What the heck..??

[Honeyb]

Ok...so I poured some soy candles today and this is how they have behaved,

any ideas what would cause this?

I added the FO (from Peaks Candle) at 6% at a temp of 155 degrees and poured at 127 degrees.

I am thinking that I can fix this with a heat gun or something so I am not that worried...but what the heck caused this??

[Stella1952]

Have you poured this fragrance before? If not, it may not get along with your soy wax - not all FOs do. Did you stir it into the wax thoroughly before pouring? Maybe the top cooled too quickly? Would you post a pic after the heatgunning - I am curious to see if the heat gun will help!

[Honeyb]

Well, I went ahead and hit it with the heat gun and that seemed to really help it to smooth out...but not all creamy and smooth like typical soy...so I am not sure what is going on!

I purchased this FO because I was assured it did well in soy...but maybe my stuff (Cargill Naturewax C3) just didn't feel like being a good hostess to the FO party!!! :highfive:

Ah, the beauty of a natural product!

[Wendy Shoofitz]

Well, I went ahead and hit it with the heat gun and that seemed to really help it to smooth out...but not all creamy and smooth like typical soy...so I am not sure what is going on!

I purchased this FO because I was assured it did well in soy...but maybe my stuff (Cargill Naturewax C3) just didn't feel like being a good hostess to the FO party!!! :highfive:

Ah, the beauty of a natural product!

It's not an all natural product with FO in it. The wick is off center also. On the upside, I like how it came out. Looks kind of cool.

[Judy, USMC]

SORRY HONEYB, I don't have an answer for you...but I would like to comment on:

It's not an all natural product with FO in it. The wick is off center also.

I normally won't post anything like this but I believe you mis-interpreted what she said. She was refering to working with "a natural product" soy wax - not the completed candle. And, yes the wick is off - but I personally would not repour an "problem" candle just to get the wick straight for a pic.

And 6am is too early to be yelling! :tiptoe:

I'm really interested in what could cause this, too. Any other opinions?

[kandlekrazy]

Ok...so I poured some soy candles today and this is how they have behaved,

any ideas what would cause this?

I added the FO (from Peaks Candle) at 6% at a temp of 155 degrees and poured at 127 degrees.

I am thinking that I can fix this with a heat gun or something so I am not that worried...but what the heck caused this??

This happened all the time to me with C3 and colors, so for the most part, I don't use color anymore. Sometimes they came out beautiful and sometimes splotchy...some even did this more so after they cured???? Several different batches of wax also so I couldn't attribute it to the variance in batches. I think it looks good in the brown wax, you got that starburst effect!!

[Beth-VT]

Looks like it's not blended to me. IMO, adding FO at 155° is way to cool, especially if it's a vanilla based, or heavy FO.

Try adding at 180°+ and blending well, see if it makes a difference.

Same thing goes for coloring. If your wax isn't hot enough it's not going to blend/incorporate fully.

[Stella1952]

HoneyB, have you tried remelting and repouring? I suspect that it will straighten out on the repour if you do this.

This is why I hesitate to rate FOs because different combinations of FOs from different manufacturers with the different wax formulations just make way too many differences in the outcome of the candle. I have found that C-3 is a VERY uniform, stable wax from batch to batch, but that's all we use at this time! I also buy by the case and not by the pallet, so if I used MORE of it or LESS of it, I might see more variations in the product lots. I also tend to stick with the same suppliers for FOs also and I use the same colorants and wicks time after time.

Sometimes, a FO I have used many times when combined with a different color, will behave differently than I am accustomed to, and the candle will not come out the way I expected.

The first thing I would try to troubleshoot is that the FO was not mixed into the wax well, so remelt, repour and see what happens. If this corrects the problem, you will have your answer. If not, then try again with the FO and no color, etc. until you run down what's causing the difficulty. Be SURE that your temperatures, etc. are all exactly the same each time or your results will not be accurate. HTH

It's not an all natural product with FO in it.

