Amy2180 Posted August 24, 2018 Share Posted August 24, 2018 I am new into candlemaking for a while and having tried many combination during the course and need some expert comments since i am in India and no pre fabricated wax blends are available all has to be done by yourself my first blend was 450 gms soy wax 5% palm stearic(22)gms 4% vybar (18 gms) 30 ml fragrance oil color dye and appropriate wick problem faced were low cold throw and big wax pool second experiment 250 gms soy wax 200 gms bees wax 50 gms paraffin oil same fragrance oil and dye and wick good things were good cold and hot throw problem faced very little wax pool tunnelling and ugly looking jar with wax adhered to the sides of jar pics attached can anyone suggest the right blend that fixes these problems really stressed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trappeur Posted August 24, 2018 Share Posted August 24, 2018 (edited) Hello Amy, You will need to be more specific on the following for any one to help you. 1. What brand and style wax and where from? 2. What brand wick, the size you used, and where from? 3. Is that what looks like to me a 16oz country comfort or apothecary jar? 4. How much oil in ounces did you put per each pound of wax? From the picture I detect: 1. You are severely over wicked. This causes sooting. 2. If you use more than the recommended amount of oil per pound of wax that can cause it could be clogging the wick. 3. I would suggest testings of another different style wick. So many things come into play when blending waxes. No one can tell you what to use. You have to continually test. I don't know what you mean when you say you are using paraffin oil? Did you mean paraffin wax? All the additives of stearic acid and vybar sure do come into play in the performance of a candle. Maybe you don't need all this? I don't blend any waxes so I can't make any suggestions of what is or isn't proper to be adding together to bring a nice wax combo. Everyone has their own wax formula combinations and it is a never ending battle to a great blend is achieved. There are a lot of chandlers here who I'm sure will come and make suggestions for doing blends. It would be great if you could state what you use in ounces and pounds for most of us to understand. Good luck to you! Trappeur Edited August 24, 2018 by Trappeur 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted August 24, 2018 Share Posted August 24, 2018 Here’s a nice place to learn a bit about the chemistry behind blends. Maybe some of the ingredients and ideas from this site will help you choose from what is available to you: http://www.howtomakecandles.info/cm_article.asp?ID=CANDL0401 do click the various article links on the left of the page to learn more about how and why each ingredient behaves as it does. You have an infinite combination of possibilities with candle making. It takes a lot of time, experimentation and note taking to learn nough to make a great, safe candle from scratch. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdcharm Posted August 25, 2018 Share Posted August 25, 2018 (edited) Okay, so your first blend was about a pound of wax and too much stearic and vybar. My suggestion is to skip the vybar completely and add only about 1-2 teaspoons of stearic acid per pound. I think the excess vybar may have had a negative effect on your fragrance. On your second experiment, I'm not sure of that combination since not all soy waxes blend well with beeswax and I've never used paraffin oil. Can you tell us the wick size you used, for instance, in the yellow candle? ... and the dimension across the top of the glass? The flame looks quite bold. Edited August 25, 2018 by birdcharm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy2180 Posted August 25, 2018 Author Share Posted August 25, 2018 5 hours ago, birdcharm said: Okay, so your first blend was about a pound of wax and too much stearic and vybar. My suggestion is to skip the vybar completely and add only about 1-2 teaspoons of stearic acid per pound. I think the excess vybar may have had a negative effect on your fragrance. On your second experiment, I'm not sure of that combination since not all soy waxes blend well with beeswax and I've never used paraffin oil. Can you tell us the wick size you used, for instance, in the yellow candle? ... and the dimension across the top of the glass? The flame looks quite bold. Thanks bird harm for your concern and your tips in India there is no such standard wicks or brands or sizes and even wax are unbranded too. and everything has to be done on presumptions and assumptions by experimenting the yellow one in the background is forsurely over wicked and was Blend no 1 no problem in burning but of course with fragrance that can not be seen the blend no2 is in the forefront and is quiet sticky may be due to paraffin oil or beeswax I don't know and the wick seems to be clogged too while burning i appreciate your suggestion of avoiding vybar the question that come to my mind is when it is stated that vybar increases the scent throw so can i use both stearic and vybar in moderation may be 1 tsp stearic and 1/2 tsp vybar and moreover is there any need to add beeswax and what good or bad it will do do reply please Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy2180 Posted August 25, 2018 Author Share Posted August 25, 2018 20 hours ago, Trappeur said: Hello Amy, You will need to be more specific on the following for any one to help you. 1. What brand and style wax and where from? 2. What brand wick, the size you used, and where from? 3. Is that what looks like to me a 16oz country comfort or apothecary jar? 4. How much oil in ounces did you put per each pound of wax? From the picture I detect: 1. You are severely over wicked. This causes sooting. 