mpeccorini Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 Hi everyone, I'm an absolute newbie in candle making. In fact, I purchased the ingredients and a mold yesterday and made my first candle. After about and hour of filling the mold, you could already see a cavity forming in the center of the candle. When the candle was cold, the cavity had about 1 to 1 and a half inches of depth. I had used 25 grams of stearic acid and 8 ounces of parafin wax. I also used a little dye, but no fragance (I forgot to put it in because I was too excited). I'm letting my second candle cool off right now, but it was already showing the same behaviour. This time I used 9 ounces of parafin wax and the same amount of stearic acid. I left a little molten wax to "refill" the cavity but then a lot of bubbles appeared. I guess the molten wax was not hot enough. I'd like to know if there's a definitive way of avoiding this cavity from forming. My wife even suggested using the candle upside down, which seems reasonable, but I hope there's a better solution. I appreciate your help.Mauricio Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgia Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 The forum search isn't working so I'll take pity on you...First off, when you make a pillar candle in a mold, the bottom of the mold IS the top of the candle.As the paraffin cools, it shrinks. You need to poke some relief holes near the wick. Chinese chopsticks work well. Saving extra wax for a repour is good. Just let the candle cool with relief holes. Then heat your repour wax to 10° hotter than your candle and pour to the top of the candle - not the mold. If you go higher than the candle it will run down between the candle and the mold. When it is completely cool, remove from the mold, turn it over and level the bottom. Enjoy!Watch out, though...it is completely addictive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debratant Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Completely normal...pillars, at least paraffin, require repours. Georgia gave excellent advise, so no point in me repeating. Would love to seethem when you get time to post in the gallery forum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jluper7297 Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 First off, when you make a pillar candle in a mold, the bottom of the mold IS the top of the candle.Okay, this I was not aware of. Any reason for this other than asthetic purposes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debratant Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 what kind of mold do you use j? I use concave molds...so the top, which is technically the bottom of the candle when you are pouring it, has a nice clean beveled edge. Just looks nicer to me in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetsCandles Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 It's mostly a combination of aesthetic and mold shape. Some of the non concave molds can be used regularly, where the pour is the top. But that leaves a chance for a rippled surface on the top, which isn't always desirable. A lot of candle makers will level the bottoms of the candles, at the pour, and it doesn't quite look right if you do it to the top. Also the pour opening can sometimes be jagged, depending on your final pour and so many other circumstances. But it all boils down to personal choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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