Help please!!!

[scifichik]

To be honest, I really don't care what the tops look like after I've burned a candle. I care about the hot throw and the safety of the container. After I relight the candle, there will eventually be a nice melt pool going, and it covers whatever ugliness remained after the candle cooled from the previous burning.

I've discovered that my customers feel the same way, although I do try to make sure that the tops look nice (with the help of a heat gun) before they go into the booth at the craft mall.

[Stella1952]

I really don't care what the tops look like after I've burned a candle. I care about the hot throw and the safety of the container.

As Meat Loaf wisely sang, "Two out of three ain't bad..." And if you had to pick only 2 from those 3 characteristics, you picked the same ones I would have picked, but that's a false choice...

I've discovered that my customers feel the same way

Yep, but the ones who don't feel that way, you may never hear from again - especially if they find a candlemaker who DOES care what candles look like after they burn AND makes a safe candle with a great HT... Not everyone is willing to settle for 2 out of 3...

Just sayin'...

***can't get Meat Loaf outta my head now***

[retchf47]

On 9/27/2011 at 11:29 PM, Stella1952 said:

All RIGHTY then! Since I use NatureWax C3 I might can offer you some help. BTW, it's manufactured by Elevance, not Cargill, for the past several years, despite what it says on the website.

Gotcha. With soy wax, this can be a problem because soy wax really doesn't like dye OR FOs... Try ECO liquid dyes from CandleWic or Southwest Candle Supply. Second choice would be the ReddigGlo dye chips... I think CS has them... Your colors look good, but I cannot tell how severe the frosting is... It usually starts small and grows. Too much dye can really effect the wick's ability to burn the wax efficiently. The mushrooming may be the result. At this point, I wouldn't be too worried about creating deep, dark colors - learn how to pour the wax and wick correctly first. As you gain experience with the wax, you will learn how much is TOO much. Color should be last on your list of concerns at this point. Pay attention to learning how to wick the wax, then whether the FO is working well with the wax & wick, then worry about using loads of dye to get dark colors. If you really want to learn how a wax works, test it first with wax and wick only - no additives, dyes or FO. Once you understand that, add 1 oz. PP of FO and see how that affects things. Once you have THAT working, then add a little dye and see how that affects things, etc. Add ONE new thing at a time, not all at once, You'll never figure out what is causing issues that way! Understand that frosting does not always occur right away. Sometimes it happens over a period of a couple of months, so don't be in too much of a rush. Many people learn this by pouring a bunch of candles they *think* are fine, store them and open them up a couple of months later to sell to find they have frosted, cauliflowered and or grown over the wick!

I use USA with C3 - 1 Tablespoonful PP. It's available from The Candlemaker's Store and UV color protector (available from many sources). I add all to the Presto to melt together. Prewarm your FO in the pour pot with your dye ~ 150°F is fine... just enough to warm it slightly and to melt the dye completely. Stir until the dye is completely dissolved into the FO. Melt the wax to 185°F, stirring slowly and pretty constantly. Add the wax to the FO/dye in the pour pot. Clip a thermometer on the side and stir the mixture until the temp reaches 165°F. Pour into prewashed containers. If the room is cool, it's not a bad idea to warm the inside of the container right before pouring with a heat gun. Cool on cookie racks or in the oven (you can prewarm to about 150°F, turn off before candles go in). For best results, melt your wax, etc. until the wax becomes clear (stir constantly), then turn off and stir occasionally until the wax becomes solid. The next day, melt to 185°F and proceed as above. Stirring is important. You want to keep the wax moving so that none of the wax gets exposed to the higher heat over the element for very long. Technique is very important in combating frosting in soy wax and there are no "short cuts."

As I mentioned a 4" container is not the easiest choice of containers to single wick nor is a wise container choice for a new candlemaker. It normally takes between 2-3 test burns of 4 hours each to achieve FMP. It also takes a LONG TIME to test these big containers, 'cause you have to burn them all the way to the end to see what the wick is gonna do. Your best bet for that size container would be the CDN 22. Check Candle Coccoon or Southwest for that size. It helps to have a 20 and a 24 just in case... If you can't find the right size CDN, go for the CD.

As I mentioned, as a candlemaking newbie, you would be better served to learn your wax using smaller containers because they are easier to wick and don't take so long to test, not to mention the amount of wax & FO you are using up for testing. If you choose to try a different container, try something straight-sided, round, 2½- 3", whose height is not much more than its diameter.

In general, your candles look okay - the biggest part of what's making the top and edges look bad is the wick. The edges may look a little ragged until it achieves FMP, although that is not always the case. You do not want to use an oversized wick because as the candle burns down into the container, the heat will become more concentrated and the wick that appeared to be just right the first couple of burns is now a torch and is causing the container to be way too hot to handle. Always wick for the last half of the container.

You did not mention how many test burns you have done on those candles nor which wick is in them... It looks to me like the wax is getting too hot (thus the frost strip underneath the MP).

Good luck & let us know how things go for you.

So you are pouring C3 into containers at 165? I thought it was better to pour at a lower temperature. I think I'll try it. I have been pouring about 115.

[retchf47]

I think I posted this yesterday in the wrong place, so I'll try again. I'm using Nature wax C3. I'm also using HTP wicks. Seems I have a problem with frosting. However not all the candles I prepared have the frosting issue. I heated the wax to 185. Poured into the pour pot and added a Riddig-glo dye chip, at around 165. I added fragrance oil at about 125 and poured into containers about 115. Most of my finished candles looked good with only a few having frosted on top. I also had hardly any wet spots. I used several different size containers. Overall I was very pleased with the way they turned out. The frosting issue on the top of some of the candles seemed to disappear once they were buring. However on a few of them the frosting appeared toward or on the sides of the container. Then I noticed that one pint size mason jar developed a frosted ring that was just below the previous melt pool. This happened after the 7th or 8th burn. I am attaching a photo. This was the only one that did this. The other frosting issues I had were mostly on the sides and bottoms. Meaning the bottom of the jars were white. All candles were made at the same time with the same percentages. 1 oz FO and one blue dye chip per pound. Looking for a little help please.

Thanks

[moonshine]

I don't use C3 now but being a veggie wax it will have a tendency to frost- especially using color 

it's normal and hopefully a C3 user can chime in and offer suggestions of what to do to help with it but that's the nature of soy and veggie waxes - I don't color mine and rarely get frosting anymore but when I do I just embrace it - for me I think it's certain FOs in combination with heat and pour temps - I try to always be accurate but sometimes I am off some when I'm in a hurry