March 31, 2016 Author Share Posted March 31, 2016 Faerywren, I have 4627 and 464 and often thought about trying to blend those two. I am testing clarus 3022 now and so far so good. I will continue to make my 4627 and also my melt blend while practicing with the soy blend. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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