Couple Candle Questions..

[Swim_Bike_Run]

Hi all -

I have been making soy container candles for several months and have been very pleased with how they have turned out. Friends, family, co-workers and neighbors, love them. Very happy. So as I think about making a few more and selling them here and there, I have a couple of questions. Some of my triathlon buddies think I am a bit weird for making soy candles, but their wives love them so that is ok. =)

Couple questions:

1. What is the point of a lid? I do not currently use them, but again I have not really tried to sell them to anyone I did not know. What purpose does it serve? Is it a true "necessity"? What if I eventually want to sell more of my candles?

2. Like I mentioned, I am very happy with how my candles smell, how they burn and love how they look. Working on labels, website, domain name, etc. I am in the IT field, so the web stuff is a whole lot more natural to me than the candle biz, but I'm learning. Anyway, the only real complaint I personally have with them is that the tops of the candles are not SMOOTH. They have some dimples, or small bumps and sometimes the tops are not completely level, that is, a small part will slightly "cave-in" after the wax hardens. I have never really thought of it as a problem before, as they smell great and burn well, and last a pretty long time. The appearance is not as important as the way it smells and burns, at least to me. However, yesterday, I was in a small packaging store and noticed a little stand with some soy candles that they sell in there and I bought one. About $9 for a 6-7 oz jar similar to my shape, only smaller. No lid, but did have a cardstock-type wrapper/label that went up over the top of the candle so it was "sort-of" a lid. Anyway, when I got home I was looking at this candle and the candle itself is very, very smooth and level. Not dimple filled like mine.

Is there something I am doing to cause this? I am very precise with my melting and pouring. I melt my wax in a turkey roaster, slowly, and only add the fragrance and dye at about 180-185 degrees stirring each for 2 mins. Then I take it off the heat and stir as the temp. drops every 10-12 degrees. I then pour into a aluminum pour pot at 112 or so degrees and then straight into my libbey interlude 12 oz jars. I use the soy wax flakes from Canjun Candles and my Fragrance is from Bert's. About 1.25oz of fragrance per lb of wax. Sound ok?

Any advice or insight is greatly welcomed and appreciated. =)

Brian

[jaxxcandles]

Sounds to me like you may be pouring it too cool if you are getting dimples. Do you know if you are using a one pour wax? If not, you may need to top off the candles for a smooth finish. That has been my experience when doing soy container candles.

Jackie

http://jaxxcandles.com

[Swim_Bike_Run]

I am using the C-3 SOy Container Wax from Cajun Candles. Is that a one pour wax? Also, what is the best temp to pour at? I thought it was 110-112 degrees....

Brian

[deb426]

C-3 is best poured hot. I pour at around 165 and get smooth tops.

[Cindy/WI]

I pour @ about 155 - 160 I do not do a second pour but even the tops out with a heat gun if needed.

[Judy, USMC]

I am using the C-3 SOy Container Wax from Cajun Candles. Is that a one pour wax? Also, what is the best temp to pour at? I thought it was 110-112 degrees....

Brian

Here's a link to the Elevance site. I believe they are the major sales rep for C-3. I didn't read through the whole section but did note that they recommend pouring @ 160. Hope there's more helpful information there, too.

http://naturewax.com/faqs.htm

[Toni S.]

Hey Brian,

You could use a heat gun to even out the tops if there are any flaws but what I've been doing with the C3 for years is to do a slight repour. It may be a little extra work but my candles are always very smoooooth with that procedure. I don't like selling my candles if the tops aren't smooth. HTH :rolleyes2