realmarcha Posted December 12, 2008 Share Posted December 12, 2008 Hello all!First let me say! I am using KY143 preblended pillar wax...great wax! I poured 64 pillars and 90% of them had pin holes on the sides. I did nothing different; same wax, same color, same fragrances, same process (heated mold; poured at same temps), etc. The ONLY thing different is we moved and the basement I now pour in is alot cooler than my old one (miss my house ). As the pillars cooled, I could tell they were cooling alot faster than in my old work space. Could this be the reason for the pin holes? If so, other than moving back to my old house , how can I avoid this in the future? I am thinking possibly heat my molds hotter; pour the wax hotter????? Thanks for any input you can give me and sorry this is so long! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meconella Posted December 12, 2008 Share Posted December 12, 2008 Can you keep the cooling candles in some sort of smaller, covered enclosures such as large boxes or ice chests so the heat of the candles will keep the area around them warmer for longer? Even a few large cardboard boxes with a blanket or two covering them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted December 12, 2008 Share Posted December 12, 2008 Could be any number of things and not necessarily that it's cooling faster. Ever done a water bath? That's a rapid hardening and I don't find that shows air bubbles, which can cause the pin hole look. Number of things to check, though you are doing this in a new location ... clean mold, rate of pour, heat at which you pour. Will take the chance to note that at the low temp I pour for rustics, I still get very few holes. I do not heat molds. The only purpose I would heat a mold is for a couple of surface techniques. Maybe you don't tap your molds to release the air bubbles, maybe it comes from your wick not being primed (don't know your method), but just going to say if you look down the sides of your molds or at angles you can see the air bubbles. Some angles they look shiny and some angles they look like black heads. Run something along the edge instead to dislodge them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
realmarcha Posted December 12, 2008 Author Share Posted December 12, 2008 Thanks for answering my post! I do tap my molds; maybe not hard enough. I use wick pins and they are warmed with the pillar mold. My molds and wick pins are always clean...cleaned after each pouring session. What I cannot figure is, I did NOT have this problem until I moved.The smooth looking pillars is what I strive for. I have been using this wax for 3 - 4 years now, and have not had any issues until now. Go figure!I will look for the air bubbles and dislodge them if found. I will also try the box/blanket and see if that helps. As far as the water bath process, I do not have the room for it; not with the amount of pillars I pour. I am so baffled! Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 Wasn't saying to use the water bath, just that it's a rapid cooling of the wax so if air bubbles typically don't tend to show up there, why not since they can or do just pouring a candle and letting cool at room temp. That's what doesn't make sense to me. Now, you could just try pouring a bit hotter too. BTW I don't tap, because top dislodge them I have to really bang the mold, so I run my skewer around the sides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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