cracked ring

[CandleMakinCutiePie]

I was just wondering if the reason I am getting a big crack in a circle shape on top of my candles is because they are cooling to fast on top or if there is another reason this may be happening. I havn't been pouring them with wicks in them,so I know it's not a wick thing.I usually pour a bit hot but I tried pouring cooler,like 130*,hoping to improve wet spots,but now i've got the dreaded crack!Any suggestions?

(Btw,i'm pouring advanced with 1/2 tbs c.o,1 oz f.o,and 2 color dye chips in 3 in status jars.)

I've never had these giant cracks before,pouring at any temp,but I also didn't use c.o either.Maybe it's the c.o,maybe it's the weather change?Any thoughts?

[CandleMakinCutiePie]

Really...no thoughts?

[Stella1952]

If it didn't happen when you didn't use coconut oil, try some with your original formula.

[CandleMakinCutiePie]

I poured some without c.o and it's still happening.I'm pretty sure now it's the cooling.I'm gonna have to work on that I guess.Thanks for the response Stella.

[Stella1952]

Glad you have a handle on this. The techniques one uses at one time of year may differ when the seasons (and temperature & humidity) change. Some geographic environments are relatively static, but others vary greatly as do people's individual pouring spaces. I do things quite differently from winter to spring to summer. My home has poor environmental control, so my techniques have to change to suit the conditions. HTH

Edited March 24, 2011 by Stella1952

[Wicked_candle]

Any luck with your cooling techniques? I use the same wax and have had the same issue from time to time with certain diameter containers.

[CandleMakinCutiePie]

My house has poor environment control also so it's been a constant battle for me. The only way i've been able to 100% prevent this crack is to wash and prewarm my jars and pour them into a box with a divider in it and cover the box while they set up.It's less than ideal,but it works so....you gotta do what you gotta do I guess.

On a happier note,I have found by doing this,it has helped with wet spots tremendously.Damn advanced.It's supposed to have been designed for the wax to pull away from the jar,which is fine and dandy...except that it never completely does,leaving nasty wet spots and making me want to bash myself in the head!I must be a masochist to keep doing this,lol!

[Stella1952]

Damn advanced.It's supposed to have been designed for the wax to pull away from the jar,which is fine and dandy...except that it never completely does,leaving nasty wet spots and making me want to bash myself in the head!

Before you bash your brains in - go to the mall and take a look at the big name candles. Be sure to go during the summer (when the AC is blasting) or the winter (when the wind is rippin' through the store). You will see that commercial candles have wet spots, too. Like zits - they are a fact of life that usually annoy the owner far more than anyone else.

We can REDUCE the incidence of them by prewashing & prewarming glassware, cooling evenly and slowly, choosing waxes that have good glass adhesion (sorry - I never bought into the CBA "pulling away from the glass" hype), even using additives that supposedly increase the adhesion (now defunct Greenleaf used to have an additive some folks liked), but the bottom line is that sometimes candles have wet spots. You can store your candles under ideal circumstances, but if delivered to a place with different temperature fluctuations - guess what! Wet spots! Same thing happens between my home and a customer's home. It's impossible to control every variable!

Glassware with patterns (swirls, lines, bubbles, waves, etc.) show wet spots less than straight, clear class, IMHO. It isn't as noticeable on the masons I use because of the word "mason" molded onto the jar (but then I have to put up with the molded-in wording). Wet spots show more on darker colored candles than they do on light or uncolored ones. If you can't bear wet spots, use Glass Glow palm wax. It has places of non-adhesion, too, but with all the crystals, you'll never notice.

OR

You can set yourself free and NEVER EXPERIENCE WET SPOTS AGAIN.

How?

Make pillars. :laugh2:

Honest - if a few wet spots here and there is all you can find to criticize in your candles, you must be doing a pretty good job.

[CandleMakinCutiePie]

Before you bash your brains in - go to the mall and take a look at the big name candles. Be sure to go during the summer (when the AC is blasting) or the winter (when the wind is rippin' through the store). You will see that commercial candles have wet spots, too. Like zits - they are a fact of life that usually annoy the owner far more than anyone else.

We can REDUCE the incidence of them by prewashing & prewarming glassware, cooling evenly and slowly, choosing waxes that have good glass adhesion (sorry - I never bought into the CBA "pulling away from the glass" hype), even using additives that supposedly increase the adhesion (now defunct Greenleaf used to have an additive some folks liked), but the bottom line is that sometimes candles have wet spots. You can store your candles under ideal circumstances, but if delivered to a place with different temperature fluctuations - guess what! Wet spots! Same thing happens between my home and a customer's home. It's impossible to control every variable!

Glassware with patterns (swirls, lines, bubbles, waves, etc.) show wet spots less than straight, clear class, IMHO. It isn't as noticeable on the masons I use because of the word "mason" molded onto the jar (but then I have to put up with the molded-in wording). Wet spots show more on darker colored candles than they do on light or uncolored ones. If you can't bear wet spots, use Glass Glow palm wax. It has places of non-adhesion, too, but with all the crystals, you'll never notice.

OR

You can set yourself free and NEVER EXPERIENCE WET SPOTS AGAIN.

How?

Make pillars. :laugh2:

Honest - if a few wet spots here and there is all you can find to criticize in your candles, you must be doing a pretty good job.

Thanks Stella,you're right.I often check out the big wig companies candles and they always have wet spots.I agree it annoys us more than it annoys candle customers.Before I started making candles I never once noticed the wet spots in any candle I ever bought,lol.My candles are far from perfect and there's definitely room for improvements. When I work out the other kinks and all I have left to deal with are wet spots,i'll consider myself a lucky girl!!