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my first soy containers


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Hello all, last night I poured my first few jars using GB 464 with 6% FO. over all I am happy with the way it all worked out. So far the cold throw is vary good. I have not done any burn test yet. I am having one small issue though, I believe it is frosting on the sides? I am pre heating the jars warm warm to the touch and pouring at and adv 135 deg room temp at 68-72deg.. what is the typical cause for frosting? jars not warm enough, pour temp too hot/cold etc. Please see the photos and if you have any suggestions please let me know.

Thank you in advance.

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I'm not an expert because I just started making candles, but I quickly found I was having the same problem. I found a tip somewhere to put the containers on a cookie cooling rack to let the air get to the bottom, then a cardboard box over the candles to help retain the heat and slow the cooling process. That helped tremendously. House temp plays a factor too, so make sure you turn up the heat a tad if it's getting cold outside where you're at.

Oh, and before you get too excited and pouring a ton of candles, test your wicks. I found I wasn't using the right sizes. Apparently for soy you have to "wick up" a few sizes. I still haven't found the right wicks that I like, but at least I'm closer and creating a pool that reaches the edges.

Edited by wiscwicks
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They could be cooling too fast, could be the colour or the iol you are using. What frosts for one person may not do do for another. My spiced cranberry no matter what I do to it frosts. Dont know why, but it just does. Such is life. Generally my customers do not worry about the frosting, all they want is a great smelling candle that burns well.

Sometimes the frosting issue can really tie you down, however most customers just dont really care. We do all want to make the best looking candle that we can, but soy is such an interesting beast to work with and really keeps us on our toes :)

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When you first test out a new wax you should pour a tester with no additives to see how the wax behaves. Once you get the heating temp, pouring temp, and cooling techniques down then try a new tester with one new additive.

For eg.; pour your first tester with no additives. Pour a second testor with FO and no other additives. Then pour a third with FO and color, etc. Its best to find out how your wax reacts to each additive before you start adding everything together in your first testers.

Frosting is a characteristic of soy and many things may cause it; color, FO, pouring temp, cooling technique, etc. By testing each additive or technique seperately you can determine what causes your frosting.

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thank you all for the help. yesterday i tried another candle with a different FO and color as well as trying to cool it slower... and it looked as if it worked, but several hours after it had totally cooled it started doing the same thing... only worse... why would it do this so long after it had cooled? is it possible that this is a mottle over frost? is it possible to somehow fix a problem like this as in re-heating the candle...

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when I do the box over to slow the cooling, I leave it for as long as I can, even up to 24 hours (also no lid, just in case you were doing that) When I did it only a few hours or just overnight, it looked fine, but then within a few hours turned into a disaster. The ones I leave under for 24 hours are definitely more successful, longer. Kind of a pain, but maybe someone else has an option to share because I'd love to hear it too! :-) I live in Wisc. so cold weather/house is a frustration here.

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There are alot of factors as to why soy frosts..I found with me, it was the coloring,I found that using liquid it frosted even worse than with the blocks. You will have to experiment like CandyBee said.

I personally think your candles look amazing..even with the frost.:) Good Luck.

Kim

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thank you all for the help. yesterday i tried another candle with a different FO and color as well as trying to cool it slower... and it looked as if it worked, but several hours after it had totally cooled it started doing the same thing... only worse... why would it do this so long after it had cooled? is it possible that this is a mottle over frost? is it possible to somehow fix a problem like this as in re-heating the candle...

Reheating tends to make the frosting worse in my experience. You are going to have to experiment to find out what color or colors, what FO or FOs, etc. work in your soy. This is why I suggested testing each ingredient seperately so you can eliminate one by one what works and what doesn't work in your soy.

You are gonna need a lot of patience when it comes to testing out soy. Took me 2 yrs to get a great soy candle that was frost free with great H&C throw. Good luck!

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Frosting will drive you nuts. :rolleyes2

You could ship the perfect frost free candle out to a customer, only to have it frosted once it gets to it's destination because you can not control the temps once it leaves you house.. So of it sits in a cold mail room or truck, there goes you perfect looking frost free candle.

Same goes for shelves your candles sit on in stores. You have not control.

