Bernadette Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Another one for the "scratches her head" books! I have a large novelty mold that holds 2 1/2 lbs. of wax. I should mention that I've made this one up in colors before, tested, everything fine.This time, I have an order for this configuration for 3 candles in cream. I use a 148 meltpoint, straight paraffin, and add zybar and stearic. This wax is white pellets but when you melt it and pour, even with the additives for smaller candles, the outcome is cream. Well this time, doing one candle or 2 1/2 lbs. of wax with the recommended zybar and stearic, the outcome is pale yellow!:rolleyes2 Does anyone have any ideas why this is happening? Is it the additives? Pouring into this mold takes a day and a half for the wax to harden, so I don't want to experiment if I can help it as I only have one mold and the customer needs these asap.I know I'm leaving some things out, but I'm so frustrated right now. I will reinerate that in smaller quantities of wax(for single candles) I don't have this problem at all. TIA for any insight you might be able to give. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustpuuppy Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Stearic adds opacity. That's one thing that could push the color toward a kind of yellowish hue. That hue would tend to be exaggerated due to the thickness making it even more opaque.Many FOs can have a yellow tint.Also, if it's a silicon mold, it could have picked up some dye from a previous pour.A touch of titanium dioxide might push the color back toward white and kill some of the yellow.And I used to check my colors by pouring about a quarter inch or so of the wax into a votive cup. It gives me a more accurate representation of what the color will be than using a paper plate. Especially with with light , pale, pastel type colors, when I want to get it just so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Circle Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Forget the vybar unless using very high FO. I agree that the FO can cause the cream discolouration so check first. For a white candle, you need to add white candle dye to the paraffin (Candlewic has a white liquid dye) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernadette Posted November 24, 2009 Author Share Posted November 24, 2009 (edited) I KNEW I forgot something...no fragrance used on these because only the center burns - a perfect 3" pillar size - leaving an outside shell where you can insert scented pillars, votives, etc. later on. I've given up for the evening as I'm off to bed. I'll try some of these suggestions in the morning and let you know what happened. Edited November 24, 2009 by Bernadette Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnjieBurdett Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Stearic in a silic0ne m0uld is a bad idea, it will deteri0rate the m0uld in n0 time and the wax will stick like shite t0 a blanket Anjie,x.p.s please excuse the zer0's my ' ' buttn desn't wrk as yu can see Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernadette Posted November 24, 2009 Author Share Posted November 24, 2009 Okay, up and at it again this morning. I'm melting another 2 1/2 lbs. right now. Before I do anything, when it's melted I'm pouring a little mold first to see what the wax color is. BTW, forgot to mention that with the others with the additives, the wax was yellow melted in the pot, almost a gold, but when poured and cooled it was a pale yellow. Lighter than a baby yellow.This is an industrial mold from a professional candle company that went out of business right before the recession started. There's some silicone in this mold, but there's something else. It's a heavy, over 16 lb., 3 piece mold. It's held together with the thick craft bands. Additives don't phase these. The only color they ever made in this mold was white, so that shouldn't be effecting the color either.We'll see...more later.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topofmurrayhill Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 Is there anything more you can tell us about the paraffin?I figure the additives have nothing to do with this. You'd have to use approximately a crapload of Vybar to color the candle. Stearic can turn yellow with heat or sun, but I assume it looks fine and that you aren't incinerating it in the melter.What I'm scratching my head over is your statement that the paraffin is yellowish. That would explain the off-color candle, right? The larger the candle, the more the color will be off. But I have seen a zillion kinds of fully refined straight paraffin, give or take a million, and it's always either very white or close enough not to matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustpuuppy Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 What I'm scratching my head over is your statement that the paraffin is yellowish. That would explain the off-color candle, right? The larger the candle, the more the color will be off. Same here. Maybe she DID get the wax too hot in a presto pot?I was working on the assumption that it was some tint from the FO or some color the mold had picked up.Left over dye contamination in the pour pot ? With that thickness and the stearic it wouldn't take much.Also, I've seen wax turn yellow with age. A little far fetched but...That's all I can think of, right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernadette Posted November 27, 2009 Author Share Posted November 27, 2009 (edited) This paraffin is in small bead form. It's totally white. When it's melted is when it has the yellowish cast, but in smaller molds, the candle will always turn out ivory or cream, NEVER white. It was not overheated when melted. I melt it to 190 degrees per the manufacturer's instructions for adding the zybar and stearic, then reduce heat to 175 and pour. After several trys with this wax, I gave up and went to the slab form. Never a problem with this wax. So far, I have two done...one more to go:yay:!The bead wax makes beautiful colored candles that burn beautifully, so I guess I'll just save it for that. Edited November 27, 2009 by Bernadette Forgot to add... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MommaD Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 I started to say old paraffin, but if it's white when you start out? I am just confused. Sorry I am no help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustpuuppy Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 After several trys with this wax, I gave up and went to the slab form. Never a problem with this wax. So far, I have two done...one more to go:yay:! Congrats. Glad you got it worked out. If you ever find out what was going on with the other wax, I'd be interested to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernadette Posted November 27, 2009 Author Share Posted November 27, 2009 Yeah, me too......hopefully after the Holidays I can play with it a bit, however, I've used that wax for over a year and a half now, and it always discolors when melted; but I've never tried to make a candle this big with it before and had no idea it would get worse with the amount. Works terrific for colored candles, just not white or cream.If I can remember, I'll take a pic before I send off the good ones, so you can see the difference between the two waxes. I think you'll agree it's weird... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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