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candle dye: liquid or chips????


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I have not used any candle dye before and wanted to try some. I don't know which type to use :confused:. Liquid or chips?? I will be using either ezsoy or 444, undecided yet with the wax :undecided . Please point me in the right direction. Also, which is the best supplier for this? Thanks for your help.

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I started off using chips but switched to liquid as it's easier to mix colors and regulate shades. I buy from either Peaks or Cierra Candles. Don't worry about the strong smell of the liquid, it dissipates once you mix it into the wax.

Mama

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For parrafin I prefer liquid. For soy I prefer chips. But now I have a parasoy blend so I use both.

I like the chips cause I get less soy wax frosting issues than with the liquid dyes. But the liquid lasts a long long time and its easier to make color using a 'recipe' than with chips.

As for richness of color-- you can get it from either.

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Guest Candelishis
I love to use liquid. I tried chips at first but then switched. Regina:D

Ditto - around Christmas time I was trying to make red and green striped candles and kept getting pink and mint green stripes...so I ordered some liquid to try it out, and will never go back. I love the liquid. It mixes in with the wax soooooo much better, and you get much better colors.

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I use everything - chips, blocks, flakes, and chips - it just depends on what color I want. I am not super talented with the color wheel, so I tend not to mix. One of my goals this year is to conquer my "fear of the wheel" and learn how to mix the liquid to make any color I want.

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I use Candlescience dye chips but it wasn't until someone on the board said to melt them first in your pour pot with your heatgun before adding wax that I was satisfied with the outcome. Prior to that I would get spots. It happens very seldom if I follow this process and color is always pretty consistent....just need to follow my notes on which colors to combine.

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I find that liquid dyes increase frosting in soy wax - so I tend to use dye chips and blocks. In order to get the color to mix well, I will melt down the dye before - typically in a spoon over a flame - so that it blends well with the wax since you pour soy at such a low temperature.

I've found that Bitter Creek (north) is one of my favorite suppliers. They have a huge selection of liquid, dye blocks and dye chips. A couple other places that I like are www.candlescience.com and www.candlesandsupplies.com

I hope that helps - happy candle making!

-Daria Blue

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I use chips and liquids but I prefer chips because I can control the color better. (How do you measure 1/2 drop to get a lighter color?) I use liquid only because certain colors of chips don't melt all the way and I don't like the colored dots I get in my candle as a result. Reds and purples are notoriuos dotters!

:rolleyes:

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I use chips and liquids but I prefer chips because I can control the color better. (How do you measure 1/2 drop to get a lighter color?) I use liquid only because certain colors of chips don't melt all the way and I don't like the colored dots I get in my candle as a result. Reds and purples are notoriuos dotters!

:rolleyes:

It's hard to measure less than a drop of liquid dye and get the exact same amount each time, but you can use a toothpick (or I have a tiny metal cake tester that works great!) to drop in smaller droplets and you'll get really close to the same color each time. I quit using dye because of all the frosting/spot issues, but I did find that melting the chip prior to adding wax to the pour pot (use your heat gun) will help tremendously with the spots. If you just drop it in and let it melt in hot wax, the spots will most likely appear after the candle sets up.

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  • 1 month later...
I find that liquid dyes increase frosting in soy wax - so I tend to use dye chips and blocks. In order to get the color to mix well, I will melt down the dye before - typically in a spoon over a flame - so that it blends well with the wax since you pour soy at such a low temperature.

I've found that Bitter Creek (north) is one of my favorite suppliers. They have a huge selection of liquid, dye blocks and dye chips. A couple other places that I like are www.candlescience.com and www.candlesandsupplies.com

I hope that helps - happy candle making!

-Daria Blue

Thanks for that killer tip, Daria! I may just have cheap liquid dye but I found more frosting issues than with the chips. The dye spots had me confounded until now! :yay:

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With the liquid dye..... some places have much more concentrated stuff. Some say an oz will do 40lb of wax and others an oz will do 200lbs of wax both to a medium shade. CS is the 40lb place.

Shop around as some liquids work much better with soy than others in regards to frosting.

HTH

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I use the Color Crystals from Makes Scents (http://makesscentscandles.com/shopping/colorants.html#crystals) They're easy to use with consistency if you use a set of small measuring spoons and they're nowhere near as messy as liquids. The crystals are basically the same material as the blocks/chips, but they've been rendered into tiny pellets for easy measuring.

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