Go dye free ~ Less of a headache.. :cheesy2:

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Frosting will drive you nuts. :rolleyes2

You could ship the perfect frost free candle out to a customer, only to have it frosted once it gets to it's destination because you can not control the temps once it leaves you house.. So of it sits in a cold mail room or truck, there goes you perfect looking frost free candle.

Same goes for shelves your candles sit on in stores. You have not control.

Go dye free ~ Less of a headache.. :cheesy2:

Ditto, I don't color soy.

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Wow! I think they look amazing! Even with the frosting. The containers you used are beautiful too, where did you get them?

I did my first soy containers recently too, using the same kind as you. Your tops look so smooth and creamy! Mine don't look nearly as nice.

Also, if you don't mind, I'd like to ask you:

1) What temp did you heat your wax to?

2) What temp did you add FO?

3) What temp did you add color?

4) What temp did you pour?

5) What kind of color did you use? (The colors are stunning! Mine didn't come out as nicely as yours)

I hope you don't mind me picking your brain, and I hope you don't mind sharing that info! Your candles really look great! Good job! :)

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There are alot of factors as to why soy frosts..I found with me, it was the coloring,I found that using liquid it frosted even worse than with the blocks. You will have to experiment like CandyBee said.

I personally think your candles look amazing..even with the frost.:) Good Luck.

Kim

Kim, I believe you are correct as out of the three candles in the photo the only one that did not frost was the pink/ red one as the red liquid dye used was an old cheap one i had from a craft store. The other two where liquid dyes from CS. Today I poured another candle using rediglo dye chips from CS and so far no frost and a better smoother top. I just poured another using the dye chips again and a different FO. So if the liquid dye is the culprit I will know in a day or so and will post the results.

Thank you

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Wow! I think they look amazing! Even with the frosting. The containers you used are beautiful too, where did you get them?

I did my first soy containers recently too, using the same kind as you. Your tops look so smooth and creamy! Mine don't look nearly as nice.

Also, if you don't mind, I'd like to ask you:

1) What temp did you heat your wax to?

2) What temp did you add FO?

3) What temp did you add color?

4) What temp did you pour?

5) What kind of color did you use? (The colors are stunning! Mine didn't come out as nicely as yours)

I hope you don't mind me picking your brain, and I hope you don't mind sharing that info! Your candles really look great! Good job! :)

no I dont mind sharing my info/data as I hope it helps you and others..

wax heated to 180-185

added color at the 180s

added FO at adv 160-170

allowed to cool to 135 while the jars heated to warm to the touch then poured at 135... no cover over candles room temp was adv. 68-73 deg.

the color/dyes used in the photo was liquid dyes from CS, but believe that was causing the frost issues. Now am testing using dye chips to try and solve the frost issue... I thank you for the kind words and will post update/findings on the test.

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First way to combat frosting on the sides is to make sure the glass is clean of any manufacturing residue by washing in HOT sudsy water (with Dawn or Parson's sudsy ammonia), rinsing in HOT water and allowing to air dry upside down on a rack.

When you first test out a new wax you should pour a tester with no additives to see how the wax behaves. Once you get the heating temp, pouring temp, and cooling techniques down then try a new tester with one new additive.

I totally agree. Unless you have some knowledge of how the wax behaves au naturel, it's really hard to determine WHAT caused an issue... Some dyes or FOs alone will frost. Some only frost in combination. Some frost more when the wax is poured hot; others when poured cool. In a cool room, soy-based waxes tend to frost more. I can't speak for your wax, but 135°F is hovering near a no-no temp for the wax I use. If you're going to pour cool, I'd suggest you drop the pour temp lower (125-130°F), stirring constantly as the temp falls; or you might have better luck pouring hotter (160°-165°F) and cooling more slowly on a cookie rack under a box.

I like the liquid EVO dyes from Candlewic & JBN for my wax. The Reddig-glo chips work pretty good, too. But as Candybee suggested, start without anything and see how that goes, then add ingredients one at a time as your proficiency with the wax increases. :)

BTW, undyed and unscented soy candles frost, too. It's not as noticeable because the wax is close to the same color as the frosting, but when the stuff cauliflowers and covers the wick, it's pretty in-your-face. Dye or fragrance free is no guarantee against veggie wax morphing!

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