Of course it isn't "all-natural" because soybeans do not produce WAX naturally, period! They contain soybean oil which has to be extracted from the bean by some method; then it has to be hydrogenated and have other emulsifiers and stuff added to make it workable. Doesn't sound "all natural" to me, whatever that is.

On the other hand, unless it contains ingredients from another planet, arguably it could be considered all natural because it and the FOs it contains are made from naturally occurring substances from earth.

[Kelly]

Ah, the beauty of a natural product!

She didn't say "all natural" in the first place.

Anyway, I would recommend adding the FO at 170-175 and see if it improves. I used to get a similiar thing in my browns when I used to add FO at a cooler temp. Sometimes wax instructions, although they say pour at such-n-such a temp are wrong!

[Honeyb]

Hi everyone...

Thanks for all your input! I will give all your suggestions a try as I really want to have success with my candles! I am thinking that the FO is part of the culprit, today a few of the candles are oozing oil...GAK! Could my house be too warm for them? It is 107 outside, but a comfy 78 in here.

I scented them at 6% per the instructions that came with the wax, but I think that may be too much. When I remelt the wax tomorrow, I am going to mix it in with some unscented and uncolored wax to "cut" the concentration, get it better mixed in and straighten out that darn wick! Most of the wicks were fine.......:embarasse I will post another pic tomorrow.

As for the "natural" comment........thanks gals who understood that I was simply being ironic.

Peace,

Jen

[Kelly]

6% by weight? Could your scale be off? That really shouldn't be too much... perhaps the weather is the culprit but when FO seeps out that tends to mean too much FO. Hmm.

[Judy, USMC]

Yep, Kelly's got a point. I keep a votive on hand that weighs exactly 2.10 oz. I'll throw it on the scale at the start of every session to make sure it's still reading correctly. But I always keep an extra new battery on hand and change it if something doesn't seem right. If it reads the same I'll put the old one back in.

And I change batteries in my scale the same time I change the smoke alarm batteries - at the spring & fall clock change!

[Stella1952]

Could my house be too warm for them? It is 107 outside, but a comfy 78 in here.

Ahhh, the blessings of summer! When the temps and humidity levels climb, it is not unusual to see some weeping, oozing, bleeding, sweating, syneresis. I, like you, am quite comfy at 78°, but it seems that some candles like it a bit cooler... I know the temps are not usually so high in your area, so I suspect that when the weather cools off, the syneresis will disappear.

I agree that your FO amount does not sound outrageous - Honestly, I think to discover the source of the trouble, it would be wise to first simply remelt the wax, stir, center the wick, and allow it to cool again to see if the same thing happens. If the temperature on the day you poured that candle was extremely high, that also could have a bearing on what you are seeing. Might want to wait until temps come down before trying to adjust anything. At least try to pour when the temps will be at their lowest for the most hours.

Try to stay cool - the weather people are predicting way high temps for lots of folks in the US... When the temps get over 95°, I start thinking about "slushy" and I don't mean wax!

[topofmurrayhill]

I've seen FOs that consistently don't play nice with soy, or at least with a particular wax. Tried them multiple times and the tops were always seriously screwed up, while other scents came out fine. Your result reminds me of those.

Just a note on natural...

Paraffin and soy oil both occur in nature. Both are obviously natural substances. Both go through a comparable refinement process to extract them from their source and render them to a useful level of quallity for our purposes.

Soy wax (aka vegetable shortening) requires an extra step that transforms the soy oil into a substance that does not occur in nature. Soy wax is created in a factory.

In light of that, I think there are 2 useful question to consider:

Question 1 - Which is actually more natural?

Question 2 - What difference does it make?

[chiptooth]

I haven't had any of my candles do this to me so not sure what the answer is but actually I think it looks great considering the fragrance oil is "tea", looks like you did it on purpose. Now if you only knew what you did "wrong" to repeat it!

