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New to this site and new to candle making. HELP Please


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Hello to all. The names are Shantille and Shane (shane typing now) We are new here and new to candle making and we have some questions about soy wax. 1. when we are making Jar candles the wax has a tendancy to Crack when cooling. What would cause this and how do we stop it? 2. what is the proper melting and pouring temps for soy wax. 3. can soy wax be used to make pillar candles? will it release from the molds, or is there a trick?

thanks in advance

shane:p

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Hello, and welcome to the board.

We are going to need a few things from you before anyone is going to be able to help you.

What type of soy wax are you using?

What temp did you pour it at?

Did you heat your jars first?

Are you adding dye to it?

What %of FO did you use?

Are you making sure you are not getting air in the wax when you stir?

About the soy wax for pillars, if it is a soy wax for containers you will not be able to use it. It wont release from the mold and it will get blow outs. You will need to get a soy wax that is made for pillars. There might be a additive that you can add to the container wax but I have never done it and I dont know what it is called.

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the wax is for container. So there is one question answered. yes we are adding dyes and scents to the wax. we are heating the jars. pourd at about 150 deg. but wax was initially heated to 180 to 190 I think. dont know what %of FO is.

How much FO are you adding ppd wax?? Which soy are you using??

tootie

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Roughly 1/2 tbs liquid scents. if we use the scent blocks we keep shaving it off till we like the smel.

First of all You should ALWAYS scent by weight...your wax can only hold so much fragrance oil (FO)

the way to figure % is... 16oz wax X 6% = .96 or 1oz FO and 9% is 1.44 oz most of us use either 1oz or 1.5 oz per pd wax.

you have to look and see how much FO your wax can hold. It is best to start at 1oz per pd. this is by WEIGHT. You need a postal type scale.

what is a scent block??????

tootie

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First of all You should ALWAYS scent by weight...your wax can only hold so much fragrance oil (FO)

the way to figure % is... 16oz wax X 6% = .96 or 1oz FO and 9% is 1.44 oz most of us use either 1oz or 1.5 oz per pd wax.

you have to look and see how much FO your wax can hold. It is best to start at 1oz per pd. this is by WEIGHT. You need a postal type scale.

what is a scent block??????

tootie

a scent block is sold by Yaley.com they look like the color blocks they sell but a concentrated scent.
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I looked at that site....you would do good to stick with suppliers that have FO's made for and tested in SOY.

Soy wax is picky and can be VERY frusterating. Not all FO is created equal. Soy wax will not throw with just any FO stick with companies like Bittercreek, peaks, candle science, Ky candle supply and there are many more.

I wouldnt waste my money on scent blocks....I have never heard of them and never used them but just seems like a waste of money to me.

tootie

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Not sure what the abbreviations stand for (FO and ppd) I know the wax is from bittercreek.com I know it's ez soy and that's about it.

Ok not sure what kind of wax that is, maybe give them a call and see if they can tell you what the name of it is (like 415, C-3, 464...). I use soy 415 and what I have found to work best for me is

Melt wax to around 185

Put in my additives, and color

Wait for temp to drop to 170, and add FO

Stir for about 3 minutes

Wait for the wax to get kinda cloudy

Start heating jars with heat gun

Stir wax again a few times

Pour wax into jars

Pouring soy at the coolest temp possible will be your best bet. It will help with frosting, cracking, cauliflowering, all the nasty things soy can give you.

And also I agree Tootie leave those scent blocks alone and order some FOs and always use the scale to measure it out.

And once you found out the kind of wax it is do a search on here for more information.

GL and I hope this helped some.

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Ok well I tried to call bittercreek and they are closed. And since the search here is not working for me I googled it and found a few hits on here where some believe that wax is the same as 415. Just to clarifiy again I dont know if any of this is true since I have not used this wax before.

http://www.candletech.com/cgi-local/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=veggiewax;action=display;num=1108320843;start

http://www.craftserver.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15253

http://www.craftserver.com/forums/archive/index.php?t-25843.html

And if the search button is working for you give that a try and see what you can find out about this wax.

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Hi Shane and Shantille,

Welcome to the forum. You're gonna get a lot of advice and mixed opinions on this forum but it'll still help your learning curve in the way of making candles and avoid a lot of pitfalls.

Yaley supplies to a lot of retailers like Michaels and A.C Moore. If your buying retail your going to pay top dollar but it's a good way to get your feet wet so to speak but eventually you're going to want to find a reputable supplier - the closer to you the better. And believe me when I tell you that Yaley products just don't hold a candle to a lot of the wonderful waxes, dyes, wicks and fragrances you can find at other suppliers.

Soy wax is picky but there are additives you can use to help it behave better. My favorite is 1 tbsp 76 degree Coconut Oil per pound of soy - I use the LouAnn Brand that I get at Walmart. You should never heat your soy above 180 degrees - it oxidizes when over heated and can discolor. Pouring temps vary. I usually pour between 150 and 120 degrees. Some people wait until it's slushy. I don't but again the coconut oil really helps with this so pour temps isn't a big issue for me.

Cracking - Soy cracks almost no matter what you do especially around the wick. Some techniques are hitting the sides of the jar when it's still liquid to get the air bubbles out and/or cooling the jars slower by putting in an oven that is off but slightly warm or putting a cardboard box over them. Personally I don't bother with either - I used to but now I just let them crack and then smooth out the tops with a heat gun. A heat gun is a necessity in candle making. Don't try using a hair dryer - you'll really regret that decision. Invest in a heat gun. You can use the embosssing ones from a craft store or the paint stripping ones from the hardware store. I've seen them online for as little as $15 or you can ask around. Someone you know may have one gathering dust in a garage.

As for making soy pillars. There are especially formulated soy waxes for pillars. Ecosoya Pillar Blend is my favorite. I've experienced the least amount of cracking with this wax and I've tried a few others. With the pillar wax I do have to heat my molds and cool slower by putting a box over them. Also you need to lubricate your metal molds in order to release your candles. The best lubricant for me is Silicon Spray. One coat can do about 50 candles before having to spray again. You can also use a cooking spray like PAM (don't use ones with flour or butter flavor) but with cooking spray you have to coat more often. Silicon Spray is worth the investment. I've had the same can for over 8 years. You cannot use the silicon or cooking spray on polycarbonate, rubber or plastic molds. Silicon molds are the best (also the most expensive) and need no lubrication.

You cannot use soy container wax for pillars. These waxes are designed to adhere to the sides of the jar. In pillars and even tarts you'll have a bitch of a time trying to release from the mold.

What I have done is blend container soy with pillar paraffin. I haven't made big pillars with this. Mostly just tarts and decorative embeds. But they do release at about a 70% pillar paraffin to 30% container soy. I wouldn't try using more soy. You can do 50/50 blends with soy/paraffin container waxes and get the best of both worlds in regards to scent throw, adhesion, no cracking, no frosting, creamy look and cleaner burning.

HTH (Hope This Helps)

Cheers,

Jacqui

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