Searching for the perfect tart wax

[Venetti]

I've tried a few differentwaxes blended together, but haven't been able to get an incredible scent Throw like I want. It's really good, just not there yet. Also, they seem a bit soft, even after adding paraffin. 

 

What do you use/suggest for wax tarts/melts?

(not clamshell.)

 

I've been researching GW 416 and it seems to be pretty decent. Has anyone used this for tarts? And do I need to add anything to it?

 

thanks a million 

 

**edit : I'd like them to be a bit harder so they don't melt in your hand or in the bag. I wanted to try ecosoya pb but it has been discontinued. And ky is too pricey with shipping. 

Edited December 4, 2017 by Venetti

[Belinda]

You're going to get tons of ideas here for the "perfect" tart wax since I think we're all still looking for that LOL! In my opinion (this is just my opinion) most wax will give a good throw if your oils are good. I personally believe the FO is the main contributor to decent throw. 

 

What I've used and still use (I still haven't settled permanently on a wax) but this is what I've used and still do.

For shapes I like 4625 either as a stand alone wax or mixed with 4786. You can even use 4786 by itself and it doesn't smudge even though it's a container wax. I have also used 4625 mixed with 4630 or 6006 and while I like that combo for cups and clams I don't like it for shapes because it smudges. 

You need a votive or pillar wax to harden your tarts so they don't smudge. If you are looking for paraffin then 4625 or 4794 are good choices. 

 

Since you aren't going to use KY's wax because of shipping, have you checked shipping from Flaming? Their wax is the same from my understanding. I've used KY's tart wax and their 133 and 143 but I blend it with either 4625 or 4786 because I don't like the ripples I get with it.I do like all of those waxes though.

I've never tried pure soy so I can't help you there but someone on here will be able to chime in with that advice.

 

What are your methods? How high are you heating the wax and adding FO? Are you testing in an air conditioned area and with what type of warmer? All of these play a part in scent throw.

I have had TONS of scents that I melted here and thought they were duds and took them to work and someone would melt them in their classroom or the office and they were wonderful because I just couldn't smell them here for whatever reason. You're probably getting better throw than you think.

Hope this helps!

[Venetti]

1 hour ago, Belinda said:

 

What are your methods? How high are you heating the wax and adding FO? Are you testing in an air conditioned area and with what type of warmer? All of these play a part in scent throw.

I have had TONS of scents that I melted here and thought they were duds and took them to work and someone would melt them in their classroom or the office and they were wonderful because I just couldn't smell them here for whatever reason. You're probably getting better throw than you think.

Hope this helps!

You're probably right. I use Cs, FB and TFC for FOs. I have these waxes : IGI 6006; GW 464; 444; premium paraffin; and IGI 4630. 

If I remember correctly, isn't 4625 the Vaseline consistency wax? I've never tried it but I've heard great things. 

 

When you say the flaming candles wax is compatible, do you mean Their problend 650 votive and pillar wax?

 

When i went to order the Ky wax, shipping was outrageous, but I just rechecked and it isn't that bad. Would you recommend the 650 or ky?

[Belinda]

42 minutes ago, Venetti said:

You're probably right. I use Cs, FB and TFC for FOs. I have these waxes : IGI 6006; GW 464; 444; premium paraffin; and IGI 4630. 

If I remember correctly, isn't 4625 the Vaseline consistency wax? I've never tried it but I've heard great things. 

 

When you say the flaming candles wax is compatible, do you mean Their problend 650 votive and pillar wax?

 

When i went to order the Ky wax, shipping was outrageous, but I just rechecked and it isn't that bad. Would you recommend the 650 or ky?

It's my understanding that KY wax and Flaming are the same. I've used both and can't tell a difference in them. 4625 is a very hard pillar wax. You're thinking of 4627 I think. That's the one that's like vaseline. I've never used it but have heard it's a great wax. 

Honestly, I've not had good luck with a lot of Flaming's oils. That's not to say they don't have some great ones though. I do have quite a few and there are several that I like but I'm just saying they're not one of my main suppliers. Trappeur uses them a lot and uses all soy and has great luck with them so I'm sure it's just me. 

I'm in Texas and KY's shipping seems little cheaper to me than Flaming. I've ordered wax from both though and their shipping was reasonable but for some reason I'm thinking the last time I compared Flaming was higher.

Just keep testing. I've been doing this a little over 5 years and have had duds in some wax and great ones in other waxes. It's usually the oils or I didn't do something right It think though. There are some on here that have fantastic results with a para/soy, some with straight soy and some with straight paraffin. In my opinion the more paraffin you have in the mix the better the throw and more oils with work with paraffin. 

