c-3 appearance ques.

[CareBear]

1. It's a bit on the translucent side and I would like to opacify it a bit more - is there a way to do that or should I just change waxes?

2. What's with the plethora of tiny bubbles? It looks nice when I pour (except the sink holes that I'm working on) but when I burn the candle I get lots of these minute bubbles which are odd looking, and then the cooled wax looks weird. Can I do anything to prevent this? I heated the wax to 170, added in some unmelted to bring the temp down and "temper" it, added my FO and color at about 150, stirred stirred stirred and then poured at about 145. I used my FO at 1 oz pp wax and one tiny drop of color per pound.

[Violetsexoticcandles]

Hi,

I would add your FO at 175 (color too) and make sure to melt all wax at the same time. I use C3 all the time and it's usually white or off-white if no color is added. Not sure why it's translucent for you?

Pouring cooler and very slowly will help with the bubbles (they're air bubbles) as well as the sink holes. And thumping the container helps get rid of air bubbles/pockets, too. I gently pick the container up once it's nearly set up (or later, when I'm doing the tops with a heat gun) and gently tap or thump them on the counter. You can see the air bubbles rising.

Hope this helps.

Violet

[Scent Cellar]

I didn't like the look of a poured candle with that wax either so I changed to 415 and love the look it gives me. It's trickier to wick but much nicer looking. I still have a 50 lb case of the C-3 that I will ever use so every week a bit of it goes to the garbage man.

[Violetsexoticcandles]

I didn't like the look of a poured candle with that wax either so I changed to 415 and love the look it gives me. It's trickier to wick but much nicer looking. I still have a 50 lb case of the C-3 that I will ever use so every week a bit of it goes to the garbage man.

How old is your C3? Where'd you get it? Why not try to sell it on the classifieds on here? Seems a shame... I use C3 and there are others who love it.

[ayshapooh]

PM'd ya Scent Cellar

Sandy~WI

[CareBear]

Thanks I will try those things - add my FO and colorant hotter and pour cooler and bang away!

And it's not actually translucent, just has a weird quasi-translucent quality to the appearance somehow.

I'm just a candle newbie so I think I'll stick with this for now - once I have my feet wet I may start exploring other options but now I'm trying to work on technique and confidence!! And Christmas gifts LOL!

[Violetsexoticcandles]

Thanks I will try those things - add my FO and colorant hotter and pour cooler and bang away!

And it's not actually translucent, just has a weird quasi-translucent quality to the appearance somehow.

I'm just a candle newbie so I think I'll stick with this for now - once I have my feet wet I may start exploring other options but now I'm trying to work on technique and confidence!! And Christmas gifts LOL!

Stick with it and you shall be rewarded.

Oh and don't bang on it too hard!!! Good luck!

[Stella1952]

CareBear, you are on the right track. I do not quite understand what you mean about wanting MORE opacity, though... I have always found C3 and soy waxes in general to be pretty danged opaque!

The method you are using to temper your wax is called "seeding" and is a valid way to temper the wax.

The air bubbles you are seeing (the "spitty" look when burning) are quite common with soy wax. You didn't specifically mention how the surface of the candles looks, but I am getting the impression that the tops are not babybutt smooth... Be sure that when you heat your wax back up after seeding that the satiny, streaky appearance with lots of bubbles has changed to a clear liquid again, then allow the wax temp to fall to around 125°-130° to pour.

Pour slowly down the wick into a squeaky-clean container. Space the candles out on a rack so that they have air circulation all around them and be sure they are not in any kind of draft or path of fan, air conditioning duct, etc. Covering with a LARGE box will help keep the temperature within and all around the containers more stable. As the candles set up, you will notice tiny air bubbles joining together and rising to the surface or clinging to the wick. Gently thumping the container or manually popping the bubbles should remedy the situation. The sinkholes happen when the wax is poured a little too hot and cooled a little too quickly.

With only one drop of dye per pound of wax, your color will be very pale/pastel. C3 that has no UV Stabilizer nor stearic acid nor USA added and the minimal amount of dye that you used WILL appear to be less than completely opaque, reminiscent of old shortening. The UV stabilizer and addition of USA will tend to make the wax more opaque and will help emulsify the wax for a smoother appearance.

