Newbie Oops, Can I Fix?????

[flyspeck40]

I have a whole bunch of soy wax that is colored and smells REALLY great. My first tries at candle making. 3oz of Fo per lb of soy wax. They don't burn very well, but they still stink up a room really good.

I wasn't stirring enough and who knows what else I wasn't or was doing to not get a good throw out of my very first one but........

My question is........can I use that over fragranced wax over again? Add more fresh wax and stir like crazy or what can I do with it if anything.

I should have said questions, how much stirring? The whole time it's cooling? or every 5 minutes?

[number2of7]

I'm still no expert here, but from what I've read here....Yes, you can melt your wax back down and reuse it. Set your oven on the lowest temp until the wax is melted and then pour it back into your melting source.

As far as adding more wax to your already over FO'd batch....yes, you should be able to do that too. If you have 3oz of FO per 1lb of wax, then you could add 2 more pounds of wax.....that should then make you at the proper 1oz FO/pp of wax. I may be wrong on this part, so hopefully someone will chime in and correct me if I am.

As far as stirring, I add FO & dye to my wax at 180, then slowly stir continuously until ready to pour at 150. I guess for you it will depend on your pour temp....but a good 2-4 minute stir will only help.

[flyspeck40]

OK cool, I'll try it.

And what about these tarts that don't smell? Can I redo them also?

[number2of7]

Yes, you can. But as far as the banana nut bread....I've never been able to get a good throw with this one....good luck there.

[flyspeck40]

Well, that's what I put in the oven right after I read the reply that I could. I reckon I won't waste my time on it then. Have plenty of other oopes to play with. LOL

Thank you.

[Toni S.]

Hey flyspeck,

From my past experience and that's just mine, I always use the maximum amount of fo recommended on the bottle by the manufacturer! Again, that's my personal preference. I know, there are alot of candle makers out there that use 1 oz FO per pound of wax but I'm not happy with the fragrance throw!! I always like my candles and tarts a tad stronger. I've tried both ways and I'm much happier with max allowed. Again, just my humble opinion:smiley2:

p.s. And at the manufacturer's max. load, none of my candles ever started on fire!!

[flyspeck40]

Oh no. Now I have to find out what the max load is. :embarasse

My husband and I both smoke, we have two pit bulls and four cats. The cats are not bad, as I clean out both boxes every day, but those dawgs!!!!

I like a strong candle. Because I smoke my nose isn't what it should be.

[Toni S.]

I know where you're coming from! I LOVE strong candles too, you know, stinky cigs? The max. amount of FO should always be on the bottles or check the websites you purchase them from. Who is your supplier(s)?

[carol k]

i use 415 pure soy & the max fo load is 1.5oz pp. my banana nut bread (mc's) is an awesome thrower @ 1.5oz pp.

[Toni S.]

Hey Carol,

What's 415 pure soy, never heard of it? But then again, that doesn't mean awhole lot. Just wondering

[flyspeck40]

I've been getting my wax and fragrance from Wellington Fragrance. It's about 20 minutes from my house. I'm too cheap to pay all that shipping if I don't have to.

I don't like their wicks at all. I've been ordering from KY and Candle&Supply for my wicks.

I was reading on some other threads about curing tarts. I'm using the plastic Folgers cans. I don't see a #5 anywhere on it. Should I take them out?

And do I have to have a lid on a container candle to let it cure? I haven't been doing that.

[Violetsexoticcandles]

Banana nut bread! Try Save On Scents- they have an awesome banana nut bread, along with some other spectacular scents! And- free shipping for over $100 in scents ordered, plus! FREE samples if you order over $50. This is how I've tested scents to see if I like them.

If you check out my website, most if not all of my scents are from SOS. That will give you an idea of what scents throw good, because the ones that didn't aren't for sale.

[Violetsexoticcandles]

You should cover your container candles with lids after they've cooled completely in order to cure them.

For tarts, after they've cooled, put them in ziplock baggies to cure, or something similar.

[number2of7]

I was reading on some other threads about curing tarts. I'm using the plastic Folgers cans. I don't see a #5 anywhere on it. Should I take them out?

And do I have to have a lid on a container candle to let it cure? I haven't been doing that.

Not sure about the plastic Folgers cans....hopefully someone else can help ya there....

As far as not having lids for your containers....I read that you can just store them upside down once they've set....HTH.

[flyspeck40]

Thank you for the tips.

I'll check out the SOS. I like the free shipping.

And i've taken to putting saran wrap on the candles. How long?

The longer the better? As in the lady with the five year cure?

I can't wait!!!! I was doing fairly well with most fragrances but now I do beleive I should really be able to make a good candle.

I was going to throw my tarts out but now I know they might smell good in a week or two. Man, I love this site.

[Juggy]

For my containers that do not have lids I've started sealing them with the press & seal wrap, works great. I've been experimenting with 415 recently. Are you having any frosting, discoloration issues. I am.

[flyspeck40]

Major frosting, some discoloration, sinking etc etc the list goes on.........

But right now and for quite a few years to come I'm sure, the candles are just for me, so I'm not really worried about what they look like. They all look the same after I light them anyway.

Right now I'm have ants in my pants already waiting for next saturday when I can burn one of these that I re-did yesterday. Melted down my bunch of oops and strirred like all get out. Some have saran wrap, some are just up-side down like one lady said.

Once I master the scent throw thing and all that goes with it, then I'll worry about the looks. But by that time I'll be so old I won't be able to see them anymore LOL.

Off to work for me now........

[Stella1952]

Major frosting, some discoloration, sinking etc

These problems can come from using more than the recommended amount of FO for the wax you are using. Wellington's scents usually work very well for us at 1 oz. per pound. Dunno what kind of wax you are using, but if you have to use that much FO to get a decent throw, sonething's wrong...

[flyspeck40]

No, I don't use 3oz. I did in my first candles. Wanted a triple scented candle. Melted those down and redid them with more wax.

since my first attempts I have toned down and have some good candles that have good cold and hot throw, burn well and I'm happy with them.

My tarts on the other hand.........was up to 3 oz per lb and they were not smelling like hardly anything. I was going to throw them out until I read this site.

There were just a few scents that were not working for me. I did some of yesterday those and stirred the heck out of them. Hoping this works.

[Carrie]

Hey Carol,

What's 415 pure soy, never heard of it? But then again, that doesn't mean awhole lot. Just wondering

Not Carol here but 415 pure soy is...pure soy. No additives. It is sold by many suppliers under many different names but it's still 415 pure soy.

What wax do you use?

I'm a little confused by your advise to flyspeck. You said "I always use the maximum amount of fo recommended on the bottle by the manufacturer!" The max fo load is an amount of FO the wax manufacturer says the wax will hold, not the max the FO supplier says you should use. I've never seen a bottle of FO say how much to use for any application.

Flyspeck, the max fo load for your wax is easy to find. Go to the supplier website and see if it's written in the wax description or email the supplier. It is very important to know the max FO load for your wax. Do not add more FO than your wax can absorb!

[flyspeck40]

OK, had to email them but the max load is 7%. But they also said 1 to 2 oz depending on strength wanted. I've been using 2oz and am happy with the results. They burn well and smell good. Except for the few that I redid and stirred up real good. And those have turned out much better. I am still letting those tarts alone. I will take one out next week and see if I can smell them.