soy wax and wick questions

[heartofsoy@yahoo.com]

hi all

i have been doing trial and error now going on a year and have made strides however as all of us i hit a brickwall too!

my ? is has anyone mixed their waxes before such as a gb435 with some ecosoya? i must say it is the wick problems that are the toughest and all i try seem to have some flaw no matter what size container and wick size etc.

i have finally found some combos that melt candle evenly but then they mushroom horribly and fall into the melted wax in the candle container so like how do you win! any insight to wax combining i am curious to hear and any wick experiences for some insight would be welcome. i still have months of trial and errror to go and it is starting to get costly but i am still passionate to create the best i can!!!! thanks in advance for your replies and HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL

[TxSioux]

Welcome, good luck & get used to the testing ... cause it never seems to end! I've been at it 6 yrs & am in the middle of more serious testing than ever before. I'll settle on things for a long stretch, then just get an itch & start reformulating. I've never combined soy waxes, but I've heard of some who do. It just seems like too much product to buy & keep on hand -- seems like you'd be better off finding 1 wax that works well & maybe tweak it w/ additives, like beeswax, coconut oil or PSA. Wicks are tricky & there's no 'right' answer. The best wick testing tip I ever got was to buy a sample pack to test all the sizes. Get an old cake pan & set the wicks in the pan & fill w/ wax -- make sure the wicks are set far enough apart to allow for the recommended mp. Light all the wicks & document the burn results for 1 through 4 hr burns. This is a LOT easier than testing wicks & containers & gives you written results for exactly how each wick will burn in the wax you're working with. You can get free wick samples from Wick It in NJ http://www.wicknclip.com/ -- I was amazed at the amount of 'samples' they sent & am testing the flat braid cottons this weekend. This is a great forum for help, so hope you get the answers you need.

Susan.