patka Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 I started to make some forever candles from palm wax and they have turned out nice, thanks to a lot of information from people on this forum.I have noticed that palm candles are quite brittle and they chip very easily after they are made. I don't worry about that with regular pillars, since they will be burned sooner or later anyway, but with the forever candles, since they are supposed to last a long time and used over and over, I am worried they won't look so nice after some time. Is there anything that can be added either to the wax or sprayed in the mold or on the candle itself that would help protect the candle? I don't use any fragrance oil in the candles I wonder if that makes them more brittle too.Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella1952 Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 Palm wax is brittle and crushes easily, whether one is making pillars or "forever" candles. The dings and dents look like crap whether one is gonna burn the entire candle or not - ya still have to look at the imperfections!Anything you add to the wax will diminish or eliminate the showy crystal formation. I dunno about spraying anything on the outside... I can't imagine that any spray on protectant would enhance the appearance of the wax... but you could always try some of the products used for paraffin... Palm wax needs time to cure so the tiny (and large) wax crystals can completely harden and gain ultimate strength. There is nothing I know of to "hurry" that process, nor to make the wax any stronger. Palm wax pillars, votives, etc. are much harder and tougher a month after they are poured than a week or a day later... We simply protect ours while the wax is curing. How long until the wax hardens? I dunno exactly - we let ours set up undisturbed for a couple of weeks to a month before we do anything with them. Every time we move them we are risking a little "whoops," so after demolding, but before wicking, levelling etc., we set them aside where they will not be moved or disturbed for a couple of weeks at least. After they've hardened, they are less fragile and less likely to be damaged while wicking, leveling, shrink-wrapping, etc.Edges that are easily bumped will always be a problem, just as these same areas are a problem with other waxes. You can run a torch over a "crushed" spot, which will make it look better and stop the crushing but will not of course replace the wax lost to a dent. The 16 point star molds that we pour with pillar palm wax (to burn out and leave a shell for illuminating later with a tea light) are very showy, but a bitch to protect because of all the sharp edges!This is just part of it - all candles dent and sustain damage to edges - you simply have to be careful with them and not treat them as if they were made of high-impact plastic. It is, after all, just wax. A torch can help cosmetically repair minor imperfections on the edges, but will not replace any lost wax, of course."Forever" is a long time for some people and a very short time for others - just depends upon how careful one is with one's possessions. I doubt I would name any product a "forever" thing... Hurricanes and luminary globes, etc. share the same problems - if treated with care, they will last for many years; if not, they won't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patka Posted March 23, 2008 Author Share Posted March 23, 2008 Stella, I did not know that the wax gets stronger over a long period of time after pouring. That helps a lot. I will try to let the candles sit for a while before doing anything with them and I won't give them to friends until they are some weeks old. Thank you so much for the information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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