How do you get true black candle?

[hornermomof3]

Yes I have asked this already and was told t try 14 drops of black,(for 1pound soy wax)But my candle is still dark grey.Then I was told to use Barnloft color but you cant recive dyes from them till middle of Oct. Any other suggestions?? Please I need this asap... How about another company? I use lonestars dye.

Thanks;)

[AmySue]

Yes I have asked this already and was told t try 14 drops of black,(for 1pound soy wax)But my candle is still dark grey.Then I was told to use Barnloft color but you cant recive dyes from them till middle of Oct. Any other suggestions?? Please I need this asap... How about another company?

Thanks;)

I get my dyes from www.lonestarcandlesupplies.com and www.tayloredconcepts.com

I don't think that 14 drops per pound is enough, on mine what I do to get the right color is: I start counting the drops and stop periodically, I then take a spoon and get some of the wax and drop it on a white paper plate. Then blow on it until it is dry to see if that is the color you want, if not add more and stir it in. Repeat that until you reach your desired black, then write that number down and never forget it. Hopefully this helps.

[topofmurrayhill]

The trick is using enough color. If it's not black enough you have to use more, simple as that.

The more transparent the wax is, the less colorant you need. Soy isn't transparent at all, so you need quite a lot. It isn't the best choice of wax for black candles, but if you need black soy you can try it.

In most colorants, the actual dye is diluted in something else. For instance in your liquid dye it's dissolved in a solvent. That makes it less concentrated and you'll need a lot of liquid. A better alternative in a case like this is to buy pure dye, which comes in the form of a powder. Something like 1/4 teaspoon of that per pound might do it. You can get some from candlesupply.com.

Be aware that the dye powder can be difficult to dissolve. If you can make a big enough batch to avoid splattering, an immersion blender might be helpful, but use the slowest speed and be careful. The powder should go in at 190F.

[KFTS]

black in 100% soy can be tricky, you're trying to counteract a lot of white to get black. So yeah, use more and if you're black tends to get a bit purplish (happens to me) try adding a drop or two of yellow to counteract that. I don't know if you know this already but you can add color to your wax, put a small amount of your colored wax in a little dixie cup and let it solidify to get an idea of what your color will be, easier than pouring a whole candle and then remelting to add more.

[MeAndMyPuppyDog]

The trick is using enough color. If it's not black enough you have to use more, simple as that.

What happens if the person uses too much and then ends up clogging wicks?

If you aresn't getting a black enough candle in soy you'll need to find better dye. Same goes for para. Read up on bases used for black. There are violet bases, red bases, etc. There is no TRUE black. It is simply a concentrated form of another color where the concentration of color is so close that it turns black. The more concentrated, the less you need, the darker the candle. Beware. Good dye (and I mean really good dye (even I don't use it the really good stuff) is super expensive. I stick with the cheaper powders and have pretty good results.

Good Luck.

[topofmurrayhill]

What happens if the person uses too much and then ends up clogging wicks?

If you aresn't getting a black enough candle in soy you'll need to find better dye. Same goes for para. Read up on bases used for black. There are violet bases, red bases, etc. There is no TRUE black. It is simply a concentrated form of another color where the concentration of color is so close that it turns black. The more concentrated, the less you need, the darker the candle. Beware. Good dye (and I mean really good dye (even I don't use it the really good stuff) is super expensive. I stick with the cheaper powders and have pretty good results.

Good Luck.

I figured if the wick clogs once you've got your desired color, you change some other variable. Maybe even the wax. I always suspected different dye compounds and formulations might be common in the industry but I don't know the nuances of it at all. Where do you get the best powder dye? I'm familiar with Pourette and was going to try the Pro Powder from BCN because I may have a black candle application coming up.

BTW I think maybe they just use additive colors sometimes? I tried it once with red, blue and yellow Pourette powders and got black. When thinned out it had the same purplish cast that all the Pourette black colorants give you. That yellow is a bitch to disperse.

[Candle Man]

Top,

Here is a direct source for powdered candle dye Pylam Dyes http://www.georgew.com/

[scntdwik]

As in my current case....you make sure the damn dye block is truly black as it says on the bag its in!!!

I purchased quite a few dye blocks from someone on the board some time ago and have been making trying to make black and grey rustics for a friend for 2 days now only to come up with either navy or purple as the end result!

Its very frustrating when you purchase dye blocks that obviously have come out of thier bags and you just find a bag and throw them in it!

I guess on a lighter note, I will keep them for my house since the colors in my bedroom are purple and in the living rm, navy!