Teach Soap

Hi - I am new to candlemaking and I have few questions regarding beeswax.

I have some yellow filtered beeswax that I have made a couple of container candles out of. Here are my issues. The wax pulls away from 1 or two sides of the glass (which is square). I poured the wax at 160 into heated containers - but I did allow the wax to get too hot it got to 200 degrees so I pulled it off heat and let it cool down. I then put the candles in my oven which had been slightly warmed but was not on. I left the candles in there until the were cool which was pretty much overnight. I did not get any cracking in the wax just the pull away issues.

I did fragrance the candle with an FO at .6% - nice fragrance about 15 minutes in but more on the soft side, no cold throw at all. Any suggestions?

I am having trouble finding a wick that burns the proper melting pool. The diameter of the containers are 3". I got cotton flat braid wicking from Michael's in extra large having tried medium and large and my candle is still tunneling. Could someone suggest a couple of sizes that I should try?

I am interested in coconut wax has anyone tried it good/bad/ thoughts in general?

Thanks so much for answering this newbies questions - long time soaper so I am completely out of my comfort zone!

I have found the Michael's wicking (usually Yaley brand) to be very fast burning. It works decently well in "standard" Yaley candle wax and alright in soy. I haven't found it to work well in any other waxes. Try looking around at some of the candle and soap making supply websites, most make good suggestions on wicks to use for certain waxes and diameters.

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

BrambleBerry carries wicks. 10 wicks are only $1.30, so you can get a bunch to try out, or maybe ask BrambleBerry if they would be willing to send you a sample pack. They are here> http://www.brambleberry.com/Wicks-C22.aspx
I find pure beeswax works better in tapers then containers as the wax does shrink as it cools.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Eco-soy is really good for container candles, especially the container blend.

_________________
~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

I have found nature garden to be a good source of info if you click on there candle making classes and scroll dow you will see they have a wick chart that i think is helpful and also a lot of info on waxes, I know some people get into a niche but i have found that reading some of what they have was helpful. I have not work with beewax that much so for me to comment on what is going on with it would be out of line for me .
I hope you find this info helpful and if you dont try calling brambleberry or natures garden.

I use square braid wicks for my pillars, tapers & votive beeswax candles. I don't make glass container candles with beeswax, as the larger wicking needed leaves the glass way too hot.

Also, you don't need to overly heat the beeswax, you can pour it as soon as it's melted. Soapbuddy is correct when she said the beeswax won't adhere to the container, it will shrink no matter how you cool it. I usually don't scent my candles, as my customers like the natural scent the honey has when burning.