I think you are doing great, especially for your first candlemaking attempts! You did not mention the wicking for your candles nor the container size/shape... if the candles are underwicked or overwicked, you will see a rougher surface after the wax has cooled after a burn. When the wicking is just right, the appearance of the cooled wax should be very smooth with only a few air bubbles at the edge of the melt pool.

Good luck and have fun! HTH:D

[CareBear]

you folks ROCK!!!

Stella the detail you go into is amazing and I appreciate it enormously. I am using those cute little 4-oz jelly jars and am still playing with wicks. My notes are at home but I think I liked the LX16 so far.

You are right about the old shorteing look - that is EXACTLY what i meant. If I use additives will that change my wicking? Are you going to tell me I have to test again LOL?

My tops actually were babybutt smooth to begin with - but when I started generating that nice melt pool lots of tiny bubbles were appearing. I think perhaps I mixed too vigorously and put them i there, else the extra wax I added in to seed the mix brought air with it. I will try mixing slowly and hold the temp till the bubbles can rise.

A LARGE box hunh? If there's one thing I have too many of it's boxes!

Thanks again - now I want to go home and make candles. Too bad that's not what they pay me for here!

[Stella1952]

If I use additives will that change my wicking? Are you going to tell me I have to test again LOL?

Testing never ends!:undecided:tongue2: I do not think that adding the UV stabilizer will change your wicking, but because the USA contains stearic acid and emulsifiers, it is possible it might make a difference.

Those little jars are so cute! It won't take a lot of wick to get those going...

It seems like the batches with which I have the most problems are the ones I kinda rush through on "cruise control"... when I get interrupted and have to turn down the wax to "hold" while I go deal with some domestic crisis, I worry more about the wax when I return. So I fuss and stir and retemper and the candles seem to come out better. Unless you are really whipping when you stir, I do not think those bubbles are created by you, although the stirring required is very gentle and not vigorous.

In fact, you have me thinking a lot about those bubbles so common to "100%" soy waxes in general... I am wondering if they are really atmospheric air bubbles or what? Because our wax is highly hydrogenated soybean oil, maybe those bubbles are some other gas being released... like hydrogen or something... who knows?!

The box is not truly necessary - our old house is never really as cool and climate controlled as most folks like and certain areas don't have a lot of air circulation, so most of the time, I do not cover mine. I do realize, however, that most folks live in more modern digs with air moving, so I simply offered that as a suggestion...

Hope you get play more when you get home! I don't understand WHY bosses won't let folks make candles on the job... they just don't GET it...:tongue2:

[CareBear]

I am wondering if they are really atmospheric air bubbles or what? Because our wax is highly hydrogenated soybean oil, maybe those bubbles are some other gas being released... like hydrogen or something... who knows?!

I was wondering that too, because when I melt Crisco for soaping, and when I melt the hydrogenated palm I get the same almost fizzy bubbles coming up as it melts. I have to actually heat it a bit beyond the melting point to make sure all the bubbles come up or I end up with them in my soap (PITA).

[Stella1952]

Hmmmm... velly interesting... maybe another piece of the soy wax puzzle...

[kandlekrazy]

I've gotten that look with C3 if the oil is a very heavy one and I still use 1 oz pp. One that did it is CS Pumpkin Souffle. Love the scent, but the candles are definitely not as opaque as most fo's. It also looks really ugly after cooling from a burn.

[CareBear]

In fact, you have me thinking a lot about those bubbles so common to "100%" soy waxes in general... I am wondering if they are really atmospheric air bubbles or what? Because our wax is highly hydrogenated soybean oil, maybe those bubbles are some other gas being released... like hydrogen or something... who knows?!

Im gonna try "cooking" my C-3 for a while before adding the FO and colorant - see if that helps.

[kandlekrazy]

Im gonna try "cooking" my C-3 for a while before adding the FO and colorant - see if that helps.

I think air temp has something to do with them as well. I didn't see them all summer, but now that the weather has cooled off again, the bubbles are back while the wax is melting. If you melt the wax, let it harden and remelt, it will not only resolve those bubbles, but give you a smoother top and not so many air pockets. To save time, I always melt a new batch when I'm done for the day. That way, I'm ready to remelt the next time I want to pour. C3 really does behave better the 2nd melt.