chris77 Posted April 4, 2006 Share Posted April 4, 2006 Hey all....I haven't been around for awhile but I'm back...sort of. Good to see everyone again!I'm working on mottles and am having some mixed successes. I can post pics if needed. Here is my problem. 1 fragrance mottled and worked out perfectly. The next one had pits all around the votive. I've searched on here for reasons and tried everything I could think of. I found that the fragrance sweated out of the votive into the mold more than other fragrances, thus leaving the pits as the wax hardened (my theory). So I added a little more wax and viola...no pits. The botton part of the votive looks bubbly, the rest is about 75% mottled...very little sweating, however the top either barely mottles or does not mottle at all. I'm wondering if anyone has a solution to avoid the pits and still get a more consistent mottle, or at least get the tops to mottle, other than adding more FO to the repour.Also, do a few pits bother you when selling votives? My wife kind of likes them in certain colors.Using candlewic 4045H mottling wax, and fragrance oil at 4.3% for the pitting and full mottling, 3.5% for few pits and skewed mottling.Thanks for the help, and sorry for the long post!Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowCow Posted April 5, 2006 Share Posted April 5, 2006 do you heat the molds? once i started doing that, my pits went away (unless my mold is really dirty....that's anothter issue). different fo's will mottle a little differently. i've not used that wax, so can't be of too much help there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris77 Posted April 5, 2006 Author Share Posted April 5, 2006 do you heat the molds? once i started doing that, my pits went away (unless my mold is really dirty....that's anothter issue). different fo's will mottle a little differently. i've not used that wax, so can't be of too much help there.yes I have...maybe I'll try heating them even more.Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris77 Posted April 6, 2006 Author Share Posted April 6, 2006 89 views and no one is able to give any advice? c'mon guys, I know there are some successful mottlers who can advise me here....please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trish Posted April 6, 2006 Share Posted April 6, 2006 When doing mottles, I always got pits when I heated my molds, if my wax was too hot, or I poured too fast. Try adjusting these things a bit and see if that might help. Tapping the mold could also help... Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted April 6, 2006 Share Posted April 6, 2006 Well obviously varying the FO amount will vary the mottle. Just make sure your molds are really clean. If I suspect a trapped air bubble, I zap the area or near it with my heat gun for a few to get it to release. Pouring too hot can cause them. Pouring too cool can cause them. Pouring too fast and too slow can cause them. You just gotta experiment and see what works for you. I find the hotter the wax is and the slower it cools the more the mottle, but you can stop the mottling at any point simply by rushing the cooling or adding a few grains of an additive that prohibits mottling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris77 Posted April 7, 2006 Author Share Posted April 7, 2006 Thank you Trish and Scented....I'll keep experimenting with your advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ShellyRobyn Posted April 8, 2006 Share Posted April 8, 2006 If I don't heat my votive molds I get pits. If I het too hot I get pits so you just have play with it a little. I hate pits. Also if I pour too cool I don't get a full mottle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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