justin Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 Anyone used or heard anything about the additive paraflint? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asher Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 Never used it, but apparently it increases hardness and opacity (which both vybar and stearic acid can do). Also aids in mold release. The only problem is that it has MP of 208...you'd have to melt it separately. Plus, it seems to be a bit more expensive than the others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin Posted December 5, 2005 Author Share Posted December 5, 2005 yea, i got a pound of it and the melting seperately is a little bit of a hassle. what are the cheaper easier alternatives? i got it originally to make a harder shell for the outside of a pillar so it would burn all the way out to it but stop short of the edge, but im finding the shell doesn't like to stick to the "inner core" (white wax) i'm filling it with. think i should just forget the harder shell, or poor a bit hotter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topofmurrayhill Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 It's a brand of Fischer-Tropsch synthetic wax. Will harden your wax and increase the melt point without opacifying it too much. Reasonably easy to use with a Presto pot. Otherwise you have to melt with direct heat in a little bit of wax rather than using the double boiler. This is not recommended if you are at all accident prone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asher Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 I'm certainly not the pillar expert here, so I'll let some of the others answer your specific questions about the pillar shell and pouring temps.However, as for the other additives I know that Vybar and stearic acid are quite popular. I like stearic acid for the votives I make. I know there's also "universal additive" and some people will also include something called microcrystalline in their mixes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin Posted December 5, 2005 Author Share Posted December 5, 2005 thanks for your help, im gonna have to look into the other additives and try a few out. i do have a question about presto pots though. can you melt wax directly in them without double boiling? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topofmurrayhill Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 i do have a question about presto pots though. can you melt wax directly in them without double boiling?Yup that's what they're for. They'll melt about 7 lbs. Actually 8, but again if you aren't accident prone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin Posted December 5, 2005 Author Share Posted December 5, 2005 thats definately going on my list, i've been double boiling on an electric stove all this time. also do you think its safe to melt wax with direct heat on a portable electric?(i've been making candles for the past year not having anyone to ask questions to, kind of a trial and error approach. that said, i have too many unanswered questions. blah.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asher Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 Yup that's what they're for. They'll melt about 7 lbs. Actually 8, but again if you aren't accident prone.Wow, I didn't even know this. Learn something new every day. Do they have a pour spout and a place to set the thermometer (or perhaps they have a built-in thermometer)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topofmurrayhill Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 thats definately going on my list, i've been double boiling on an electric stove all this time. also do you think its safe to melt wax with direct heat on a portable electric?It's never safe to melt wax on direct heat without thermostatic control. If you are experienced (and not accident prone) you might occasionally have to do so for a special additive, but for most people there are alternative additives that are easier to use.Click on general information over on the left to find some instructions for installing a spigot in a Presto pot. You can also buy pre-modified ones on e-Bay. Some people prefer to use them without the spigot. In that case you can use a ladle, or for smaller amounts pick up the pot and pour from it (assuming you're not accident prone). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topofmurrayhill Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 Wow, I didn't even know this. Learn something new every day. Do they have a pour spout and a place to set the thermometer (or perhaps they have a built-in thermometer)?They have a thermostat with a temperature dial that is often inaccurate. Clipping a candy thermometer to the side works fine. Being an experienced candle jock, I just dip a finger in the wax to judge the temperature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asher Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 Can we assume you are indeed accident prone, Alex? Sounds like you are speaking from experience on these things.I really have made things hard for myself. Only recently did I get those wick pins so I wouldn't have to manually set the silly wicks in place. But I'm still using the double boiler on the stove, which requires frequent stovetop cleanings. In addition, I don't even have a heat gun yet.Oh, and I hadn't been using ANY type of additive until a week ago when the stearic acid arrived. Well, those days are over. Mark my words. Just don't ask me next week if I've gotten a heat gun or presto pot yet. I need to save some ideas for presents, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asher Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 Being an experienced candle jock, I just dip a finger in the wax to judge the temperature.Oh, well as long as you have the burn cream close by what's the big deal? Besides, it saves money on costly thermometers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topofmurrayhill Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 I never have accidents. All my mayhem is intentional. That's just the life of a pyromaniac.Regarding the double boiler, I still use it frequently to make one or two test candles. Next thing on your list should probably be a heat gun. It will change your life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin Posted December 6, 2005 Author Share Posted December 6, 2005 I've heard heat are great for candle making. I actually had one just laying around and have been using it for a week or so. I've mainly used it for cleaning out molds, and sometimes heating molds before a poor. Are there other uses out there that make it all the more important? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted December 6, 2005 Share Posted December 6, 2005 Oh yeah!! Love the heat gun and so glad to have it. You can smooth tops and bottoms with it; remelt wax that seems to chill to soon (thus able to release some hidden or trapped air bubbles) and it can be used for some surface effects. There are tons of uses for those things. Heck you can make a grilled cheese sandwich with it if you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topofmurrayhill Posted December 6, 2005 Share Posted December 6, 2005 If anything just stubbornly refuses to burst into flames, the high setting on my heat gun usually does the trick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katinka Posted December 6, 2005 Share Posted December 6, 2005 Anyone used or heard anything about the additive paraflint?Hi JustinThe paraflint I use is called Paraflint C80 (the same product TOP mentioned earlier). After having some advice from TOP I did a bit of research on it and came up with the following: It is a FT product, marketed by Sasol (have a look on their website www.sasol.com) with a very high melting point (round about 90 degrees Celcius) that could be used as a hardener and opacifier. You should not use more than 2% with your wax as 1% is equal to using 10% stearic acid. Also, heat is seperately from your wax becuase of the high melting point. Once melted, add a little bit of your wax to the paraflint first and stir to mix in BEFORE adding to the rest of your wax. If you don't do this the hydrocarbon chains don't bind sufficiently to that of the wax and it could seperate when the candle cools and affect the burning adversely.I hope this helps. I have just done some test candles with stearic acid only, paraflint only and a combination of the two at various % becuase of our hot climate in South Africa. I should be able to burn them tomorrow morning and could post the results if you are interested.Katinka Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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