Ky Natural Votive/Pillar Users:

[Marilyn]

Does anyone use stearic in this wax? And if so, how much? I've just started testing with this wax. Got a circle crack in some and I never had that happen before with my other wax.

[mystical_angel1219]

No need for any additives in this wax in my experience.

[Jeana]

I didn't have much luck with it on its own, but it works great when I mix it with my old brand of wax. I love KY as an additive.

On its own, I had cracks too and it was hard for me to get them out of the molds. I may have been doing something wrong with it but I didn't have the patience to figure it out. I went for a happy medium.

[arafuse]

I've just gotten this wax this past week and only made one batch to test so far and I really like it. It made beautiful smooth and creamy votives. I haven't tested them yet but the cold throw is pretty good after 2 days of curing. There are 4 votives sitting on my counter in the kitchen and they smell up the whole kitchen. The only thing that I have found so far is that they really stuck to the wick pins. I had to put them in the freezer to loosen them and then I took a chunk off the bottom of one and ending up getting two tiny cracks around the wick hole at the top. I was thinking of adding some stearic acid to help with the release from the wick pins. Does anyone know whether that will work? I'm going to be experimenting again tonight. Thanks!

Angie

[Kaybee23]

If you haven't already, spray the wick pins and your votive cups with a regular non-stick spray, and wipe off the excess. That will help some with them sticking.

[Jeana]

One of the guys on this board suggested slightly heating the bottom of the votive with a heat gun. I just started doing this and it works like a charm. You just heat the bottom of the wick pin then tap the top of the wick pin on the counter and it comes apart very nicely.

[arafuse]

Okay, back to the drawing board. They are still sticking to the wick pins. I have tried palm stearic, pam spray and even heating the bottom just a bit with a heat gun as some of you have suggested. The only way I can get these things off is to put them in the freezer for a few minutes and then push on them on the counter. Because of this, I'm getting tiny pressure cracks around the wick area. I know that these will disappear after the first burning but they have such smooth beautiful tops beforehand that I would really like to keep them that way. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Angie

[mystical_angel1219]

I would suggest putting them in the refrigerator instead of the freezer.

Then letting them sit for just a few minutes before pulling the pins out.

I believe that the freezer method not only creates condensation~ which you don't want, it makes the wax brittle and prone to cracks.

I'll share with you how I do mine.

After the first pour, I pop them into the frig and slide the wick pin out.

Then I put a wick in the votive. After that, I place the votive back into the mold and then do the repour. No cracks and creamy, smooth flat tops.

You also can use the heatgun on the votive while its still in the mold to get rid of the surface cracks.

[arafuse]

Thanks Mystical Angel! I'll try your method. It sounds awesome!

Angie

[mystical_angel1219]

Your welcome, Angie.

Let me know how it works out for you.

[topofmurrayhill]

There's a trick that works for paraffin but I don't know if it will work just as well for soy votives or not.

The technique with paraffin is not to push the pin but instead to give it a very sharp whack against a hard surface. Sounds like the results could be terrible but in fact it works perfectly every time whereas pushing will crack the wax. No refrigeration required (or recommended).

It's at least worth trying with one candle because if it happens to work for soy I reckon it's the easiest solution.

[arafuse]

Hmm, the refrigeration method didn't work so well for me tonight. When you say whack it, do you mean take it out of the mold and whack it with the disk side down towards the counter or the pin side down towards the counter? Sorry, just would like to make sure that I don't mess it up. Thanks for the input.

Angie

[topofmurrayhill]

Hold it securely with the pin pointed down and whack it harder than you think you should. Use a solid surface that won't get pock marked from hitting it with the pin. The candles should be room temp.

To get an intuitive feeling for how this works, do you know that trick where they yank the tablecloth and leave everything on the table? To do that you have to jerk the tablecloth real hard. If you do it slowly all the dishes come with the tablecloth.

Whacking versus pushing works kind of like that, at least for paraffin.

[mystical_angel1219]

This won't work for soy, hon.

But the thought is good. Wacking soy will only result in a mess.

[topofmurrayhill]

This won't work for soy, hon.

But the thought is good. Wacking soy will only result in a mess.

How do you know? You don't whack the candle, just the pin.

[mystical_angel1219]

How do you know? You don't whack the candle, just the pin.

Hmm. How do I know?

I have experimented extensively with soy wax. Any force applied to the pin will result in some kind of cracking. Either visible or non visible. I spent countless hours playing with votive wax. Trust me when I tell you, I speak the truth. However~ if you would like to play with this wax and prove me wrong, I will happily send you 2 lbs to test your "wacking the pin" theory.

[topofmurrayhill]

Well duh! Of course I would accept a sample if you really want to bother.

Still, you should give it a try yourself. People complain about paraffin votives cracking too when pushing against the pin. But whacking it is totally different from pushing. It's a force the wax only feels for a teensy fraction of a second before the pin is released.

Think of the tablecloth (votive pin). You would think the harder you pull it the farther the plates would fly and that's true up to a point. But yank it hard enough to overcome friction all at once and the plates hardly feel it.

[mystical_angel1219]

Oh........... I insist. :tiptoe:

I'll let you do the whacking. I hate votives with a freakin' passion.

I sell tons of them wholesale. But I cheat~ I do the 3 oz filled votive in the straight Libbey glass. Works well in shipping to hotter climates. I have counter displays for POS purchases in my stores.

PM your addy Top~ I'll get this out to you to as soon as I dig out that other bag of votive wax thats hidden somewhere in my maze of boxes.

[Marilyn]

Ok, this doesn't help me decide how well stearic acid will help KY votive wax!!! I'm still testing and confused!

[Jeana]

Hey, I whack too:cheesy2: but I don't need a sample. I still say that if the bottom of the pin is heated until the overflowed wax on the pin is melting, then you whack the top of the pin, it just flows off the pin. Obviously the votive has to be pulled out of the mold to heat the bottom of the wick pin. I have broken enough votives myself too. I tried doing the fingernail thing to break the seal on the bottom, freezer, fridge, mold release, stearic, basically everything, I was getting ready to give up. Nothing worked but this heat thing. The the trick is not to overheat and not to underheat. And you still need to whack it good, but the difference is that it doesn't break or crack the wax. In fact the bottom is beautful, smooth, and perfectly in tact. Sorry not over do this suggestion, but I believe trying this and getting it right can really help a lot of frustrated votive makers out there. :smiley2:

http://www.candletech.com/cgi-local/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=veggiewax;action=display;num=1108350003;start=3#3

Here is the link from Scottopus that I got my info from.

[arafuse]

Okay, I'm going to give both the heat gun and the whacking a try. I tried the heat gun once but perhaps didn't do it right. My votives are sticking to the pin itself, not the base, so not sure if it will work. Thanks for ideas. I'll let you know how it works out.

Angie