New to Palm wax

[smart]

what are if any differrence between all palm waxes are there different ones like soy and paraffin?

[Stella1952]

Oh, man - where to start? My best suggestion is for you to enter "palm" into the site search engine in the veggie wax forum and start reading, reading, reading.

[smart]

thank you for your reply I will do that as I seem to be so good at reading I done not much of anything else but that. lol:yay:my brain is over loaded

[Stella1952]

I can understand that! I'm not sure what specific information you are looking for... If you mean are there different manufacturers as with soy & paraffin waxes, yes, but very few. Most palm wax is imported from Malaysia & Indonesia to the best of my knowledge. IGI distributes palm wax to many suppliers (IGI R2778A & R2779A).

Pillar formulas are usually feathering, tortoise-shell & starburst. Different suppliers sometimes call the crystal types by different names, so it's helpful if suppliers have photos of the pillars of that particular wax.

Container palm wax in the US is nearly always IGI R2322A - Glass Glow. C J Robinson (scroll down to their "Robnatural Crystalline Palm Waxes" section) also has a good line of palm waxes, but I do not know who all carries their products. HTH

Edited January 17, 2010 by Stella1952

[mparadise]

Personally, I think most palm wax is fairly similar since it doesn't have alot of additives in it (ie: feather pillar palm from one manufacturer/plant similar to other feather palm). THAT SAID, if you have tamed one variety you still need to do testing if you switch suppliers BUT it seems a little easier to dial in on the correct wick/container/FO combinations if you have already found a combo that works in a different palm because they may be the same or just ever so slightly different (size or two up or down from what I have seen with my combos, MOST of the time). It just doesn't seem to be all over the board like it can be with other waxes because of the vast possibilities of additive combos or wax blends.

[Candybee]

Personally, I think most palm wax is fairly similar since it doesn't have alot of additives in it (ie: feather pillar palm from one manufacturer/plant similar to other feather palm). THAT SAID, if you have tamed one variety you still need to do testing if you switch suppliers BUT it seems a little easier to dial in on the correct wick/container/FO combinations if you have already found a combo that works in a different palm because they may be the same or just ever so slightly different (size or two up or down from what I have seen with my combos, MOST of the time). It just doesn't seem to be all over the board like it can be with other waxes because of the vast possibilities of additive combos or wax blends.

I don't find them all alike at all. Container palm and pillar palm are most definitely different. If you try to use the pillar palm in a jar the candle will shrink and rattle in the jar. And trust me, one type or one size wick does not apply to all. I use an entirely different wick for pillars than I do for a container palm.

C&S has 2 container palm waxes; crystal palm and glow palm. They don't look anything alike in the finished candle. Personally I prefer the glow palm. I love the way it crystalizes so much more than the crystal palm and it has a better price.

Each wax has their own signature crystalization or pattern. Plus, in some you can slightly alter the crystalization thru the cooling process. I love the look of feather palm and glow palm. They are very different in appearance and application.

[mparadise]

Sorry, I should have been more specific. If using the same "type" of wax...container vs container, feather pillar vs feather pillar, etc...it was fairly easy to figure out wicking, technique, etc if you get it from another supplier once you have mastered one brand if using it in the exact same application (ie: 2 different brands in the same jar, same FO) based on prior experience. BELIEVE me, I know container palm vs pillar palm can be a very different beast.

[Stella1952]

Personally, I think most palm wax is fairly similar since it doesn't have alot of additives in it (ie: feather pillar palm from one manufacturer/plant similar to other feather palm).

I can't say that for sure, :lipsrseal but we have been fortunate thus far not to have experienced a lot of radical differences between the different sources/types of palm wax the way one does with soy based waxes, for sure!! Dunno about paraffin, but palm wax has been much easier for us to learn to work with than has soy! Soy can make your brain hurt...

[mparadise]

As I said...in my testing this is what I have found with the waxes I have worked with over the last 4 years (do palm exclusively for the last 3). It may have been just luck, or might not, that is why I still recommend testing based on what you have used in the past to narrow down where to start. You definitely can not just sub one out for another without testing! Just as an example, when I switched from Astor Q to Glass Glow (to get a wax that was manufactured from sustainable palm oil) I found very minor differences were needed in my pour temp and wicking for just a few FO's but most things remained the same.

I definitely agree with you on the soy tho. When I was first doing testing to switch from paraffin I tried a couple of soys. After much testing I was ready to pull my hair out. Palm might have it's challenges (finding the right wick, fighting with air bubbles, etc) but IMO it is MUCH easier to work with for me. Plus I get great CT/HT like I did with my J50.

Edited January 19, 2010 by mparadise

[smart]

thank you all for all the great info I wanted to make pillars with palm love the look I use soy right now for containers and tart but was not sure on the difference if making a pillar the scent throw works well with all of them? I know that I have a lot of work of testing ahead of me but you all have helped so much

thanks so much:yay: