Jaye Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 I made five candles yesterday and after unmolding them today, discovered that every single one of the polycarbonate molds that I used is now stained with the color of the candle that was in it! I know that this won't affect the finish of the next candle I make... but it's a little disconcerting to pour what should be a white candle and have it appear to be setting up pink! I'm sure I'm not the only one that this has happened to - is it from using too much dye? Or too much FO? Or leaving in the mold for too long? Or all of the above? The only thing that I know didn't cause it was from pouring too hot, as they're all rustics. Any ideas on how to remove the color from the mold? I was thinking about bleach... but thought I'd better check with you experts before I go ruining my molds. TIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 Too much dye. Not too much FO. When you use too much info, you'll have releasing problems instead as the FO tends to eat at the polycarb surface. No matter what you do, the puppy will resist coming out most of the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaye Posted November 7, 2006 Author Share Posted November 7, 2006 Thanks Scented. I had a feeling it was the dye, but it seemed I could NOT make my wax red! No matter how much I put in, it was STILL pink! More black and much less red next time. Do you think bleach will work to get the color off without ruining the mold? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 That I don't know. I would contact the company you got it from and ask. I don't really see there being a way to clear the color out, but one never knows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sugarysweet95 Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 i've had this problem with polycarbonate moulds. In the end i just switched dyes so i didn't need as much. Sometimes using different waxes can also help it take the colour better. I didn't bother cleaning it, made more candles in the moulds and after a few goes the colour all but went. Didn't get any of the stained colour on the wax either. So it may be better just to stick it for a while, as bleach is very powerful chemically and if too much FO can damage the side of a mould, just think what bleach would do!!! (I just use hot soapy water to clean my moulds). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conor Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 We had this problem with some fo's etching the surface of the mold and leving a stain of the last color on the inside of the mold. Pollycarbonate is attacked by some (most?) fo's and after a while the mold looses its shine. This is not a worry for rustics but you cannot use the mold to make smooth finished candles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sugarysweet95 Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 Hmm, not too sure about that! One of my polycarbonate moulds, which i got when i was just starting, went all funny. I think as i was new at making candles, i added too much fo/dye/poured too hot etc. Anyway for ages this mould was being annoying, the candles would just not come out and if they did they weren't very shiny!!! Anyway to get the candles out i had to put it in the oven to melt the wax, then i gave it a very good wipe (when it was still hot from oven) to get loads of the wax out and then i gave it a very good clean in hot soapy water a few times. And now it works brill, the candles come out and are nice and shiny again!!! Typical after I bought a new mould the same!!!Anyway, it's worth a try i guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.