Skiminims Posted August 6, 2008 Share Posted August 6, 2008 So I was thinking my very first pour would be a perfect disaster, and I wasn't too far off Warning, this is going to be a bit of a novel Although, I have got to pat myself on the back because 1lb of wax was the perfect amount to fill my 3 jars. I had no leftover wax. I had three jars all wicked with a different sized wick (HTP 52, 62, 73)Melting the wax went alright. Trying to get to the 180* temp was painfully slow, I was feeling my stove out and I think I figured out where I needed to be by the end of it.My biggest boo-boo I think was putting my dye chip in first and then the fragrance. The two tutorials I used had conflicting information. One website said to put the fragrance in last so it wasn't subjected to the high temp for very long, the other website said to add the fragrance first and the dye last so that you get visual confirmation that everything else had mixed well with the wax. I got ahead of myself...(chalk it upto nerves :embarasse ) and poured my wax after putting in the dye. It took me a couple mins to realize that my wax wasn't scented! By then a little bit of wax at the bottom had started to cool. Knowing I was just playing around, I poured the containers back into my melting pot and reheated it to working temps. I then fragranced them and repoured them into my containers. I noticed when I poured my fragrance, that my fragrance was yellow tinted. I saw that when my finished candles began to cool, there was a noticable color difference from the first to the second pour. I liked the color I had before I added the fragrance. So that's why I'm thinking I did the dye and the fragrance in the wrong order. Had I done the dye last, would my candles had the same tint to it?There's also some cosmetic things I want to fix and I just want to make sure I do them right before I do them I've attached a pic of this, but it looks like a little bit of wax bubbled up around the wick or the fill line lowered a little bit and a tiny buildup of wax stuck to the wick. Will a heatgun fix that?Also, I got a little sloppy on my second pour and have a few wax drippings and residue on the inside and outside lip of my containers. Can I zap those away with a heatgun?Any advice would be awesome so I can know what to do or what not to do on my second attempt. For now, I look forward to testing these three. I've attached pics of the wick buildup and the color difference.Thanks all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PixieWick Posted August 6, 2008 Share Posted August 6, 2008 looking gooooooooooood !i always add fo first so i know an see thats its blended .. then color , always did that ..you can just wipe off the jar spils with a papertowel no biggie there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skiminims Posted August 7, 2008 Author Share Posted August 7, 2008 Thanks Pixie!I'm definately going to put in the FO first next time and see if I get the same color. Noone else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PixieWick Posted August 7, 2008 Share Posted August 7, 2008 i have tons of them jars in my basement .. my cousin gave me .. never used them .. dont plan on it either .. lol .. that style jar doesnt sell here ..where i live in jersey .. they dont really like that country homegrown look .. thats what those jars look like to them .. there are a few .. but majority rules .. in this town lol i call them .. Super Snobs :laugh2: did the papertowel work to get the spils off ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skiminims Posted August 7, 2008 Author Share Posted August 7, 2008 i have tons of them jars in my basement .. my cousin gave me .. never used them .. dont plan on it either .. lol .. that style jar doesnt sell here ..where i live in jersey .. they dont really like that country homegrown look .. thats what those jars look like to them .. there are a few .. but majority rules .. in this town lol i call them .. Super Snobs :laugh2: did the papertowel work to get the spils off ?Haha, here it's almost the opposite! Almost all the candles I see are mason/jelly jars. When I get really good at it and maybe down the road decide to give to friends or sell, I'm NOT using anything country. lol I really like the hourglass jar or the Interlude from Libbey. I'm going for a more modern, trendy look.I used my old hairdryer that is hot enough to almost spit out fire as my heatgun and got the wax off of the rim. And I used the hairdryer to fix the excess wax on the wick, but there wasn't any wax left on the tip of the wick Any way of getting around that? It lit alright, but the very tip of it kind of curled around itself once it was lit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PixieWick Posted August 7, 2008 Share Posted August 7, 2008 yea .. i've had that happen .. just let it burn off for a lil bit .. till the melt pool gets to the edge of the glass .. dip it to put it out ... an trim the wick an you should be good to go .. its no biggie when that happens .. for the next time .. instead of useing a hair dryer/heatgun .. just use your fingers .. pinch the wick an slide up an off to take the exsess wax off .. so the wick stays primmed .. see if that helps .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForHisGlory Posted August 7, 2008 Share Posted August 7, 2008 Glad you are having fun and excited about it!!! Your candle looks good.I do container candles but I don't post pictures because they are so boring compared to the awesome pillars that are posted here. LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PixieWick Posted August 7, 2008 Share Posted August 7, 2008 oh no no no .. we wont hear of this ..jars are cool to look at ..post away .. pretty please ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForHisGlory Posted August 7, 2008 Share Posted August 7, 2008 oh no no no .. we wont hear of this ..jars are cool to look at ..post away .. pretty please ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skiminims Posted August 7, 2008 Author Share Posted August 7, 2008 yea .. i've had that happen .. just let it burn off for a lil bit .. till the melt pool gets to the edge of the glass .. dip it to put it out ... an trim the wick an you should be good to go .. its no biggie when that happens .. for the next time .. instead of useing a hair dryer/heatgun .. just use your fingers .. pinch the wick an slide up an off to take the exsess wax off .. so the wick stays primmed .. see if that helps ..I didn't even think about that! I will definately do that next time. I'm burning the HTP52 and I'm 2 hours in (30 mins to go) and my melt pool is crooked. Maybe because the wick isn't completely centered? I got it as straight as I could. Still feeling out the wick bar. My flame has been small for most of the time. Here's a couple pics after 2 hours. Oh, here's what I'm using:1lb 4630 container wax1 complete dye chip (colonial blue)3/4 oz of Clean Cotton type FO (I didn't have a full oz. I'm not really looking for HT at the moment, just testing wicks.)8 oz Jelly jar with 2.5" diam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PixieWick Posted August 7, 2008 Share Posted August 7, 2008 wick does look a little off center .. not by much ..is there any was drippings on the bottom making the jar stilt ..that even to the nekked eye would look like its sitting strait up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coconut Posted August 8, 2008 Share Posted August 8, 2008 Welcome to the addiction. Please don't take it wrong, but I have a few suggestions. First, don't waste your time testing jelly jars if you don't want to use them later. You will have to test everything all over again when you switch. Second, the percentage of FO you use will have a very definite effect on your finished results, and with some scents you get a different result if you use 3/4 oz of FO per lb. vs. 1 full oz. of FO per lb. Candle making is more like baking than cooking-precise measurements, by weight, are critical to the results of your finished product. As far as color goes, with a very light color, the FO may affect the color slightly depending on how dark the oil is. About the wick-HTP wicks curl naturally and the melt pool tends to be a little lop-sided. With this particular wax, it usually evens out near the bottom. Good luck with your efforts! Coconut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skiminims Posted August 8, 2008 Author Share Posted August 8, 2008 Welcome to the addiction. Please don't take it wrong, but I have a few suggestions. First, don't waste your time testing jelly jars if you don't want to use them later. You will have to test everything all over again when you switch. Second, the percentage of FO you use will have a very definite effect on your finished results, and with some scents you get a different result if you use 3/4 oz of FO per lb. vs. 1 full oz. of FO per lb. Candle making is more like baking than cooking-precise measurements, by weight, are critical to the results of your finished product. As far as color goes, with a very light color, the FO may affect the color slightly depending on how dark the oil is. About the wick-HTP wicks curl naturally and the melt pool tends to be a little lop-sided. With this particular wax, it usually evens out near the bottom. Good luck with your efforts! CoconutThanks for the advice! This first batch was merely me playing around getting a feel for everything and to see if I'd even like it. I've never poured candles before, and I didn't want to buy expensive jars if I wasn't going to like it. I decided to use the partial vial of FO I had for this first batch since I was mainly playing around. I'm going to take my next batch a little more seriously since I really enjoyed myself. Thanks for all your input! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella1952 Posted August 8, 2008 Share Posted August 8, 2008 If your wicks are the self-trimming, curling type, try twisting the wick before pouring to help center the melt pool as the candle burns down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skiminims Posted August 8, 2008 Author Share Posted August 8, 2008 If your wicks are the self-trimming, curling type, try twisting the wick before pouring to help center the melt pool as the candle burns down. Now there's an idea! How tight should I twist it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coconut Posted August 9, 2008 Share Posted August 9, 2008 Thanks for the advice! This first batch was merely me playing around getting a feel for everything and to see if I'd even like it. I've never poured candles before, and I didn't want to buy expensive jars if I wasn't going to like it. I decided to use the partial vial of FO I had for this first batch since I was mainly playing around. I'm going to take my next batch a little more seriously since I really enjoyed myself. Thanks for all your input!My first batches were really horrible. You are already doing better! I used the wax, wicks, and scent from Michaels. What a mess! Everything a bad candle could be! Then I found the Candletech forum. You have already taken the best step by joining this forum. The people up here are great and you will learn almost everything you need to know by searching the forum. I'm glad you enjoyed making your first candles. It is really addictive. Have fun and good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skiminims Posted August 9, 2008 Author Share Posted August 9, 2008 My first batches were really horrible. You are already doing better! I used the wax, wicks, and scent from Michaels. What a mess! Everything a bad candle could be! Then I found the Candletech forum. You have already taken the best step by joining this forum. The people up here are great and you will learn almost everything you need to know by searching the forum. I'm glad you enjoyed making your first candles. It is really addictive. Have fun and good luck!I'm so glad I found this forum! Everyone has been super nice and helpful (including you!). I've definately been bitten by the candle bug. I can't wait to make more. Practice makes perfect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella1952 Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 How tight should I twist it?The search tool is a newbie's best friend! Here's one thread where this was discussed... there are many others...http://www.craftserver.com/forums/showthread.php?t=70030 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skiminims Posted August 11, 2008 Author Share Posted August 11, 2008 Thanks! I'll definately take a look Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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