How do I clean plastic mould

[vess]

I have some residue left in my plastic (polycarbonate) mould - used for the first time last night and I am not sure how to clean it - I don't think I can put in the oven and wipe clean - the plastic will melt - right?

Any advice please? Thanks!

[gerrie]

Those molds can be tricky to clean. If you use to much FO it will eat away at the plastic, and it mas color the plastic. I've just used a heat gun to warm up the wax and then wipe it out. Hope someone else has a better idea, I just never had any luck with my polycarb molds.

[Breanna]

Im not sure but I wonder if mineral spirits would work on these?

[DanaE]

I haven't figured it out yet. If someone knows a way to clean them PLEASE let us know. I have several very large poly molds, and the last time I used one of them I made a rustic candle. Of course, some wax stuck to the sides, like rustics will do, but I absolutely could not get the wax off. I tried everything. In the end I took a heat gun to it and tried to lightly go over it, but I couldn't get it hot enough to melt the wax and in the process I warped the top of the mold so I had to throw it away (it'd only been used 3 times!). I did try heating it in the over on a low temp (around 200) and it didn't do anything...the wax was stuck in there. The mold was 13" tall. Oh, and I tried boiling water and soap and that didn't work.

So.....I have several of these molds waiting for me to use them but I'm scared to! I had no problems with the poly votive molds but these new guys are giving me fits!

DanaE

[topofmurrayhill]

I hate to gloat about my heat gun...well no, that's not true.

This is one of the things that makes a variable temp heat gun incredibly useful. To clean a polycarbonate mold or even one of the Gladware containers I find so many uses for, I simply set the heat gun to a temperature that will melt wax but not plastic. Then I blast away without fear. It's beautiful.

Breanna, tell the DH you want a variable temp heat gun for Christmas.

[Tanya]

Warm soap and water or heat gun very carefully.

[DanaE]

So what's a good temp to use on the heatgun? Mine has a dial that goes up to 1,000 degrees. When I tried 200 degrees and it still didn't work, I figured it was just operator error and quit. Obviously, 200 wasn't hot enough to melt the wax on the inside, but it was hot enough to slightly warp one piece on top of the mold, so that I'd never be able to get another pillar out of that mold *sigh*.

DanaE

[topofmurrayhill]

So what's a good temp to use on the heatgun? Mine has a dial that goes up to 1,000 degrees. When I tried 200 degrees and it still didn't work, I figured it was just operator error and quit. Obviously, 200 wasn't hot enough to melt the wax on the inside, but it was hot enough to slightly warp one piece on top of the mold, so that I'd never be able to get another pillar out of that mold *sigh*.

DanaE

If it started to melt I'm tempted to conclude that dial isn't accurate. Polycarbonate is pretty heat resistant. With 250 nozzle temp it works for me without trouble. Also I have 2 fan speeds and the lower one is better for the purpose. I don't have many polycarbonate molds and they aren't that deep so maybe you had a more challenging job.

With the Gladware I sometimes bump it up to 300 if I'm feeling impatient. Then I'm a little more careful about holding it in one place too long but I don't know that it would necessarily melt.

[Dee]

Are you talking about the polycarb molds that are clear and fairly rigid or the plastic softer molds? With the rigid ones I use my heat gun on fairly hot temp for a few seconds and them wipe as much wax out as I can with a paper towel then I use lots of WD 40 (ususally outside in the backyard- you know brain cells, lol) and keep wiping until I get it clean and dry. It sometimes makes the clear molds a little cloudy, but they still are good.

Do the same with the plastic ones only just zaps of the heat gun at a low temp. You have to keep repeating the process until you get them clean. HTH

[DanaE]

I appreciate the tips and I'll keep trying. I'm very good about keeping the heat gun moving (mostly because I use shrinkwrap on all my candles, and I know what happens if it's held in one place for just a few seconds too long!) so I'm not really sure what I did wrong or how to fix it in the future.

