help sinkholes in my pillars

[successfulscents]

i broke out my old pillar mold today just to blow the dust off the thing.i poured two candles and i keep getting sinkholes in the bottom after cooling..i am using plain parafin wax...i even tried topping em off and i still get a hole..this is why i gave up on pillars for containers...any advice or tips from the soap congregation.

[prcandles]

How long are you waiting to do the repour? I usually do a repour once the candle has set up and isn't liquid anymore in the middle. Rarely do I do more than one repour, just depends on the size of the pillar.

HTH

Pat

[Fern]

You want to make sure that your candle has cooled completely before you do your repour. If you do, you will be sure that your candle has shrunk as much as it is going to. You can do your repour at around 175-185 degrees and let that set up completely. If you still have a dip in the center you can do a third pour, but you probably won't have to. If it's just a minor dip, you can usually get rid of that when you level out your bottom.

[successfulscents]

thanks guys i will definitely give your advice a try:highfive:

[Scent Cellar]

I didn't see you mention that you are poking relief holes but I assume that you are.

[SatinDucky]

With paraffin pillars, it will always sink on the bottom. The wax shrinks as it cools. That's why poking strong relief holes while cooling is so important, to keep hidden air pockets from forming. As the others said, if it's completely cool before doing the repour, it shouldn't have too much of a dip at the end.

Just a couple hints, either don't let it cool so much the sides shrink away from the mold, or keep the repour down inside the original pour line so wax doesn't run down the outside. You can trim the bottom a bit to level it anyway.

Also, make sure the repour is a bit hotter than the first pour was to make sure it adheres together. It's no fun having the bottom pop off :embarasse