what to use to secure your wick

[Stella1952]

From reading, it sounds as if that adhesive is next to permanent and could be difficult to remove, does it get soft enough to easily remove?

Are you familiar with silicone rubber adhesives? They harden & cure by a process called "room temperature vulcanization" or RTV for short. RTV is a synthetic latex (natural rubber). Unlike latex, it is relatively impervious to UV radiation, most solvents, remains flexible, and is waterproof and heat resistant. It undergoes a chemical reaction which hardens it; it does not "dry" as with water-based horse or polymer adhesives. RTV is unlike epoxies because it does not become hard. This is the same class of sealant used on aquariums. RTV is widely used for glass sealing (your windows are probably sealed with it), mold-making, as a general caulk & sealer for tile, tub & grout and other general construction purposes, and many other uses, as it bonds to many clean surfaces well.

It IS difficult to remove, which is the general idea. All one has to do is pry the metal away from the sealant or scrape the sealant from the glass. It doesn't soften (any more than it already is) which is what makes it such an excellent sealant. Cleanup when fresh (not cured) is via hot, soapy water and acetone (nail polish remover). Acetone may soften it slightly after curing but will not dissolve it.

For more information, use Google or pick up a tube and try some for yourself. Here are a couple of products reported to remove RTV (I have not used them so caveat emptor). A post on one automotive forum suggested the use of GoofOff.

http://www.orange-sol.com/casestudies/silicsealrtv.html

http://www.dsr5.com/siliconeremoval.htm

Remember: this is a sealant for finished products for gifting or sale to the general public. I don't recommend its use for testing because of the difficulty in removing it. For testing, I use high temp hot glue. I don't suggest that customers remove the wick tab to discourage "repurposing" the glass inappropriately. As mentioned previously, glass container candles are certainly NOT a "green" product! If you are trying to make environmentally friendly candles, make molded candles which do not require the use of containers or sealed wick tabs. HTH

[simply fragrant]

imc, yes, I suspected! Thus the word PERMAtex, lol!!! Have a good day!