What is frosting?

[Joni]

I am working on my tealights and felt I was doing good....but now I have "frosting" on the tops. I know I have seen this term before but have no idea what it is or how to prevent it.

[Candle Man]

Tealights uses pillar/votive wax, and if its paraffin you are using, then what you see is mottling not frosting (starburst/snowflake looking).

Here is a look of a mottled candle. This pic belongs to SteveinPA

http://www.candletech.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=5725&d=1144607502

Frosting looks like this

[Joni]

thanks....thats exactly what my tea-lights look like...is there anything i can do to prevent it? Because I read that it happens due to puring at too high of a temperature, but when i poured at a cooler temperature, the tops were really lumpy.

Just trying to fumble my way through, I dont know anyone else who makes candles.

[Henryk]

Couple things to reduce:

1. If you have any beeswax - add it at about 3% and pour just when the wax gets like cough syrup.

2. Add paraffin at about 5%.

3. I've had pretty good luck with this soy additive: http://www.rusticescentuals.com/wax.html *

4. Could possibly be solvents in liquid dye.

5. Drastic - but switch to a no-frost soy like Eco Advanced Soy (search in the veg forum - discussed a lot). This should nearly eliminate it.

* Frosting in general, and the success I've had with this product (using Eco CB135) seemed somewhat dependent on the FO.

HTH