Contemplating Glass Glow

[pcbrook]

I have been thinking about giving Glass Glow a try for containers. I would appreciate some opinions on this stuff. Do you have to do second pours? Do only certain FOs work in it like in soy? I have researched this subject here on the board in search and it seems that CDs seem to be the wick of choice. Which are better? CSN, CDN or plain old CDs?

I am not yet ready to venture into pillars.

I would love to hear from whoever would care to comment. TIA!

[pcbrook]

Okay, I have been reading and reading on this board about palm wax and came across a post about "wrecking the tops". I am assuming it is to get rid of air bubbles. How do you do this and what do you use to so it?

Sorry for seeming a little naive here but my only experience is soy (3yrs) and 6006 (3 months). I know I have read about relief holes (is that the same as wrecking the tops?) but was not really sure what people meant by this or how and why they do it.

[kimmeroo]

I played with GG a couple of years ago..in fact I thought about trying it again..I used the metro jars and I started out w/CD wicks then switched to CDN's(if you use a CD 14 the CDN will be the same size,same wicks just CDN's have a special coating for soy waxes).I ended up w/ a CDN 14 it burned it level but the jar were really hot..the CDN 12 was not hot enough.I stopped testing.As afar as fo's..I think the wax is pretty versatile and it has excellent hot throw!

I came across this thread about relief holes..just in case you do encounter them you have something to fall back on..I saved it to my favorites.

Good Luck..Kim

http://www.craftserver.com/forums/showthread.php?t=55735&highlight=Glass+Glow

[Candybee]

I make 12 oz salsa jar candles with the glass glow. I get my wicks from CS. Their CSN wicks were manufactured specifically for glass glow wax and work great. I get a nice clean burn down the sides once the candle gets going.

When I make my candles I wait until I get about a 1/8 to 1/4 inch top crust and punch through the whole top. The inside will still be liquid and hot so you want to be cautious. Anyway GG typically gets air pockets just under the top layer of wax and around the wick as it cools so you have to punch the top in to release the air and let the pockets fill in with wax. You can then repour to get a smoothe top or heat gun it, whichever you prefer.

I love this wax. I love the H&C throw of GG. I have yet to find a fragrance oil that doesn't throw well in it and since I started selling them my customers tell me that I have the best and truest scented candles they have ever smelled.

[Debbie73]

I use glass glow with the cd wicks. The jars I use are all 3" jars. I double wick them with anything from cd 4 to a cd 10. The 10 was very rare only did that once. It just depends on the FO you are using. There are some that like the csn wicks and some that like the cdn wicks. My reason for the cd wick is it's a self trimming wick, but as it burns down into the jar you can get a small flame, some do not like the small flame, but I prefer it. Each person has their preference on a particular wick and why they like it.

To deal with air pockets, I use bamboo skewers to wreak the tops. I do not do a re-pour, I use my heat gun to smooth the tops off.

I hope this helps, but there are a few on here that have been at it longer than I have, that can further help you.

Good Luck,

Deb

[pcbrook]

Wow Kim, I just read through that thread that you gave and that is so helpful. I bookmarked that one too!

I think the next time I place an order I will get 10 pounds to play with. I was worried about only being able to use certain FOs. That is one of the reasons why I got sick of the soy. Some of the FOs I wanted to use were not that great. I was kind of limited by that. It is good to hear that just about every FO works with it.

I have been researching palm for a couple weeks now. While I was at a craft show yesterday a lady asked me if I do any palm candles. Told her what a coincidence it was that I was looking into it this week and she came and asked. She said she had bought one candle and just loved it. Loved it more than the soy. Said she would never buy a soy candle again. The palm lasted so much longer and the scent throw was out of this world. She even gave me her name and phone number to let her know if I ever start making them.

[kimmeroo]

Good Luck! I hope all goes well for you! I think i may play a little after Thanksgiving..I have some GG I just found!:smiley2:

Let us know what wicks work for you! Take Care!

Kim

[mparadise]

I do pretty much the same as Candybee with my GG but I use ECO wicks with it. I have been using container palm exclusively (first Astor Q, now GG)for a few years now and I don't think the CSN wicks were out then. I may need to get some next time I order wax to play with (AFTER the holiday craziness is over!)

When the tops have just crusted over like Candybee mentioned you should be able to see the air pockets under the surface to make it easier to "pop" them for the refill during the repour. I know many use a heat gun instead of doing the repour but I found that for me it destroyed the crystalization pattern on the tops so I prefer the hassle of the repour to get the pattern there too. Just my preference, neither is right or wrong, you can make that decision for yourself but you will definitely need to do one or the other.

As far as FO's having issues like soy does, I have yet to find a FO that doesn't work with palm. For me it was the natural choice when I finally made the decision to go with a natural wax because customers were asking for it and sales were slumping before I made the leap. I think it has just as good throw as my old J50 did. Once I got the air pocket and wicking issues straightened out I never looked back!

[Stella1952]

Once I got the air pocket and wicking issues straightened out I never looked back!

