Candlewic's 5055 - rustic advice needed

[Jeana]

I was wondering what the optimum pouring temp is of this wax to keep the rustic look? (candlewic is closed for the weekend so I can't ask them.)

I recently started pouring cooler to be sure to get the rustic look, but now I'm having trouble with warping on the sides. I think I may be pouring too cool now. I didn't think I could pour too cool. The texture looks great though.

This only happens sometimes, so it is really hard to pinpoint exactly what is a good or bad temp to pour.

[pbmciver]

I don't use that wax but when I want rustic I put my mold in the freezer and pour I think around 150.

[Jeana]

So you don't take the temperatures either - haha?

What is the melt point of the wax you use?

The last time I made these, I put the molds in the freezer, the wax was a little slushy when I poured. Only two of them didn't get big dents in the sides of the candles. Is your wax slushy around 150, or still clear? Sorry I'm just trying to get a visual of what 150 looks like. I don't have a good thermometer, so I'm not able to get an accurate reading.

Have you ever gotten the indentations in the sides of the candles that I'm talking about?

[candlesprite7]

I haven't ever used 5055 for anything other than a hurricane or wax shell.

[topofmurrayhill]

People don't typically use such a high melt point wax for large-diameter pillars. It can be hard to mold and may not burn well. I don't know what sort of indentation you're getting, but a typical problem I see molding a pillar out of this sort of material is that the bottom of the candle shrinks away from the top of the mold.

As far as the pouring temperature is concerned, the sort of cold-poured pillars you see in the gallery here are made by pouring the wax something like 10 or 15 degrees above the melt point. That ensures that the wax congeals instantly against the side of the mold. Given that 5055 has a melt point around 150, you could try a pouring at 160-165 and see how that works out. Freezing the mold might be overkill.

[Jeana]

I've used it for my 2" pillars for a while now, it has always been great until I started pouring cool.

I spoke with Candlewic and they suggested pouring around 185. Which means I was WAY off.

Thanks

[topofmurrayhill]

I've used it for my 2" pillars for a while now, it has always been great until I started pouring cool.

I spoke with Candlewic and they suggested pouring around 185. Which means I was WAY off.

Thanks

Skinnier candles work better with higher MP paraffin, so that makes sense. I was imagining that you were making 3 inch pillars.

It sounds like a good suggestion. More heat trapped in the candle will hopefully get you more of a sinkhole in the center rather than the sides denting in. But in that case I retract the comment about chilling the mold being overkill. Pouring at 185, I think you'll certainly have to do it to get the cold-poured look.

[Scented]

However a sign of indention on the side(s) can also come from the lack of pouring sink holes regardless of what wax you use.

[Jeana]

Do you mean poking holes for a second pour?

[topofmurrayhill]

She meant to say poking relief holes.

As the candle cools, you periodically poke through the solid layer down to the liquid part. 3 holes should be plenty for a 2 inch pillar, maybe 1/4 inch wide or a little more, like you might get with the blunt end of a chopstick.

That helps the wax shrink in a more controlled and distributed way, so the stretched wax doesn't make the side of the candle separate from the mold or pull in air to create a hidden cavity in the middle.

Another way to think about it is that paraffin shrinks tremedously as it cools, which creates a lot of empty space where there was previously wax. The relief holes are a way making sure the empty space ends up being in a harmless place, where you can easily fill it with the second pour.

You may already know this.