new to candle making

[huneyluv]

hi I am new to candle making! Hoping I could get some proper insight!

 

I have made a few scented candles already and they have come out pretty good, just  some issues. I've tried multiple waxes, coconut, soy, parasoy, veggysoy and I've tried multiple wicks, eco, htp and CD. I seem to be coming across issues with wet spots/poor adhesion the sides of my glass jar, wax discoloring, excess soot and not an even melt pool. I've tried so many possibilities I am unsure where to focus on and how to correct what issue. Or how to figure out the root of which issue.

 

please help!

[kandlekrazy]

It's tough to give advice without knowing exact candle wax, wick & jar are giving problems.  Also are you adding color or additives?  Could be pour temp, fo adding temp, wrong wick, too much fo, just so many variables.  Wet spots are inevitable with vege wax, coconut not as much but I still get them.  I'd focus more on the melt pool and hot throw.  Work with 1 wax at a time first without scent and get a good burn and then add scent.  There are so many threads here that address the problems and you can use the search under either general or vege waxes to find most of your answers.

Edited January 6, 2020 by kandlekrazy

[bfroberts]

Without the benefit of knowing the details of your process, my recommendations would be:  choose one wax only, keep your FO load at 6%,  do not try for a full melt pool on the first burn.

[CandleRush]

I would just add 6% is great for palm wax and paraffin but imo 7-9% worked better for me when using straight 464 wax or coconut wax from lab and co. There are some stronger f.o.s like pines, lemon verbena, coffee, peppermint types that have worked great at a lower percentage, many though are not as strong so you’ll have to test.

[StanfordP]

My initial thought was this:  it's winter, and wet spots for me happen because I pour into a cold container. In addition to everyone else's advice above, try warming your jars before you pour. It'll help slow the cooling process. Though, wet spots are inevitable.

[DarrinB]

I agree with StanfordP try heating your jar before pouring your wax into it. A cold jar and hot wax will cause wet spot. I would normally use a heating gun around the outside of the jar for a few seconds or so just to get the jar warm then pour. Your goal is to just the the jar warm not hot.

[Candlefriends]

So to tag along on this subject...and not hijack anything. :D. I've been doing some 8 oz candle tests, with coconut/soy and cottonwood 50 wicks at 8% fragrance load. Things seemed to be going fine until the very last part of the candle's life - right around the 25th hour. They seem to be sooting/smoking more, would this be an indication of my fragrance oil sinking to the bottom of the candle therefore the percentage has increased or the way gases behave at the bottom of the container? Yes, the wicks were trimmed before lighting. Not sure what this is an indicator of - thanks for any insight!

[TallTayl]

1 hour ago, Candlefriends said:

So to tag along on this subject...and not hijack anything. :D. I've been doing some 8 oz candle tests, with coconut/soy and cottonwood 50 wicks at 8% fragrance load. Things seemed to be going fine until the very last part of the candle's life - right around the 25th hour. They seem to be sooting/smoking more, would this be an indication of my fragrance oil sinking to the bottom of the candle therefore the percentage has increased or the way gases behave at the bottom of the container? Yes, the wicks were trimmed before lighting. Not sure what this is an indicator of - thanks for any insight!

Cw50 is a pretty big wick. The second half of a candle heats up tremendously.  Coconut destabilizes soy and accelerates everything once that current starts to build. 

[Candlefriends]

Thank you so much TallTayl - I was on the verge of wicking down thinking that at times the flame was a little large. I do a quite a bit of reading and other sources state that CW wicks can be difficult with coconut. Some seem to think that Cotton core wicks are a better fit with coconut. I'm thinking about switching to ECO wicks. Any thoughts? My next batch I'll try CW 40 and then ECO 8. The candle diameter is about 3"  Thank you again - I'm closer to getting some great outcomes!

 

[TallTayl]

10 hours ago, Candlefriends said:

Thank you so much TallTayl - I was on the verge of wicking down thinking that at times the flame was a little large. I do a quite a bit of reading and other sources state that CW wicks can be difficult with coconut. Some seem to think that Cotton core wicks are a better fit with coconut. I'm thinking about switching to ECO wicks. Any thoughts? My next batch I'll try CW 40 and then ECO 8. The candle diameter is about 3"  Thank you again - I'm closer to getting some great outcomes!

 

For soy coconut blends I lean toward cd, cdn, CDN, htp and sometimes lx.

 

cw can be good, but if not sized right, they can get out of control quickly in coconut waxes. Make allowances for your customers who will not burn candles ideally 100% of the time.

[Candlefriends]

Yes, I really like them, but have noticed they can be hit and miss. Thanks for the perspective of my customers and suggesting to make a candle that is easy and enjoyable for them.