INEDINCRED88 Posted September 17, 2021 Share Posted September 17, 2021 (edited) I am trying to find the optimal balance between strong hot throw and my wax not turning a gross brownish color after burning. The candle in question is a vanilla cake candle with no color dye - 8% FO - and I’m trying various blends of 6006 and 4627 together with LX wicks, premier wicks and zinc core wicks. The more (paraffin) 4627, the easier the wax burns and the darker brown it turns. The hotter the wick (LX>Premier>Zinc), the easier the wax burns and the darker brown it turns. I’ve made so many candles, and I’m seriously struggling at this point. A 50/50 blend of 6006/4627 with zinc core wick provides essentially no browning or burning of the wax, but with a throw that isn’t strong enough for me. A 75/25 blend of 6006/4627 with LX 14 wicks provides great throw, but the wax burns and browns and starts to smell burnt and sooty. Why does this happen? Is it the vanillin burning? Is it the wax burning? Does anyone have any experience or advice with this scenario? I would sincerely appreciate it. Edited September 17, 2021 by INEDINCRED88 Spelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightLight Posted September 17, 2021 Share Posted September 17, 2021 Try a smaller wick, different wick. And candles with vanilla/vanillin will turn brown. In soap you will get brown soap, in lotion, tan lotion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted September 17, 2021 Share Posted September 17, 2021 Do other fragrances do the same on your candle combos? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glasgowjohn Posted September 18, 2021 Share Posted September 18, 2021 On 9/17/2021 at 1:54 PM, NightLight said: Try a smaller wick, different wick. And candles with vanilla/vanillin will turn brown. In soap you will get brown soap, in lotion, tan lotion. really? Sunshine man thats really good advice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candlesinflorida Posted September 19, 2021 Share Posted September 19, 2021 On 9/16/2021 at 11:12 PM, INEDINCRED88 said: I am trying to find the optimal balance between strong hot throw and my wax not turning a gross brownish color after burning. The candle in question is a vanilla cake candle with no color dye - 8% FO - and I’m trying various blends of 6006 and 4627 together with LX wicks, premier wicks and zinc core wicks. The more (paraffin) 4627, the easier the wax burns and the darker brown it turns. The hotter the wick (LX>Premier>Zinc), the easier the wax burns and the darker brown it turns. I’ve made so many candles, and I’m seriously struggling at this point. A 50/50 blend of 6006/4627 with zinc core wick provides essentially no browning or burning of the wax, but with a throw that isn’t strong enough for me. A 75/25 blend of 6006/4627 with LX 14 wicks provides great throw, but the wax burns and browns and starts to smell burnt and sooty. Why does this happen? Is it the vanillin burning? Is it the wax burning? Does anyone have any experience or advice with this scenario? I would sincerely appreciate it. As soon as I read “vanilla”….you had my empathy. I have avoided all vanilla FO for this reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
INEDINCRED88 Posted September 20, 2021 Author Share Posted September 20, 2021 Thanks for all your replies. Vanilla seems to be very hard to work with, but what is confusing me is that all the research I do seems to indicate the turning brown is normal but the vanilla smelling sooty and Smokey upon all successive “relights“ is not normal. I’m just wondering why this is so difficult? I mean Yankee and BBW feature vanilla in their candles all the time and it doesn’t smell like burnt sooty vanilla. I will try everyone’s suggestions, from smaller wicks to other vanilla blends to see what I come up with. Thanks again, all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfroberts Posted September 20, 2021 Share Posted September 20, 2021 Generally speaking, I have no problems with vanilla scents or FO's that contain vanillin, other than the normal discoloration that comes from using the darker oils. Discoloration when burning is usually due to wick debris or a wick that is too hot IME, and it can happen regardless of vanillin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
INEDINCRED88 Posted September 21, 2021 Author Share Posted September 21, 2021 5 hours ago, bfroberts said: Generally speaking, I have no problems with vanilla scents or FO's that contain vanillin, other than the normal discoloration that comes from using the darker oils. Discoloration when burning is usually due to wick debris or a wick that is too hot IME, and it can happen regardless of vanillin. That helps - Could you maybe give some examples on waxes and wicks you use? I’ve wasted hundreds of dollars in supplies making candles that are awful and I could really use some direction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfroberts Posted September 21, 2021 Share Posted September 21, 2021 10 hours ago, INEDINCRED88 said: That helps - Could you maybe give some examples on waxes and wicks you use? I’ve wasted hundreds of dollars in supplies making candles that are awful and I could really use some direction. I use several waxes depending on the client, but for various parasoy's I use Eco and CD mostly. For my paraffins, I use mostly LX. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
INEDINCRED88 Posted September 21, 2021 Author Share Posted September 21, 2021 9 minutes ago, bfroberts said: I use several waxes depending on the client, but for various parasoy's I use Eco and CD mostly. For my paraffins, I use mostly LX. Thank you. Do you mostly avoid vanillin containing fragrance oils in paraffin? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfroberts Posted September 21, 2021 Share Posted September 21, 2021 Just now, INEDINCRED88 said: Thank you. Do you mostly avoid vanillin containing fragrance oils in paraffin? No, not at all. I don't have any problems with vanillin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdcharm Posted September 21, 2021 Share Posted September 21, 2021 2 hours ago, INEDINCRED88 said: Thank you. Do you mostly avoid vanillin containing fragrance oils in paraffin? Where did you purchase your fragrance oil? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
INEDINCRED88 Posted September 21, 2021 Author Share Posted September 21, 2021 4 minutes ago, birdcharm said: Where did you purchase your fragrance oil? It’s a blend of two from rustic escentuals and one from the flaming candle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
INEDINCRED88 Posted September 21, 2021 Author Share Posted September 21, 2021 2 hours ago, bfroberts said: No, not at all. I don't have any problems with vanillin. This is a real head scratcher. Maybe I’ll try to isolate the fragrance oils to see if it’s any issue with one of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
INEDINCRED88 Posted September 23, 2021 Author Share Posted September 23, 2021 Oddly enough, my BBW candle just did exactly this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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