Palm Wax Votives

[Mozzie]

Well, candle making is full of surprises isn't it? :undecided Just poured some votives at 90C using Palm wax and they've puffed up like bread dough and pulled the wicks off centre (using wick pins). My DH is using a heat gun to try to push the "dough" back in to the centre of the mould and has discovered that the votive is full of air. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

[Brat]

Hmm... I've made a couple of dozen palm votives, and they've all turned out great. I poured at about 200, poked relief holes, repoured. They are all fine, except where the repour goes down the side of the mold.

[Mozzie]

Hmm... I've made a couple of dozen palm votives, and they've all turned out great.

Did you pour right to the top of the mould and almost over the edge like in the Candletech instructions for paraffin? Also what about after your initial pour - how long did you wait before poking relief holes? Any tips at all would be really helpful. TIA. Mozz

[dcroome2005]

I never had this problem.. Relief holes?? I never have done these with votives.. I have done it for pillars.. hmmm interesting..

GOod luck with it.. I always pour at 200 for pillar- heat mold before pouring. I love this wax.. I don't use it as often as I would like, but I love it.

My favorite to make in this wax is tarts.. Ohhh they are so pretty .. Don't have to worry about wicking and the scent throw with most of my scents are fabulous with this.

Hope this helps

[Kaybee23]

Did you pour right to the top of the mould and almost over the edge like in the Candletech instructions for paraffin? Also what about after your initial pour - how long did you wait before poking relief holes? Any tips at all would be really helpful. TIA. Mozz

Palm is a very hard and brittle wax and airpockets are very common. If you poke relief holes in it, you really need to do it when it starts getting a shell on the top and keep them open until they are cooled. I always just fill the relief holes and let it run over a bit, just to the edge.

[siberia]

Palm is a very hard and brittle wax and airpockets are very common. If you poke relief holes in it, you really need to do it when it starts getting a shell on the top and keep them open until they are cooled. I always just fill the relief holes and let it run over a bit, just to the edge.

Agree completely. In my experience it is rare to not see air pockets in palm votives. If you don't poke relief holes you will find that your candle "craters" when burned.

[DoLLz]

Air pockets in palm votives. I hate those stinkin' air pockets. Even when you poke relief holes, there are still air pockets in the votive. In fact, when I repour, I use a small poker and kinda dig in the relief hole til all the air bubbles come out. If you dig too much, the cooled wax that comes up from the hole will mar the top of the votive. But, it's better than having a votive that is lit and then goes shwoooooosh when it hits the air pocket.

[Brat]

Did you pour right to the top of the mould and almost over the edge like in the Candletech instructions for paraffin? Also what about after your initial pour - how long did you wait before poking relief holes? Any tips at all would be really helpful. TIA. Mozz

I poke holes as soon as there's a film to poke through. I keep going back every few minutes to make sure the holes are still open. I tend to go down to the bottom of the mold. I keep doing this until no more wax comes out through the second hole. And I do pour to the top to where it looks like it's going to overflow. But, I haven't gotten down the 2nd pour yet, I still tend to make it over the edges, as the wax doesn't sink in the center like paraffin! (Maybe I'm poking too many holes??) I'm still real real new to this, but this is my experience in making a few dozen...

[Mozzie]

Thanks for all the help folks. I'll give those darn palms another go and let you know what kind of results I get. Mozz

[Brat]

Good luck! Post pics!