Quentin Posted January 15, 2018 Share Posted January 15, 2018 What did I do wrong here? I punched two holes on each side of the wick like your supposed to. Then I refilled the cavity with the same wax. I poured into one hole and the wax came out the other, so I assumed it was filled. I removed the centering tool so you could see. What do I do next? Can it be salvaged. I followed the paraffin maker's heating temps, went to bed, and this it what I found this morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quentin Posted January 15, 2018 Author Share Posted January 15, 2018 By the way, that hole you see at the bottom of the picture is about 1 inch deep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted January 15, 2018 Share Posted January 15, 2018 Poured hot. That is natural wax shrinkage. Moved to candle forums. Nobody but the small group will see this otherwise. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 (edited) It should be fine. Just finish off your bottom. If you want, you could pour a little more wax to take care of the shrinkage. If you smooth your bottom off with a heat gun, the wax will fill in the space that is there. Finishing off the bottom will cover up your repour lines on the bottom of the candle. Edited January 16, 2018 by Scented 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quentin Posted January 16, 2018 Author Share Posted January 16, 2018 Thanks Scented. Being new to this, I don't know what you mean when you say "finish off the bottom". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 12 hours ago, Quentin said: Thanks Scented. Being new to this, I don't know what you mean when you say "finish off the bottom". Fill the sunken area to level off. Cool. Then run the bottom over a hot plate to make the candle stand level and make the bottom look nice. for your wax you u may need to either plan for a second pour, or play with pour temps, pour cooler to reduce the amount of shrinking. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quentin Posted January 16, 2018 Author Share Posted January 16, 2018 1 hour ago, TallTayl said: Fill the sunken area to level off. Cool. Then run the bottom over a hot plate to make the candle stand level and make the bottom look nice. for your wax you u may need to either plan for a second pour, or play with pour temps, pour cooler to reduce the amount of shrinking. Thanks, I learned something today. I've tried to follow the wax maker's instructions. They give what temps to melt and their label mentions pouring temp but then it doesn't tell you what the pouring temp is! I think I have been pouring too hot, though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 You may need to experiment to find a sweet spot. Too hot and you get major shrinking. Too cool and you get jump lines. There is a range in between where it comes out almost perfect. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 As the others have said it's just shrinkage which is a natural part of pillar wax. If you pour too hot, even after your first repour you will get shrinkage. What wax are you using? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 (edited) 12 hours ago, Quentin said: Thanks, I learned something today. I've tried to follow the wax maker's instructions. They give what temps to melt and their label mentions pouring temp but then it doesn't tell you what the pouring temp is! I think I have been pouring too hot, though. So how hot are you pouring (after you answer JC's question about the wax lol)? I actually just use a heat gun to level off my candles but I use wick pins and wick assemblies etc. too. Edited January 17, 2018 by Scented 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quentin Posted January 18, 2018 Author Share Posted January 18, 2018 On 1/16/2018 at 9:37 AM, Jcandleattic said: As the others have said it's just shrinkage which is a natural part of pillar wax. If you pour too hot, even after your first repour you will get shrinkage. What wax are you using? I'm starting to get mixed up and ahead of myself. Let's see... I used your suggestions and that one is burning beautifully now. I repeated the same thing with Scented's suggestions and got the same great results. That wax was the one I got from Michael's craft store that was designated for pillars instead of jars like the first paraffin I bought there. Now I'm testing THAT pillar wax with the same formula, but using the "general purpose" paraffin I bought from Amazon. I'm pouring that one in the morning. We'll see what difference it makes. As far as the temperatures, the packages are very vague. Most of them say to pour at about 160-180 degrees. Some mention dropping to the proper pouring temp but they don't specify what that is! I'd say I'm pouring somewhere around 160 or a little more if the thermometer is right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quentin Posted January 18, 2018 Author Share Posted January 18, 2018 On 1/16/2018 at 10:07 PM, Scented said: So how hot are you pouring (after you answer JC's question about the wax lol)? I actually just use a heat gun to level off my candles but I use wick pins and wick assemblies etc. too. Check out the answer I just gave to JC. I AM taking notes now. I also print a sticker with a test number and put it on the bottom of the