I initially tried boiling water with some soap but nothing came off. Then I tried the oven, on 200 for a little while, until the mold felt warm but still nothing came out. Then I went for the heatgun and tried heating the whole mold like i would with an aluminum mold. That didn't work so I tried going for small spots at at time, zapping it with the heat gun and then trying to clean it quickly with a paper towel, but nothing was coming off. So I held it [heatgun] to the same spot a little longer and tried again. Nope, the stupid wax inside was just not coming off. Then I held it to the spot a little longer (these are very thick and rigid molds) and all of the sudden a place at the top of the mold warped. arrggh - As soon as that happened I realized that if I ever poured wax in that mold it wouldn't come out.

I need some chemical that'll remove the wax without heat. I should ask my husband if he can mix something up for me.....He was a scientist for years, but now he's an I.P. attorney so he doesn't have access to the chemicals he used to. It's a shame - he could get fingernail polish off our carpet and you never knew it was there. I know he could come up with something that would clean the molds, although it might take the skin off my hands at the same time - LOL!

DanaE

[gerrie]

Dana, what if you put it in the freezer and then chipped off the wax. Just a thought since heat doesn't want to work for you.

[DanaE]

Or maybe I could just consider these one-use molds! That's a thought. At least I purchased them while they were on sale. They aren't on sale anymore so I'm not wasting my money to buy more, but I sure wanted some (versus "a") 4"x13" square pillar and appropriately the same size round one.

One day next week I'll try one of the other poly molds and see what happens. I'm definitely not doing anymore rustics in them! At least if I pour hot maybe all the wax will come out.

DanaE

[topofmurrayhill]

The silicone mold release I got from BCN seems to dissolve wax and makes a good cleaner. I found it helpful before I got the fancier heat gun. What I don't understand is when you say boiling water didn't melt the wax. How could it not? I hadn't thought of boiling water but it sounds like a pretty good idea.

I suspect one of your whimsical additive combinations created a candle substance previously unknown to man.

[DanaE]

I agree....too much playing with additives causes weird things to happen . I absolutely thought the boiling water and soap combination would do it. I may have damaged the inside of the mold somehow but since it was virtually brand new I don't know how I did it. I've been known to destroy more than my fair share of molds before though. The next time I use one I'm using plain OK6228 with a little color and FO and that's it. Hopefully no wax will be left in the mold to worry about.

DanaE

[Mtngrl]

Now that everyone is scared of poly molds, let me try to bring some good cheer, and some alternative suggestions to what's already been suggested ... I do agree w/ Top that boiling H2O sounds like a very fesible (sp?) plan.

First, according to an email I rec'd from a customer svc rep at Candlewic, the poly molds have a heat tolerance of about 280*f. When I clean my poly molds, & all others for that matter, I heat 'em in the oven, let excess wax melt down the sides then do a wipe down w/ a paper towel.

Second, it has been my experience that the real trick in caring for poly molds is to "season" the mold prior to making a candle by coating the interior w/ veggie oil (as in the type you would use when making brownies or a cake, Canola oil is what I use) & wiping away excess w/ a paper towel. Then, fill your mold w/ molten, straight wax, & remove when solid. If there is any residual wax, just place mold upside down in your oven w/ the heat around 200, or a little higher if need be. Once residual wax liquifies, wipe down w/ a paper towel & call it 'clean'. You have just "seasoned" your mold. This should help reduce the risk of permanently staining the plastic. Reduce or delay, anyway. I haven't had poly molds for very long, so I'm not sure about the long term effect of color on the mold over some period of time.

Third, NEVER use FO'd wax when using the poly molds; make 'em scentless. According to Alan, a lot of FOs have solvents in them, like aceton (sp?) ... as in the same stuff in fingernail polish remover ....., which is why your molds will become opaque ... the solvent is etching, or eating away at, the plastic. You can still use the molds to make mottled candles w/o damage IF you use mineral oil. I assume parol oil would also work.

I'm really glad I have some poly molds. I was so sad to not have any money when c'wic had 'em on sale 1/2 price. Can't tell you how bad I wanted to place an order!

Anyway, try the above suggestions & see if that doesn't help.

