Newbie needs help

[juniorfan32]

Ok I am having to repour like 3-4 times and the bottom of the candle looks like poo. Using paraffin, pouring at about 160-200 as I am still experimenting. Using those bags of sand like wax for now. Any ideas? Is it normal to repour that much?:undecided

[Georgia]

I would guess that you are pouring too hot. The hotter you pour, the more it shrinks. Try pouring cooler. Also, how long are you waiting before you do the repour?

[juniorfan32]

I'm waiting about 50 min the 1st time and about every 30 after that

[SpaceGirl]

Are you making pillars? Containers? Which wax?

[juniorfan32]

pillars, 6 inch using paraffin, the kind you buy at hobby lobby

[SpaceGirl]

Are you poking relief holes before you repour? A pillar shouldn't need that many repours. One first pour and one repour is the most I've ever done.

As Georgia pointed out, the hotter you pour, the more the wax will shrink as it cools.

[myst25872002]

The people on here are fantastic and will probably be able to tell you a very simple way to fix the problem, I'm a newbie myself and started out using hobby lobby wax, it shrinks horrible bad but it does give a good finish on a candle. I had a lot of trial and error and frustration before I figured it out. I just made sure I kept poking holes in the wax right around the wick (I use a skewer) so it didn't pull my wick off to the side and just let it cool for about an hour and a half and do my repour and always had to do 1 more repour about an hour later, always make sure your repour wax is hotter than what you poured the candle at, and be careful not to go past the outside edge of the wax when you do the repour because leaving it to cool so long it can start pulling away from the edge of the mold quite a bit and the wax will run down the side of the candle. P.S. you can print a coupon off at they're website and get 40% off on the wax, molds, melting pots etc every time or anything else. I'm a coupon printing fool lol hth

[ladysj]

It sounds like to me you are repouring too soon. I use this very same wax in all of my pillars. That is what I did when I first started making pillars. When you make your relief holes make sure they stay open and I found it is better to wait a few hours or you can even wait until the next day before I do my repour other wise like you said I had to keep repouring. Pour just enough to fill in the sunken area. Try waiting longer to do your repour and see if this doesn't help.

[comfortscents]

I've been pouring candles for 4 years...even had the opportunity to spend a week at a national candle company which was the best thing I could ever do for myself...I now pour in the evening..let candle cool overnight and repour in the a.m. in the early days I was repouring too early and my second pour would dribble down the sides of the jar or if I was pouring a pillar it would always pour a lighter color...I'm repouring at a cooler wax temp and problem has vanished. As far as newbies just thinking candlemaking is as simple as melting wax, pour in fragrance and voila..a candle..I had a steady customer who finally believed she could pour candles..making the huge mistake of buying everything at michaels (and spending top dollar for inferior items) she started making candles...she started selling her candles at one of my retailers low balling my prices...of course people bought them..they were cheaper than mine...however, she could only do it for so long before it became a money pit...plus..she had a problem with a multi wicked candle that she did not anchor the wicks on. I didn't have the luxury of this board and all the information these makers have..test, test, test...I test EVERYTHING...the next biggest thing I would encourage before your first candle hits the shelves is make sure you've provided in insurance coverage...I had an umbrella added to my homeowners insurance to cover any problems..we live in a litigious society..my former customer eventually stopped pouring candles..everyone on this board knows whether they are a soap maker or a candle maker..there's not a lot of $$ in candles..and you never get paid for your time and testing...however, cutting corners in product will kill ya....after 4 years of being in the red I'm finally in the black...but it was 4 long years of losing $$.