Questions for the pillar/votive maker

[Candlelovr]

I am wondering why there is such a thing as votive wax. I thought that votives can be made with pillar wax so why do manufacturers make wax that is specifically for votives? I dont see any real difference between votive wax and pillar wax.

Also, I am looking for a clear wax to use as an overpour for my chunkies. I currently use OK6228 but it is an opaque wax and I would really like to start using a more translucent wax for overpours. Can you please recommend one? Thank you so much!

Dana

[RobinInOR]

Votive wax has a lower meltpoint than pillar wax, usually. But not as low as container. Votives are really little containers that have to stand on their own, and the lower melt point helps them burn a bit better, but still have enough structural integrity to sit there without slumping.

But lots of people use pillar wax.

[Breanna]

I for one like the Votive / Pillar wax so I can do both,,to me its a waste of money to buy one wax for votives,,But JMHO,,,

IGI-1343 is translucent and I know several people that use it. HTH

[Candlelovr]

Yeah, I found the 1343, but unfortunately it only holds 3% FO load, and adding additives to increase FO load will cause the wax to turn opaque, which kinda defeats the purpose of spending the money on a translucent wax. Is 3% FO enough? Doesnt seem like it would be when you can normally put up to 9% FO in a pillar.

[VickiB in CA]

Candlewic carries clear wax. I see that the pillar wax holds 6%. I think there's an overlay wax too??

www.candlewic.com

[topofmurrayhill]

You can use practically any kind of wax for votives as long as it can make a free standing candle and pop out of a mold. So when it comes to straight paraffin you could say there's no such thing as votive paraffin.

Of course they have preblends for just about every purpose, so some of those are designed for making certain kinds of votives. IGI 4794 for instance will make a votive that liquifies fairly easily and will hold 6% FO. There are also votive preblends to make slow burning high-MP votives that stand up to hot weather (in case you have to ship votives to hell). Any pillar preblend will work just fine to make something in between those two.

For clear overpours you normally use straight paraffin, which never really holds much FO. 1343 is actually pretty typical. Roughly, the FO retention goes up with the melt point so if you used a paraffin over 140 MP you might be able to use a little more but it's not a huge difference. Plus paraffins with FO and no additives want to mottle.

You can get clever with the additives though. 1% microcrystalline wax will bump up the FO retention and help kill the mottle. Paraflint can also up the fragrance and keep the translucency. Universal Additive resembles a combination of the 2 -- it's easy to get and easy to use. If you use just a small amount it won't make the wax overly opaque.

[Candlelovr]

Awesome Top, thank you for the input! Im sure it will come in very handy! I did get a 10lb slab of the 1343, Im gonna try it with no additives and the 3% FO and see how smelly it really is! Im dying to try a chunk with this overpour!!! I dont have any UA tho..It will be on my next Peak order tho!