JennyJ Posted August 15, 2005 Share Posted August 15, 2005 I received a really nice candle last week. The top was slick/creamy sortof glossy, in which the heat from your finger made it maybe "melt" a little so if you make a circular motion with your finger around the wick, it moved effortlessly. My sis who gave me the candle said she was told it is Paraffin wax w/ 25% soy added. I really loved the appearance of it and the scent throw was very nice. I have tried/played around with, J223, KY Preblend, JS123, and APOP waxes. My tops are generally smooth with these but if you would run your finger in a circular motion around the wick, it wouldn't effortlessly move, does that make sense? Anyway, just wondering if anyone makes candles that are really smooth like that? Do you think if I used straight soy in any of the waxes I already have I could get a glassy top like that? Just wondering..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henryk Posted August 15, 2005 Share Posted August 15, 2005 I saw a candle like that at a distributor - the trick was petrolatum (aka petroleum jelly). Can be used up to 30% from what I read. Its just a different from of petroleum hydrocarbons (wax). (Open a NEW jar of Vaseline, the top should be smooth and shiny, stick your finger in it - something like this?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyJ Posted August 15, 2005 Author Share Posted August 15, 2005 That's exactly the right feel! So..maybe experimenting with say 1TBL per pound in a J wax or other paraffin is a good starting place? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henryk Posted August 15, 2005 Share Posted August 15, 2005 Go by weight. Start at 5% up to 30%. The candle I saw it done with I think was J300. Now, that is a blend wax that is mostly soy from what I heard, but is the percentage of petrolatum against the paraffin in it or against the whole thing. That I don't know.Another idea, though I've never used it, is IGI 4627 comfort blend (its a paraffin blend though). Its supposed to be really soft, like a really thick Vaseline (smallest you can get is a 25 bag though). There are people who mix this with soy or use it alone. Do a search in the archives section on comfort - you'll get tons of hits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyJ Posted August 15, 2005 Author Share Posted August 15, 2005 Thank you so much for all your help! I'm going to give it a try this evening and see what happens. I'll pm you the results if your interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henryk Posted August 15, 2005 Share Posted August 15, 2005 You may want to go to the archives and read about it first. Search for "vaseline". Can also search for "crisco". Just so you know, I've not done this, just saw it in posts and there are a few candle supply houses that sell it in bulk. I have no idea what the outcome would be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topofmurrayhill Posted August 16, 2005 Share Posted August 16, 2005 Don't we have enough petrolatum candles in the world already? Maybe it's just me. The purpose of this stuff is to make it possible to increase the FO load to more outrageous levels and generate bigger clouds of fragrance fumes. Sometimes I think this has become the main point of candle making.Oops sorry. Here's a few points on a more dispassionate level...Unless there is some purpose other than to achieve the wax consistency that was described, you probably don't want to add it. It's useful mainly to create a custom container blend starting from a paraffin base. The soft container blends already have it. The main downside with petrolatum is increased soot emissions. Candles generate soot whether you see smoke or not and adding more petrolatum will increase it.On a technical note, petrolatum is a petroleum by product containing bright stock oil and wax. If it's refined further it becomes petroleum jelly such as Vaseline. If you refine it fully and remove most of the oil, you get microcrystalline wax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henryk Posted August 16, 2005 Share Posted August 16, 2005 topofmurrayhill, thanks for that great info - I figured you would know about this. Not that I use it, but was just curious if the brand "Vaseline" is the exact same stuff that you can buy in bulk at some major candle supply places or is there some sort of different process that is done to make it an additive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topofmurrayhill Posted August 16, 2005 Share Posted August 16, 2005 topofmurrayhill, thanks for that great info - I figured you would know about this. Not that I use it, but was just curious if the brand "Vaseline" is the exact same stuff that you can buy in bulk at some major candle supply places or is there some sort of different process that is done to make it an additive?Similar but not the same. Petrolatum is the less refined and more oily version of petroleum jelly. But basically both are micro wax and oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly Posted August 16, 2005 Share Posted August 16, 2005 TopofMurrayHill,I enjoyed reading your post and you are so right. There is usually enough trouble with soot emissions without adding more of the culprit. It can be a good thing when needed but like you said the blends usually already have some in it and can produce more soot -- than I like anyway. I love your matter-of-fact (not sure if this is the right word, lol) way of responding. You seem to be a wise and knowledgable candlemaker (is this supposed to be one word? -- never sure when I type this out -- lol). :smiley2: ~Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
workingwithsoy Posted August 17, 2005 Share Posted August 17, 2005 Sounds like IGI's comfort blend to me, that stuff has a vasoline type of feel....really sticky and soft... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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