[gerrie]

Third, NEVER use FO'd wax when using the poly molds; make 'em scentless.

Now isn't that just fine:confused: I don't know about your customers, but mine like scented candles. I never could understand why they even have molds for candles that you can't use FO's in. I also think that should be stated on suppliers sites because I have a feeling there is a whole boat load of us out there that have made candles using the polycarb molds AND FO's, and we now have molds that are eaten away on the inside. I sure wasted money on the ones I bought by adding FO to my wax. Silly me, what was I thinking.......all I wanted was a scented candle

[Mtngrl]

Lol, are you being faceitous, Gerrie? I'm fairly certain extremly so w/ some lines.

Just some of my thoughts regarding scented candles in general ... for whatever they're worth, I'm just sharing an alternative point of view.

Too many lighted candles at the same time & with the same scent could be overwhelming. So, in my mind, one scented candle burning in a room is sufficient coverage, at least for that room. Or, several burning candles w/ different FOs could result in bad combos, but probably a lot of good ones, too ... I have thougts about that, too, but I don't want to digress.

One purpose of burning several candles is to create mood, to create a greater degree of illumination of a room, scented candles may not be necessary ... like, when eating ... say you're having a romantic dinner.

Another thing, since container waxes have the best hot throws, I prefer to spend my FOs in container candles, more bang for the buck, so to speak.

So, if you want to create both mood & a scent, why not 1 scented container candle & several burning pillars?

On the other hand, if I were selling candles, I'd probably make a lot more of my pillars w/ scents, but right now, everything I do is an experiement. I don't want to waste resources by scenting EVERY candle I make. We're all painfully aware how expensive this craft can be, especially to someone who's only in it for their own pleasure ... as in a hobby.

Hope that helps.

[Mtngrl]

Another thought I had, the reason I largely use the polys is to work on my marbling techinque. Being able to see what happens to the wax when I use my variable temp gun, as Top was pointing out (wish mine had the two blowing options, though), is EXTREMELY helpful. Once I master the technique, then I'll start making them in my metal molds. Maybe then I might want to add FOs, but right now, FOs are just too precious to waste on potential failures.

I have it in my mind that C'wics website expressed a word of caution about FOs in the poly molds. It's also something that has been discussed from time to time on this board, new & old.

The thing about seasoning my mold I figured out through experience, observation, & putting 2 + 2 together. The 1st poly mold I used I had severely stained the 1st time I used it. The others are ... knock on wood .... stain free.

[Lin]

I use a few of these and i just set them in my oven on 150f and watch them very close till the wax melts and quickly wipe them out. Ive had them for awhile now and havent had any problems. Lin p.s. their stronger than you would think as far as heat.

[topofmurrayhill]

Every type of mold has its uses. Polys produce a beautiful shiny finish and come in cool shapes that you can't do in metal. It can also be interesting and useful to see what's going on in the mold. Thanks, Mtngrl, for the tips on seasoning these molds.

While we're on the subject of scented candles, it's true that most buyers are probably looking for those, but anybody who offers unscented candles will probably attract customers who prefer those or want to use them in conjuction with scented candles. Your customers are about you, not just about the market.

Personally I think scent in candlemaking has risen to the point of obsession. The aesthetics of candles involves light, form, color and finish as well as scent. True artistry in candlemaking involves mastery of all these things. Many of the candles made these days are incredibly dull creations of creamy substance in a glass jar with little aesthetic appeal beyond being designed to generate lots of synthetic fragrance fumes.

[vess]

Thanks all for the suggestions. I managed to clean it quite well with very hot water and soap. Took me ages - as soon as I pour the hot water out of the mould to start wiping the melted wax immediately dried before I could start wiping . Also my mould is cylinder (polycarb), quite narrow so I can't quickly stick towels in it to wipe clean. All that cleaning was after rustic which came out really nice. Now last night I attemted marble (turned out ridiculous, as expected - I poured too cold+ too much colour). Now that cold pour made a real mess so I have to try the oven. I hope it will be ok as this is my only mould so far...