candle. Then, I amend the new sticker with all the pertinent changes and slap that one on the bottom of the new candle. To answer your question about the temp, somewhere around 160 or a little bit more. That assumes the thermometer is accurate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 Well 160 might be on the lower range, perhaps hot enough to avoid the rustic look and give you less shrink. The 180 might be the higher end and thus gives you more shrinkage so you use more wax and come back and buy more and more lol. There are differences in temperatures but they aren't that obvious in 10 degree increments imo. Glad it's all working out for you now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quentin Posted January 20, 2018 Author Share Posted January 20, 2018 Without a digital thermometer as opposed to my old "analog" bar thermometer, it will always be hit or miss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted January 20, 2018 Share Posted January 20, 2018 (edited) Well ... I don't have a digital sooooo ... no comment. Now if I were still using pour pots, I would probably insist on having at least a thermometer close by. People may scream about that, but I'm in a rough ballpark with the presto pot and there is a thermometer in my place ... more like 5-7 of them. I'll have to ask for a digital thermometer some year and see if I get it ... this way I satisfy my curiosity about them. Now what are the molds you are pouring into? Is that PC pipe of some kind? Edited January 20, 2018 by Scented 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quentin Posted January 21, 2018 Author Share Posted January 21, 2018 1 hour ago, Scented said: I'm using some sort of plastic mold I bought from Amazon. Let's see if this link will work. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XP3RM7Q/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Now, here's the other candle made with the "general purpose candle wax" from Amazon. I poured it at around 175 degrees, left the room to let it cool. Came back in an hour and it was sweating, had a VERY deep well. So I punched a hole on either side of the wick, filled it in, left it out to cool over night and it came out looking like an orange with skin cancer. What could have caused this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam W Posted January 21, 2018 Share Posted January 21, 2018 Quentin: an easy fix for this particular candle is to level it with a heat gun. Sometimes I get excessive shrinkage mainly because I'm not paying attention to pouring temps but I don't let that ruin my day.....heat gun it and level it out....lite that baby and enjoy!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quentin Posted January 21, 2018 Author Share Posted January 21, 2018 Thanks Pam. In the short time I've been in this forum, I've seen a number of posts that mention a heat gun. What type of heat gun is everbody talking about? Do you blow the heat down directly on the top of the candle in the mold? Do you just wave it back and forth and heat the mold while the wax levels off? Could someone send me a link to where I can buy the type I need; or just send me a picture? I may already have one in the garage and just don't know it I'm burning that same candle right this minute. So far, so good. Q Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam W Posted January 21, 2018 Share Posted January 21, 2018 What I have is called an embroider gun == got it at Michael's. But there are many different heat guns on the market -- some resembles guns but I like the embroider gun because it fits my hand better than the gun shaped heat gun...any craft store will have them along with home depot. Something like this : http://www.michaels.com/heater-tool-by-celebrate-it/10314014.html#q=heat+gun&start=3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted January 21, 2018 Share Posted January 21, 2018 6 hours ago, Quentin said: Now, here's the other candle made with the "general purpose candle wax" from Amazon. I poured it at around 175 degrees, left the room to let it cool. Came back in an hour and it was sweating, had a VERY deep well. So I punched a hole on either side of the wick, filled it in, left it out to cool over night and it came out looking like an orange with skin cancer. What could have caused this? How much fragrance? Though sometimes hot will create a mottle, which I am guessing is what you've got if it is all over the candle. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quentin Posted January 21, 2018 Author Share Posted January 21, 2018 14 hours ago, Scented said: How much fragrance? Though sometimes hot will create a mottle, which I am guessing is what you've got if it is all over the candle. 0.84 oz. (25ml) of fragrance to 12 oz. Country Lane #70304 general purpose paraffin. The mold holds about 10 oz. You can smell the fragrance on the candle but very little, if any, fills the room. I understand that's a problem with paraffin. Same formula as Orange Candle No. 1 BUT with the paraffin mentioned above. Q Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted January 24, 2018 Share Posted January 24, 2018 You can get rid of the mottle and increase your candle's abilities with additives if you want ... like stearic. 1 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.