Melting Glass Glow palm container wax?

[ah-soy]

Found 10 lbs of glass glow while cleaning up my workshop, so of course I want to pour it up. Keep searching for threads to answer my question and when I find one that might it won't go past page one...poo...wish the search would get fixed soon:)

Anyway, my question is can I just put several pounds of glass glow palm in a presto pot to use as needed...cool, reheat to pour a candle or two, cool, reheat etc or will that ruin the effect of the wax? Or, do I need to just melt the amount of wax I need each time?

Also, does this wax get air pockets like other palm waxes? Do I need to poke relief holes and do a repour?

Thanks in advance

[Stella1952]

my question is can I just put several pounds of glass glow palm in a presto pot to use as needed

Yes. I make 9# batches in my Presto and usually, I use all of it, but when I don't, I simply let it cool, then reheat. DO be careful when reheating because the stuff underneath will liquify and the top is still hard. This can cause a spew, so be sure to poke some holes as soon as you can (and keep them open) to relieve the pressure.

will that ruin the effect of the wax

No. The crystallization is a property of palm wax and is related to the temperature at which it's poured. I wouldn't, however, keep heating, reheating, heating reheating over and over and over again. This can cause the oil to start breaking down, darken, etc. But a few times should not be harmful.

does this wax get air pockets like other palm waxes

Yes.

Do I need to poke relief holes and do a repour?

Yes. You can often use a heat gun rather than a repour if you are neat when you poke. People are also allowing the top to harden, then turning the candles upside down. The theory behind this is that the air bubbles rise to the top in the liquid center which puts the voids they create at the bottom of the candle where they will (supposedly) do the least amount of harm. HTH & have fun!

[ah-soy]

Thank you! One more question...what temp do you set your pour pot? For my parasoy I set it at 200.

Edited July 25, 2011 by ah-soy

[Candybee]

I heat mine in my wax melter to 200-210. I pour at 195-200. I leave leftover gg in my meltor quite often. When I go to remelt I just add in more wax and melt it all together. I have a direct heat melter so it may make a difference as it heats so fast the leftover wax pulls away from the heated sides. This leaves a gap in between the wax and surface so I never get hot wax exploding thru the surface. Don't know if that will happen with presto so be careful.

Yes you do get air pockets with gg. My personal preference is to flip my candle over once the top has crusted over but the inner wax is still liquid. This allows air to go to the top (candle bottom) and let it cool completely. Don't know what size your jar is but I use 9 oz salsa and have to wait about 45 minutes before its safe to flip. Flip too soon and you get wax dripping out the candle, flip too late and the air pocket won't go to the top. HTH

Edited July 25, 2011 by Candybee

[ah-soy]

Thanks everyone for all your help! This is all I need, a new wax to play with, but I am waiting on some supplies so might as well. They look pretty good if I do say so myself but we shall see how they burn. This time I poked relief holes and let them finish cooling then heat gunned this morning. Next time I will try flipping and see how that works. The top half inch of the candle set up darker than the rest, but I did find an old thread that mentioned to cover the tops with a towel so I'll try that too. I cooled them on a rack inside a styro cooler.

I put a CSN 12 in my 2 3/4" tumbler and a CSN 14 in my 3" tumbler so we shall see how they burn. Fragrance (Frozen Margarita) at 6% and 4 drops liquid lime color. CT is out of this world. Here's hoping the HT is too.

I'm sure I'll have more questions with the search feature being so wonky. Thank goodness for helpful folks like you!

[Candybee]

Actually, try heating the inside of the container first with your heat gun. I usually count to 12 then pour in my wax. I never use a box or any other cover as that can effect the way the wax cools in the jar. With gg you need to have air flow all the way around the jar so the wax cools evenly. When it doesn't cool evenly you get a break in the pattern like you described.

Space the jars apart about 1-2 inches on a cooling rack. I use the racks from my oven. Heat gun the inside of the jars just before pouring. Make sure you have no drafts in the pouring room. They should come out evenly cooled with a complete crystal pattern.

[ah-soy]

Thanks Candybee! I did heat my jars with my heat gun, but maybe not long enough. Used the styro box since our air conditioning is on full blast and I have to do that with my parasoy containers but this glass glow is quite a different beast! Thanks for all the tips!

[Stella1952]

air conditioning is on full blast

Air movement, drafts and AC are a candlemaker's enemy. Try to cool your candles as Candybee suggested in an area where the air is still. One's oven is often a good solution.

[jakalex]

I have poured alot of the glass glow. I prefer to layer it. Air bubbles are not an issue and they look so preeety! Lol! There is a tutorial I did in the tutorial section on layering.

Edited August 13, 2011 by jakalex

[Stella1952]

Layering is a wonderful suggestion, jakalex, and so is your tutorial! It really is the prettiest way to avoid air pockets:)

[Candybee]

I suck at layering jar candles. But I have done rustic layered palm pillars and the technique does help eliminate those pesky air pockets.

[ah-soy]

Hey Candybee, do you mind telling me what wicks you like with the glass glow? I'm tearing my hair out...the CD's and CSN's are torches. Tried eco's and same thing.

Edited August 15, 2011 by ah-soy

[Candybee]

Sorry. I use CSNs. But I always use a smaller wick size than what CS recommends. I think part of the 'torch' effect has to do with the priming wax. Whatever, I like the way the candles burn so I will stick with them for now-- just always test a smaller size until you get one that burns proper.

[jakalex]

I use cd wicks. I usually do not pour in containers I can not double wick. Have never had any luck with single wicking this wax.

[Stella1952]

Here's a link to an old thread about wicking GG in Metro jars.

http://www.craftserver.com/forums/showthread.php?89992-Dollar-Tree-Status-Type-Jar-amp-Glass-Glow-Container

I just happened to be burning one that the OP was asking about, so I snapped a few pics of how it burns. I think people frequently don't test for long enough with GG because, especially in taller containers, it doesn't catch up until the last third of the container. I think somewhere in there I said that I used a CDN 12 or 14 in that container (depends on the FO)... I love the luminary effect of GG in containers because it lasts almost until the bitter end. Unlike pouring soy layered containers, GG makes pouring layered candles so much more pleasing because you can see the glow through the layers... C'mon - give it one more try... :smiley2:

Edited August 15, 2011 by Stella1952

[Pgribel]

I have been testing with glass glow in different containers with different wicks can’t seem to get it to melt the very top layer, is this normal, I looks cool but customer might not like it

[TallTayl]

DO you mean it leaves a bit of a "shelf" after a burn?  

 

If so, this is usually how mine burn until around the 2/3-1/2 way point when everything starts to catch up.