I wholeheartedly concur! I have experienced only ONE case of abnormal crystallization (same as frosting or cauliflowering in soy wax) in all the palm wax containers & pillars I have poured. In that case, the cauliflowering occurred in wax left at the bottom of a container after the wick had self-extinguished. I discovered it months later when rounding up all my used testing containers for cleaning & refilling. I have never had a problem with a fragrance oil causing the wax to misbehave; same with dyes - no problemo. We use CDNs for the most part, but also use CDs and square braid for some projects that the CDNs don't cover.

Just my preference, neither is right or wrong, you can make that decision for yourself but you will definitely need to do one or the other.

I use the heat gun finishing technique in containers because I do not want a pour line showing and I am just terrible at second pours. Because the top is not viewable from the sides, the difference in crystallization pattern does not bother me. As mparadise said, there are two ways to handle this and neither is right nor wrong, but you WILL have to choose one or the other.

I don't do any tapping for air bubbles, nor do I try and spot them through the hardened wax because as the candle cools & crystallizes, it will trap air bubbles in the structure of the crystals, so they do not always rise to the surface like they would in a smooth textured wax. Most are located very near the wick (all around) or a short distance in from the outer edge of the candle (all around). If you visualize the top of the candle like the solar system with the wick being the sun, the cavities form between the sun & venus and between saturn & neptune. For those of us who don't remember which planet is where, click here. I already cheated and looked! :embarasse .

It's important to understand that the cavities form because of cavitation - the large crystals have space between them that trap fine air bubbles as the candle cools. The "air bubbles" have NOTHING to do with bubbles from stirring, melting, etc.

I have written & illustrated the method I use for removing the cavities, so I won't repeat it here; however it is important to realize the air cavities are not all located just under the surface - they are throughout the interior of the candle so it's important to get deep into the candle before it hardens.

I enjoy working with palm wax far more than soy because it is simply less temperamental, more resistant to temperature changes and far more beautiful.

Edited November 23, 2009 by Stella1952

[pcbrook]

Thanks you guys for the great explanations. You all are starting to get me excited about this and I may just have to place an order soon instead of later.

Now where did I leave my credit card!

Stella - Thank you for that cheat sheet. I had to look at that link to remember where all the planets are!

Edited November 23, 2009 by pcbrook

[pcbrook]

Whenever I test any candle I usually do not put a wick in it at first. I just use a skewer after it has hardened to make a whole and stick a wick in so if I have to change it out it is easier. Is it possible to do this with palm?

[RichardLOZ]

ONly if you wish to dig out your electric drill to first drill a hole into the centre of the candle

Palm sets extremely hard so you will have to wick before pouring. It is a difficult wax to work with from a wicking perspective, but once you do get it, its a great sense of achievement

[Stella1952]

Some folks get away with pulling wicks, but it is not the best practice for testing and they are simply getting away with it - it isn't as accurate nor can this method be recommended, especially to people who are new to candlemaking or a particular wax or having trouble with wick testing in general. Short cuts from pros who've been doing this since the dawn of time are NOT the best way for less experienced people to learn!

Once again, it makes a difference in testing because a candle is designed to be burned from beginning to end with the same wick! Due diligence means testing an identical candle to the product you plan to sell (not half-filled, previously burned, used wax, etc.), so in the end, you achieve nothing by pulling wicks on container testing.

Palm wax is EXTREMELY hard and brittle, plus there is no reasonable amount of "soft" period between the solid state and the liquid state as with paraffin or soy. By the time you get an icepick heated enough to completely penetrate to the bottom AND be hot enough to remove it cleanly, you may as well just make the candle in the same form it will be sold and test that. Choose the size you think will work and make a tester in that size, one higher and one lower. This way you have a reasonable range for comparison. Once you can see which size is working better than the other two, make another tester of that size and powerburn it to be sure it's not too hot at the end of the container.

My best suggestion is to decide which wick type you wish to try and order a sample of sizes. Different folks report liking square braid, CSNs, CDs, CDNs, LXs, RRDs - so that should tell you that MANY different types WILL work. Unless you want to test them all, pick ONE type to begin and go for it. Don't take short cuts - they'll cost you extra money and time in the long run. Just MHO.

Edited November 27, 2009 by Stella1952

[pcbrook]

Thanks for the heads up. I have read that palm is hard but I did not realize it was that hard.

[Debbie73]

I have to agree with you, Stella. A wick that you think is not burning right half way thru the burn, can end up cleaning the jar at the end of the burn. This can change from one FO to another. Thus the importance of testing. This was especially true when I started making pillar candles. :smiley2:

[Candybee]

Just a heads up from my experience the LX wicks work great for me in palm pillar candles but not so good in the GG containers. I just could not get a decent burn with any size LX wick I tried in my container. Every size I tried would tunnel down the middle of the candle leaving huge amounts of wax on the sides.

Thats when I switched to CS' CSN wicks. The difference was huge. I was getting a clean burn on all of my testers. The only problem I had with them is the wick guide on CS site would always indicate a wick size too large. That was not a huge problem because they sell small 5 wick packets to test each size. Anyway-- if you buy from CS you will want to try different size wicks because the size they recommend may be too large. It was for me.

[mparadise]

I have actually found CS' wick suggestions are a bit off with palm for me as well so I agree that you should get a sampler pack for testing.