[kandlekrazy]

Honeyb

I didn't notice where you were from until today. I'm in CA and the past week or a little more candles have been coming out terrible. I've had to really heat gun most of them and a few total remelts. It must be either the humidity, heat or barometric pressure...something is in the air that the candles are not liking. It cooled down a bit yesterday and doesn't seem so sticky so I might try to pour again today and see if there is a difference.

Wouldn't Creme Brulee look great if that happened!!

[stacien]

That is not the FO causing it its the dye. Try that same wax and FO without any dye and then pour again. Brown's especially have that effect with the soy wax especially with the tins. Let those candle sit overnight to completely harden after you pour them. Then hit them with the gun again.

[Casey]

I'm with Beth. Add FO at a hotter temp, and cool to a lower temp before pouring. 100-115. Dye is always problematic with soy, I don't use it, and agree it may be the culprit. Some FO's always behave badly, but mellow out with time to cure. For instance, Peaks lilac, at 6% sweats like a mofo and gives me horrible tops, no matter what. But after sitting around for a bit makes one kick ass throwing candle, so it's worth the hassle.

[jschoemehl]

I use the c3 as well, we have been heating to 175 then pouring at 155 this has been giving us good results maybe try that we tested out tons of different temps because we are just beginners this is the best so far. we get cracked tops and even tunnels sometimes but if you heat gun them it still comes out all good in the end.

[SpaceGirl]

I'd second most of the suggestions as well. When I was using C3 and mixing my FO at lower temps (around 155 - cuz the tutorials tell you that!) I found that I'd get more frosting or color variations like that towards the bottom of the pot.... which later made me realize that the FO wasn't fully incorporated into the wax.

I add the FO usually between 170-180 degrees and have found that really makes a difference. I haven't had frosting in ages. Now cracks around the wick.... that's another story - and it comes from me being impatient and not waiting for the right pour temp. :embarasse

[Sharon in KY]

Mine look like that all the time. I say test to see how it throws and don't be upset with the look. Might have cooled too slow.

[3bees~1flower]

Looks like it's not blended to me. IMO, adding FO at 155° is way to cool, especially if it's a vanilla based, or heavy FO.

Try adding at 180°+ and blending well, see if it makes a difference.

Same thing goes for coloring. If your wax isn't hot enough it's not going to blend/incorporate fully.

wow...that's totally different info than i have read...i only heat my soy wax to 160* let it cool to 120*, THEN add the FO...allow to cool more to till it's slushy and then pour....i get super smooth tops and great throw.

to the OP..to me it looks like you poured too hot. all the info i have ever read says to that soy likes to poured cool....to get smooth tops anyway.

[Stella1952]

Different wax & ingredient combinations require different pouring temps, etc. There are some soy waxes that seem to like being poured at lower temps and some FOs that blend in satisfactorily at low temps; others do not. The most likely problem is the FO and dye were not mixed in well enough before pouring, but if that doesn't resolve the problem, then you simply have to eliminate one thing after another until you hit on what's causing the problem. If a particular dye color is causing the problem, try using a different color to see if the problem repeats itself or use the color with a different FO to see if the color causes problems there...

Keeping good notes and doing things methodically solves a lot of problems. I find that when I am pouring candles with my brain in neutral or a lot of distractions, sometimes I don't do things the exact same way each time. Those little differences can gang up and cause unexpected results.

[hexie]

hi, i am new here and wow is my head spining! as far as the candle goes, my browns always do that, the brownie batter looks just like batter and my tea did the exact same as yours, i have one brown that is perfect and the rest are frosted or not smooth on top. i am trying the colorless candle and at my shop i do a little survey when people are at the candle hutch, it is a 50/50 some shop by color some don't care. what to do what to do (i haven't figured that out yet!)

heidi

[Judy, USMC]

OK, some have said it's the dye. But some others say they don't have the problem. Could you post which dye you used, please?