angelsessence Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 I am working with a soy kit I bought on ebay. I have made about 10 candles of different sizes, shapes, colors and fragrences. How ever the only one that turned out any good had a lid to close after pored. I have made some in champagne glasses and others in diffrent jars. I am beginning to think I am just not cut out to make candles, all though I really enjoy it. I either end up with cracks in the tops and large bubbles or they look more like clay. I have tried poring at the temp. specified and also 160 and 180. I have tried to pore at 70. I have tried to pore slow and fast. I have also tried to cover my candles with lids or boxes. I am heating jars before poring and can't seem to get it right. I bought a heat gun and tried it too. My husband is getting mad because he say's it was all a waste. He has spent over 100$ on this project for me. I heat in the microwave for now but looking into a presto pot if I can get on cheap enough and get him to buy it. Out of the 10 candles I have made only 1 turned out and that was after I used the heat gun to smooth out bubbles on sides. The kit reads:Soy wax can last up to 50% longer than paraffin based candles. Soy wax burns cleaner and cooler than other waxes. It has an excellent scent throw both hot or cold. Soy wax has very little to no smoke and does not create soot. Soy is biodegradable and cleans up easily with soap and water. Soybeans are a renewable resource grown right here in the USA! Soy wax supports American farmers and You can melt soy wax right in the microwave.Our wax is Premium 100% pure natural one pour flaked soy C-3 with a melt point of 125° F - 130° F designed for container candles. It is the Safest soy wax available with a 600° F flash point. It has excellent burn characteristics and the best scent throw. It comes in flake form which makes it easy to measure and dispense. Our fragrances are high quality uncut concentrated oils safe for use in soy, parrafin, potpourri, incense, soap and bath and body products with a recommended use of 1/2 oz to 1 oz per pound in soy wax. Our dye chips are concentrated, 1 chip will color a pound of wax. The wick stickums are high adhesive so the wicks can easily be attached to your containers. Our wicks are pre tabbed and primed 100% lead free.I have 6 sizes of wicks available for 2 to 5 inch diameter containers. The standard wicks I send with my kits are for 3 to 3.5 inch diameter containers. If you are planning to use a different size container please let me know and I will send any ratio of wicks that you need.Any advice would help!!!!! How many times can soy be remelted and pored? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erin Lea Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 Ok...this is a confusing post for me. I'm not really sure what the question is, but I'm going to take a stab at this.1) Pick up a presto pot at Walmart. No need for the spout--I have spouts on mine and don't use them. Walmart has cheap presto pots. If you can't do that then heat your wax with a double boiler.2) I add my FO at around 170-180 and then I pour at the slushy stage. I have no idea what temp this is as I just eyeball it and when it starts to slush up, I pour. It helps a TON with the bumpy wierd tops.What do you mean when you say only 1 out of 10 has turned out? What exactly became of the other 9? Just funky tops or ugly? Making soy pretty is an art and it's something you'll learn as you work with it. But, having a pretty candle isn't what's important IMO---it's how good it smells that's important! How do they smell? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hotmama Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 I have always used about 1% beeswax in my soy candles. I recently stopped using the beeswax and have been making straight soy candles and let me tell you, what a difference!!! I am definately going BACK to adding the beeswax. There is much less frosting, the tops are smooth and the color is better. Also, they seem to burn just a bit longer. I bought 2 presto pots on e-bay with the spouts already on them. I use the spout ALL THE TIME and have the presto pot is great because you can regulate the temp. of the wax. I keep wax on low all the time and when I'm ready to make candles I don't have to wait forever for it to melt!Mama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindy/WI Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 I use C 3 soy wax no bw or color. I heat jars with heat gun just enough to take the chill off them. I know some here like to pour this wax hot and I have tried that but for me I've found that pouring around 150 works the best for me. I melt in presto pot to about 180 - 190. Add scent (7% - 8%) and let it cool to my pouring temp then pour into wicked jars. I work in my basement so it is a little chillier down there but I've never used a box or covered my jars, heck sometimes I don't even get a lid back on them for a couple days b/c I've got too much other stuff going on. When I do get back to them I poke a few holes around the wick and the top just to make sure I have no hidden air pockets and then zap with my heat gun, whichs helps for nice smooth tops. C 3 can and will bubble some when candle is lite but it's never been enough for me to worry to much about. If you have any more ? you can pm me and I'll try and help you. Cindy/WI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelsessence Posted January 25, 2007 Author Share Posted January 25, 2007 i guess what i am asking is how do i get them to be smooth on to and have no sink holes or bubbles mine looks like a 3 year old played with clay and a glass jar. lolthey look crumbly like clay stuffed in a jar. i have melted down the wax several times to fix the problem. i am running out of ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juggy Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 My candle tops looked horrible when I started a couple of months ago. But when I started pouring 95-100, they really smoothed out. Warming the jars helps also. I use ezsoy, liquid dyes and fo from BC. Dont give up. I still get some frosting but that is just how soy behaves sometimes. Just keep tinkering around and reading all the great advice here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
logcabinmomma Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 C-3 does NOT like being poured cold. It sounds like the ones that are crumbly everywhere are most likely the ones you poured below 150. Melt wax to 175-180 and add fragrance oil and color, cool to no less than 150 (and that wax does like it warmer than cooler!). Cover with a box or styrofoam cooler and leave it set. I didn't warm my jars with this, but had no problems. I did get some circle cracks around the wick and rarely got a smooth top. Heat gunning this wax ended up with too much frosting for me. In fact, I didn't like this wax much lol, but it's workable!-Kristi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mindy5140 Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 I think you started out to fast. You made to many different candles all at once when usually you start out with one and master that one. What I mean is pick one type of container, test your wicks with that container, your different pouring temps, pick a few scents and your additives. And test, test, test till you are pleased with the end result.I use 100% soy wax and add beeswax, my tops don't always turn out pretty. A heat gun helps sometimes but not all the time. Your not always going to get the perfect top with soy. If you want a perfect top everytime then I suggest you make Paraffin candles.Also at my Walmart they have presto pots that start out at $20, so I would start there if you have one near you.Good Luck,Mindy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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