2. If you use more than the recommended amount of oil per pound of wax that can cause it could be clogging the wick. 3. I would suggest testings of another different style wick. So many things come into play when blending waxes. No one can tell you what to use. You have to continually test. I don't know what you mean when you say you are using paraffin oil? Did you mean paraffin wax? All the additives of stearic acid and vybar sure do come into play in the performance of a candle. Maybe you don't need all this? I don't blend any waxes so I can't make any suggestions of what is or isn't proper to be adding together to bring a nice wax combo. Everyone has their own wax formula combinations and it is a never ending battle to a great blend is achieved. There are a lot of chandlers here who I'm sure will come and make suggestions for doing blends. It would be great if you could state what you use in ounces and pounds for most of us to understand. Good luck to you! Trappeur Hi Trappeueur thanks for the reply and your concern for your first set of questions i would say there are no branded and standard wax blends as well as wicks are available in India we do all the things through hit and trial the jar is is a 6 oz yankee jar the oils is paraffin oil that is mineral oil and i use about 3.5 oz in 2 pounds of wax( 17.5 ozsoy wax and 14 oz bees wax) and 60 ml of fragrance oil that makes a total of 2.3 pounds i agree every one has its own wax formula and through this platform i would like to hear experiences of the pioneers like you and benefit thank you and waiting for your reply further Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trappeur Posted August 25, 2018 Share Posted August 25, 2018 Wow Amy.....that is unbelievable you have to do things trial and error...God love ya! Geesh, I sure wished I could help/make suggestions. - But that is sure shooting in the dark! You know there are so many seasoned chandlers on this board who will come and make their sugguestions, but I know they will be saying the same thing. I'm thinking what may help others to help you some is if you told the actual name of the companies of where you buy and what you buy and let them go over to those websites and they can read up on what you are using and go from there and give some suggestions? Trappeur 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdcharm Posted August 25, 2018 Share Posted August 25, 2018 7 hours ago, Amy2180 said: Thanks birdcharm for your concern and your tips ...... ....... and the wick seems to be clogged too while burning i appreciate your suggestion of avoiding vybar the question that come to my mind is when it is stated that vybar increases the scent throw so can i use both stearic and vybar in moderation may be 1 tsp stearic and 1/2 tsp vybar and moreover is there any need to add beeswax and what good or bad it will do do reply please Hi Amy, Maybe try still using the vybar at less than 2% if you wish to experiment, but note that there are two types of vybar, one of them being for lower meltpoint waxes. Is the wicking you're using a cotton wicking? Most likely if it's cotton, you need only to down size it a bit, as cotton should work fine. I think the beeswax/paraffin oil or something in your one blend might be the problem with the sticky part, but if you can get your other blend fine tuned, that would be a great start! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy2180 Posted August 26, 2018 Author Share Posted August 26, 2018 Thanks birdcharm and trappeur the wick i use is a cotton flat braided one and are available in diiferent sizes to fine tune my blends i will be experimenting with several combinations around 5 of them 1. 75% soywax 25% beeswax 2. 80% soywax 20% beeswax 3. 75% soywax 20% beeswax 5% paraffin oil 4. 80% soywax 15% beeswax 5% paraffin oil 5. 80% soywax 15% beeswax 5% palm stearic with same fragrance load in all will report the burn result in few days and ask for further suggestions thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdcharm Posted August 26, 2018 Share Posted August 26, 2018 I've seen recipes that call for 75% soy and 25% beeswax ... and, I'm pretty sure I've read some recipes on this board. You may wish to check that out. This is something I'd like to try sometime, but haven't gotten around to it. I don't know about adding the paraffin oil though ... if it's needed, or if it will make for a marbled candle, etc. Good luck and I'll keep an eye out for your test results! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy2180 Posted August 27, 2018 Author Share Posted August 27, 2018 (edited) wanted suggestions for the best wax to be used to prime the wick should i use pure beeswax only I used it once and the wick turned quiet harder than the soy ones is it good or bad or i use the blend of the container candle i am using; to prime the wick i want to avoid paraffin for priming Need more suggestions on this also thanks Edited August 27, 2018 by Amy2180 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdcharm Posted August 27, 2018 Share Posted August 27, 2018 16 hours ago, Amy2180 said: wanted suggestions for the best wax to be used to prime the wick should i use pure beeswax only I used it once and the wick turned quiet harder than the soy ones is it good or bad or i use the blend of the container candle i am using; to prime the wick i want to avoid paraffin for priming Need more suggestions on this also thanks I think that the wax blend you're using is probably best, but a test for any differences would probably be good to do. You can dip the wicking into the wax and then lay it on a waxed paper or something similar and allow it to harden. Depending on the metal wick tabs you're using, you will find it easier one way or the other to prime before or after threading through the tab. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
romulus Posted January 8, 2019 Share Posted January 8, 2019 Amy2180 I am from India too, and I am new to candle making, yes its hard to get good quality wax from India, so I am thinking lets share our knowledge and help each other out ya Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightLight Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 I would use waxes that are easily available to you. Beeswax and coconut oil could make a very nice candle. Also if you have something we call crisco you can use that to make candles with as well. It sounds like you don’t even know if it’s the same Soywax batch to batch. So start very simple. With Candles you want consistency. So start with a very simple blend, and find wicking you know is the same. What kind of candle do you want to make? Container? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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