bramhopecandles Posted January 4, 2022 Share Posted January 4, 2022 Hello, this is my first post here, hoping I can learn from some more experienced chandlers! I bought a candle making kit on a whim a few weeks ago and was instantly hooked. I wanted to try making more candles so went online to suppliesforcandles.co.uk and bought several large bags of Prosoy container wax, 30ml Karen glasses, the appropriate wicks, and a few different fragrance oils. I have probably made around 30 candles now and they seem to be getting worse in appearance rather than better! I have just begun to test the first few that I made (as I wanted them to cure for two weeks first) and they do seem to burn evenly and have a great scent, albeit with a bit of mushrooming on the wick. However, I'm struggling to get nice smooth tops, and am also finding that I get craters / lumps when they cool down after burning too. I've tried pouring at several different temperatures, pre-warming the jars, covering them while they cool, cooling on a warm tray, cooling on a wire rack. None of these things seem to make a significant difference to the appearance. Fragrance load has always been between 7-9%. I have resorted to melting the tops with a hairdryer on some of them, but you can tell it's not a natural finish. I have tried doing a thin second pour but this also hasn't made a huge difference. Not sure what else to try now... although doing lots of reading on here tonight has made me wonder if I need to stir the wax & oil more (I had been avoiding stirring too much as I read it can cause air bubbles). I'm also thinking of trying a different wax and have my eye on the Golden Wax 464. I have been looking at different suppliers for fragrance oils too, but it seems like they are all 'much of a muchness' - does the quality of oil vary much between suppliers? Apologies for the ramble! All thoughts, encouragement and tips would be gratefully recieved! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted January 5, 2022 Share Posted January 5, 2022 Welcome to the forum and new obsession. soy and other natural waxes take some time to learn and master. Some soy will just not be smooth no matter what. If it is otherwise nice, I can overlook that. thorough mixing with a wide silicone spatula tends to work well for me. as for fragrance, it varies wildly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bramhopecandles Posted January 6, 2022 Author Share Posted January 6, 2022 Hi, thank you so much for taking the time to read and reply to my lengthy post! Have poured a couple more well mixed candles and I think they look a little smoother. I reckon I will try the 464 wax and perhaps some different oils. Can anyone recommend a good (UK!) fragrance oil supplier? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori berlin Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 On 6.1.2022 at 18:28, bramhopecandles said: Hallo, vielen Dank, dass Sie sich die Zeit genommen haben, meinen langen Beitrag zu lesen und zu beantworten! Habe noch ein paar gut gemischte Kerzen gegossen und ich finde, sie sehen etwas glatter aus. Ich denke, ich werde das 464-Wachs und vielleicht einige andere Öle ausprobieren. Kann jemand einen guten (UK!) Duftöllieferanten empfehlen? I have tried pretty much all the candle stores I could find in Europe. Although I am based in Germany and therefore don't like to pay customs fees, the UK stores listed below turned out to be the best stores as far as materials like scents, wick and wax are concerned. Despite the customs fees, the prices are still cheaper than if I were to buy from an EU store. It depends on what kind of candles with what scents you want to make. Nicandlesupplies.co.uk, for example, has no perfume scents, but other very high quality scent compositions that you can't get anywhere else. On their site you'll also find a really great and quite accurate fragrance load calculator that you should definitely try out. Suppliesforcandles.co.uk again has very, very good and high quality perfume scents. My experience with this is based on the fact that I have purchased the same fragrances from different stores time and time again, https://suppliesforcandles.co.ukhttps://www.craftastik.co.ukhttps://scentssoapsandcandles.co.ukhttps://candle-shack.co.ukhttps://www.randallscandles.co.ukhttps://www.craftovator.co.ukhttps://www.nicandlesupplies.co.uk Basically, you can find really good materials in all these stores. I hope I could help. Best regards and a healthy new year. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bramhopecandles Posted January 18, 2022 Author Share Posted January 18, 2022 Thank you so much! Supplies for candles was the first supplier I tried. I have now used some fragrance from candle shack, just need to wait another week before I can do a test burn Will definitely have a look at the other suggestions too! Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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