adherence problems

[jancita]

Please help. I have been selling beautiful soy/coconut combo candles for almost a year now, and have never had a problem with this, but lately my glass container candles have been very unreliable in terms of glass adhesion. I heat the glasses and heat the room to at least 70 degrees. They are beautiful at first with smooth tops and perfect glass adhesion, but then after 12 hours or so, some of them Shrink and pull away from the sides. I am using 80%soy and 20% coconut, which has always worked in the past. I have tried every tip about preventing this. Does anyone have any ideas why this is happening now, right before an in person show? 

Edited November 4, 2020 by jancita

[TallTayl]

Now that cooler, less humid weather has arrived here, my candles that contain soy do the exact same thing.  Shrinkage...

 

you may try pouring cooler to reduce the %of shrinkage, but it’s kind of a thing with most retail soy blends.

[franu61]

30 minutes ago, TallTayl said:

Now that cooler, less humid weather has arrived here, my candles that contain soy do the exact same thing.  Shrinkage...

 

you may try pouring cooler to reduce the %of shrinkage, but it’s kind of a thing with most retail soy blends.

"it shrinks like a frightened turtle!"     (sorry, I couldn't help myself)   🤣

[jancita]

1 hour ago, franu61 said:

"it shrinks like a frightened turtle!"     (sorry, I couldn't help myself)   🤣

Kind of like Mitch McConnell. So sorry. Couldn’t help myself. But in all seriousness, so buyers accept this Shrinkage?

Edited November 5, 2020 by jancita

[TallTayl]

15 minutes ago, jancita said:

Kind of like Mitch McConnell. So sorry. Couldn’t help myself. But in all seriousness, so buyers accept this Shrinkage?

As long as it is not loudly rattling around nobody seems to care

 

i have tried heating jars, and can succeed with some apricot wax or some coconut but it really doesn’t seem worth the time. Many soy will just frost super ugly. 

[jancita]

13 hours ago, TallTayl said:

As long as it is not loudly rattling around nobody seems to care

 

i have tried heating jars, and can succeed with some apricot wax or some coconut but it really doesn’t seem worth the time. Many soy will just frost super ugly. 

Thanks so much, TallTayl. I know from being on this forum for a short time that you're a guru, so I appreciate the reassurance! ❤️

[TallTayl]

8 minutes ago, jancita said:

Thanks so much, TallTayl. I know from being on this forum for a short time that you're a guru, so I appreciate the reassurance! ❤️

We all do our best with the experiences we have been through. Weather changes are the worst.  If he shrink had not happened in your work space, the temp changes traveling to/from the event and at the event would have been more shocking, I think. 
 

do you wash your jars by chance? Sometimes ultra clean glass helps hold off shrink for a while. 
 

good luck at your show ❤️🥰

[NightLight]

Pour cooler

Adjust the wax and make it softer

Add more soy

 

Every batch of wax test for adhesion. I noticed for example 4630 would come in varying degrees of hardness.

[NightLight]

Ok depending on wax. If paraffin you MIGHT NOT be pouring hot enough. Some of the paraffin waxes and parasoy need to be very liquid to stick to glass. you will have to play with this as well.

Additionally if all fails modify your wax!

[birdcharm]

What about adding a little bit of coconut oil to the mix ... would that have any benefit?

[jancita]

40 minutes ago, birdcharm said:

What about adding a little bit of coconut oil to the mix ... would that have any benefit?

I haven’t done this because I’m already using 20% coconut wax, but maybe this will give me a different effect. Thank you!

[NightLight]

Yes you can adjust your wax with coconut wax. Do test candles and see. Try pouring hotter than you think, and cooler than you think. Work from there. Which soy are you using? Not all of them adhere nicely. Sorry my bad you’re not using paraffin. Sometimes it can be the type of glass you are using. For example I have a parasol formula adheres fab but when I put into little containers the adhesion is terrible, so had to change formula for those.

[jancita]

On 11/6/2020 at 5:48 PM, NightLight said:

Yes you can adjust your wax with coconut wax. Do test candles and see. Try pouring hotter than you think, and cooler than you think. Work from there. Which soy are you using? Not all of them adhere nicely. Sorry my bad you’re not using paraffin. Sometimes it can be the type of glass you are using. For example I have a parasol formula adheres fab but when I put into little containers the adhesion is terrible, so had to change formula for those.

I am using GW464. I had switched to C3 when it first started happening, so I thought if I changed back, maybe the problem would be solved. Not so much. Most of my candles adhere fine, but at least 1 of 4 lately pulls away from the container partially after several days. 

 

[NightLight]

Also make sure you are spot on with pour temp. It can affect adhesion. I like to have fresh clean glass as well..

Is you work area temp controlled? If the temps fluctuate, or you keep candles somewhere that get cold, it will happen. If you are using 20 per cent coconut wax with 464 that’s way too much and could be the cause, reduce that to 10 or less with 464. That’s a very very soft candle with that wax. Different with c3 which is harder. 464 May not be able to stick because of that coconut wax load. Do not pour low temp with 464. Try a higher temp. If you pour at 120, 130 you will have adhesion problems.

 

[jancita]

11 minutes ago, NightLight said:

Also make sure you are spot on with pour temp. It can affect adhesion. I like to have fresh clean glass as well..

Is you work area temp controlled? If the temps fluctuate, or you keep candles somewhere that get cold, it will happen. If you are using 20 per cent coconut wax with 464 that’s way too much and could be the cause, reduce that to 10 or less with 464. That’s a very very soft candle with that wax. Different with c3 which is harder. 464 May not be able to stick because of that coconut wax load. Do not pour low temp with 464. Try a higher temp. If you pour at 120, 130 you will have adhesion problems.

 

This is very helpful info. I really appreciate it. My work area is temp controlled while I’m working but my husband likes to keep our 105 year old house colder on a regular basis. That could explain why I’m having this problem worse now that it’s getting colder. I understand what you are saying about 464 vs c3 and my coconut wax load. The only weird thing is that I get better results with the 464 than the c3. In other words, I have fewer candles that pull away from the sides. I know c3 needs to be poured hotter. I love that I almost always get beautiful smooth tops with c3 and perfect adhesion at first, but after a day or two, about half of them pull away from the sides. So frustrating. I’ll try some of your suggestions including reducing my coconut load. I’m about to run out of it anyway and can’t get any more any time soon due to supply problems, so I should cut down for that reason alone or just try pure soy for a while. Thanks again. 

[birdcharm]

My place gets pretty chilly too.  I've found that if I pour cool (below 120dF), they do much better.  From advice I've read here in the past, I place them in a box overnight with some wrappings around the containers, it does seem to help.  Yet, I think most people understand about the wax pulling away, the nature of things, as it can happen at any time.