Newbie...dye question

[Daisymae]

I just got finished with my very first candle and I am using dye chips from Peak Candle Supply. The directions say 1 chip/1lb of wax. Did that, not the color at all it is supposed to be. I would like to know what the "real" ratio is so that I can make a better colored candle next time.

And also, are dye chips all the same or are there better brands or even better liquids out there? I know "to each his own", but I am just looking for some people's personal preference since I am new...

Thanks for any help!

[Candybee]

Color can vary depending on the opacity or 'whiteness' of the wax. The more opaque the more color you may need to add to get a fuller, richer, more vibrant color.

I use the reddiglo dye chips from CS. I find I may need to double my color amount in wax like soy and half the amount in my palm wax.

If your color is too light try using 2 or more chips. If it is not anywhere near the color say you are trying for blue but get a blackish green I would wonder about the quality of the chip.

When testing out a new color I get out a white dish and drop some of the colored wax on the dish to see how the color is and adjust from there. Sometimes I have to add more color and can determine this before I actually pour my candle. HTH

[EricofAZ]

Ah, the 64,000 dollar question.

Any additive comes with a suggested starting point. Whether it is liquid dye, or chips or vybar, or UV or ... the recommendation is just a place to start.

Start there, adjust for your desires. Nobody here can tell you the right formula or the right mix. We can help a bit if we know the wax selection and the specific dye type/amt and the wax amount. But you can do this too by adding more or less for your desired results.

Candle making is not as simple as the Yaley books and craft store pamphlets suggest. Yeah, you can buy a kit and follow the instructions and get a decent result, but once you go outside the kit/formula, its a whole new ball game.

Welcome to the club. Keep testing and trying. We'll help you and in time you may have some info to help us.

[Scented]

There's no correct ratio out there per se, but for me, I typically start with 2 diamonds to a pound of wax, pull the wax and let it harden (often blow on it till it films over etc.) to see what the color is and then I go from there. I use a mix of chips, blocks and dye. Lately it's just been dye.

[rustic]

I use the reddi-glow dye chips, one tip is after you have melted your wax and added your color chip, take a spoon and just drip a small amount of wax on a piece of wax paper or even just white paper it will cool quickly and you can then see what color it will be, if you want it darker add another chip and keep testing till you get the color you want. I use Soy wax and I do know it is hard to color it real dark and too much color can some times clog your wicks and effect how your candle burns.

[IwantItgreen]

I use parasoy and I limit myself to 7 drop liquid dye/lb.

[Bella Rose]

I use liquid dye and have had great results everytime using Peaks

[Candlebuddy]

Generally speaking, using dye chip from Candle Science, I use 2-3 dye chips per pound of 6006.

[EricofAZ]

I pretty much stopped using dye chips, though I might go back to using chips for the white color.

RGB and CMYK is pretty much all I need and then mix. There are a lot of mix colors out there and they are easy to use if you like one of them. Otherwise, mixing seems to be pretty inexpensive.

[Dana]

Sorry,but what are these brands? I'll probably recognize it once you say it, but I can't think of either of them right now!

[EricofAZ]

CMYK is Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black. They are the primary colors used on white paper by your printers. All shades and colors printed can be made by CMYK. There are plenty of charts on CMYK mixes and the reason I like CMYK is because they are based on 100 parts each. Easy to figure out.

RGB is Red, Green, Blue. These are colors used for light. Your TV set is RGB. The cathode ray tube in computer monitors is RGB. Modern TV's and Computer monitors that emit light and are flat screen like LCD's or plasma are still RGB.

For an interesting reason, Sony? or one of the TV companies has added Yellow. RGBY. I'm not sure why, but I suspect it does make it easier to get more vibrant colors from light (not paper).

For example. There are three ways to make hot pink.

CMYK formula is 100 parts Magenta and 49 parts Yellow. Works fine on paper.

RGB formula would be 255 parts red and 128 parts blue with a hue of 329 and saturation of 100. Obviously this doesn't work for paper.

By intermixing, 2 parts Red and one part Yellow (neither RGB nor CMYK can do this, but RGBY can) then you get hot pink.

White is assumed in both RGB and CMYK schemes. One is light emitted, the other is white paper background.

I think I see why Sony went to the RGBY because it has a good ability to mix colors. I'm curious as to how the movie and TV industry have responded to this since RGB is the standard in production. Maybe there is some latent spectrum that the RGBY monitor can display that is already in the movie/tv production.

But I digress.

For candle making, CMYK is the best mix since wax is white-ish and reflects light rather than projecting it. The problem is that cyan is not a color that can be purchased. I had to use RGB to create cyan and it's not quite right.

[Daisymae]

Thanks so much for all of your help everyone! I have learned a lot and think experimentation is my best bet now that I know how to check the color. I think I will also try the liquid dyes, too.