Powdery Tops....Please help

[coffeebean]

For some reason my tops of my candles are turning a lighter color and the wax is like dry and powdery. It seems like the longer they sit the dryer they get. I have some that are older than a year and they look fine, but then I have some that are 6 months old and they are turning powdery. I did not change anything. I use 415 with coconut oil.

Now what I'm trying is to not heat gun the tops and see if they stay creamy after a while. The only thing I'm not wild about is sometimes the tops are not smooth so I have to heat gun them. I pour at the slushy stage and the tops stay that way most of the time. Can someone please point me in the right direction please?

[rebeccajo99]

I found this website when I was looking for a solution to a problem that I am having. Maybe this will help.

http://www.onestopcandle.com/candle/ctroublepowder.php

[Sharon in KY]

There is no reason that I know and no way to tell which batch will turn out this way. Put your jar in the Microwave and melt it. 3 minutes should be enough, do 1 min at a time. Take it out, straighten the wick, and let it set up again. It should look great. I have noticed when I do this there will be white powder on the bottom of the jar. When my tarts act this way I have to start adding beeswax at 1 oz per lb. It seems to keep them from drying out.

You can also try heating the tops, might help.

http://www.craftserver.com/forums/search.php?searchid=1381785

[coffeebean]

Wow isn't this crazy...When I pour at lower temps I get wet tops. I'm talking sweating that bad I have to store them with a napkin in there for a couple weeks.

Then on the other hand if I pour them too cool at slushy stage then the tops get a white powdery top. I already went through adding all the additives and keeping the one that looked and smelled the best and changed nothing since then and now it's changing on its own.

I guess it's the soy, it has its' own personality. Back to the drawing board.

[Meridith]

Its the bloom of the soy wax or also called frosting. You will find this happens sometimes with natural waxes. It won't hurt the candle but does look terrible. Sometimes, you can't avoid it but you can add different things that might help like paraffin, Crisco, or BW.

[Dana]

I get this too with my 444. Heat gunning the tops helps, but I usually don't even mess with it anymore. As long as the tops are smooth I don't mind the frost. Embrace it! :smiley2:

[Stella1952]

Its the bloom of the soy wax or also called frosting. You will find this happens sometimes with natural waxes.

I agree. If you search former topics about "frosting" or "bloom," folks have discussed many different phases (undesirable crystal structure) of soy wax frosting. This is one of them. Sometimes, it is like powder, often seen in tarts. It's basically the same thing one sees on chocolate that has lost its temper.

There are many things you can do to reduce the incidence of frosting, but understand that the polymorphic crystalline structure of soy wax does not remain static and is highly sensitive to temperature variations when melted, poured & stored. Some of the solutions are: use USA; temper the wax; coconut oil; pour at a hotter or cooler temperature (depending on the soy wax used); use different or less dyes (or none at all); use different or less FOs (or none at all); store in a cool, climate-controlled location, etc.

When I pour at lower temps I get wet tops. I'm talking sweating that bad I have to store them with a napkin in there for a couple weeks.

This is called syneresis and it is the oil seeping out of the candle for various reasons, the most obvious of which can be using too much total oil in the wax! Temperature and humidity play a part in "sweating" occurring, as does an individual FO or wax blend. Keeping good notes when you pour (including the temperature & humidity of the room in which you are pouring) can help solve some of these issues. HTH