[Venetti]

I mostly use CS and they're pretty strong. I'm just picky

[Venetti]

Where do you get your FOs? I want to try natures garden but I'm not sure. 

[Trappeur]

I think it would be helpful if you listed what combo waxes you blended together and at what ratios and fragrance oil percentages so that others could offer help/suggestions.

I don't know but it seems to me that you have way too many different waxes(5 of them) and good ones at that too that you are testing Venetti and I'm thinking that you haven't really given  these waxes a good long chance of time?   I would think if you focused in on just one or 2 different waxes that you want to blend and take the time to study them and get to know them, you would gain so much more instead of jumping around ordering all sorts of waxes and now wanting to get some more?   You need to play around with all different ratios and that takes time.  You can't rush things and I'm sure they need cure time.  It takes a lot of time and patience.   If you could also state how long they cured and even the type melter(s) you are using others would come here and make suggestions.  

All this plays into one another.

 

Belinda's suggestions of waxes she uses are excellent.  She makes awesome strong melts.

 

Trappeur

 

[Venetti]

I actually started with the IGI 6006 and used that for years. I stopped making candles due to college/not having enough time/being broke. After graduating, I started back up with my trusty old 6006. I felt as though I hadn't really researched other waxes before using the 6006, but I already knew just about all I could about the 6006. As I started making candles again, I had read about so many different waxes and what they offered individually. I wasn't completely satisfied with the 6006, even though I was content with it. I wanted to try straight soy as I hadn't done that before. I fell in love with the gb 444 wax. I also wanted to try a straight paraffin to see if it really offered an amazing throw as all of my research had said. I've made melts that smelled very strong and threw like crazy. They were too soft for my packaging. I just like to ask anything I can think of to get the best input and advice.

I do not switch from wax to wax. I do have a few different brands just so that I can test and mix to see how They turn out.  Mostly, my waxes are for tarts. I only stick with one wax for my containers and that's the 444. I am still testing wicks.

My process : I heat wax to 185•, add FO (usually never more than 8%) and pour at a few different recommended temps to see what each one looks like. I use 3"dia. Jars. I have oils from Candlescience, the flaming candle, and fragrancebuddy. I don't use dyes in my jars. If they contain soy, I let them cure for at least a week and a half. 

 

 

I've learned sooo much just researching from this forum. 

I'm very thankful for each and every one of you. 

[Jcandleattic]

I think another important factor, just as important as the FO used, is the type of melter used. 

 

There is a wonderful (long) post here on different types of warmers. Let me link it. 

 

 

 

[Venetti]

That's incredible thank you!

[Sarah S]

On December 4, 2017 at 12:42 AM, Trappeur said:

I think it would be helpful if you listed what combo waxes you blended together and at what ratios and fragrance oil percentages so that others could offer help/suggestions.

I don't know but it seems to me that you have way too many different waxes(5 of them) and good ones at that too that you are testing Venetti and I'm thinking that you haven't really given  these waxes a good long chance of time?   I would think if you focused in on just one or 2 different waxes that you want to blend and take the time to study them and get to know them, you would gain so much more instead of jumping around ordering all sorts of waxes and now wanting to get some more?   You need to play around with all different ratios and that takes time.  You can't rush things and I'm sure they need cure time.  It takes a lot of time and patience.   If you could also state how long they cured and even the type melter(s) you are using others would come here and make suggestions.  

All this plays into one another.

 

Belinda's suggestions of waxes she uses are excellent.  She makes awesome strong melts.

 

Trappeur

 

 

I'd like to second what Trapp said. You have a lot of posts asking about wax blends, wicks, oils, and vendors, and kind of all over the place. I can sympathize about not being satisfied and wanting to experiment, but you seem to be jumping around a lot. Please don't take it as me being mean, I'm just picking up frustration from your posts, and I can't help but think you will not find the results you're looking for this way. 

Please consider taking some time to experiment with just a couple of waxes, and maybe 5-6 fragrances that you like. Try different ratios of wax, and % of FO, write it all down, and exhaust all possibilities with that wax or waxes before moving on. Honestly, most vendors have great fragrances that throw well, if you can't find 6 that you like from one or two of the major vendors, I would be extremely surprised.

 

[Velma]

416 frosted horribly for me = I mean, frosting like I've never seen. It was ugly in the clamshells, and once i melted it in my personal melter, it cooled down to a solid but granular looking surface.   

 

I'm using a blend of 4630 & 415, and I add  4794 for molded melts.  Since I have no control over my customer's warmers, I tend to use a slightly softer wax so their tealights and scentsy warmers will work on it, since those warmers tend to be cooler than the Mainstays and Better Home ones available at WalMart.