Candle Making Response
Cyd
First, you need to get some of the proper equipment:
A double boiler setup (this can be achieved with two pots of differing
sizes, or a pot and a coffee can. Make sure it's a pot you will
NEVER use for anything else again, as it can get supremely
messy. A cheap aluminum pot can be gotten for only a few
dollars, and you won't have to worry about mess or expense)
A long handled spoon or utensil of some kind
Wax (you can get pre-colored wax crystals or solid wax from any craft
store or Wal-Mart)
A Mold (plastic is fine for short candles, but the metallic molds
are usually much better for tall candles, and they release
easier. However, they are more expensive, and dent easily).
Wicking Material (this can be sold in either pre-coated pieces for
short candles, or they are also sold in long uncoated pieces
or rolls)
Clay (a very soft clay, similar to a fun-tack consistency is good.
Plasticine is fine. Just buy a SMALL amount of this, it can
be reused over and over)
A pencil or stick (only if using uncoated wicks)
Optional materials:
Wax Color or Scents (purchased from any craft store)
Mold Release compound (purchased at SOME craft stores, hard to find and
easy to screw up with)
Candle Glaze (only if you REALLY want to hold the shape of the candle
afterwards and don't want to screw up the outside)
Step 1. Take your larger pot, and fill about halfway with water. Take your
inner pot or coffee can and insert into the pot at this point into the
larger pot to make sure it doesn't flow over the edge (displacement).
Once and if there is no overflow, put over the stove. Bring to a
boil. While boiling the water, take your smaller pot or coffee can
(VERY clean coffee can, please) and either pour your wax crystals into
it, or take small chunks of solid wax into it. Once full of wax (you
can fill all the way to the top, the wax will melt smaller than the
chunks were), put inside the larger boiling pot on the stove, and
use your long spoon to stir it around every few minutes to make sure
that all the chunks/grains melt. The grains are easier to melt than the
chunks, but the grains of wax are more expensive. If you are using
clear wax, you can add either color or scent to the wax at this point
(according to the directions on the color/scent package, different
types are different).
Step 2. While wax is melting, prepare the mold. If you have mold release
spray compound, spray the inside of your mold very lightly. Don't
put more than a light coating, or you will totally slime up your
candle. The less release spray the better. If you are using a double
sided plastic mold (usually the Candle Magic ones), they come with
their own peculiar directions as to how to use it, don't bother
spraying, and just follow their directions. If you have an acrylic
or metallic cylindrical mold, once you have sprayed it (it doesn't
require it, just makes life a little easier), take your wicking
material and insert it through the little hole at the bottom. Pull
the wick through the bottom, and on the OUTSIDE of the mold, secure the
wick with a little bit of clay. The size of the clay wad won't matter,
but you may wish to use only a small amount for conveniences sake,
since some of the acrylic molds aren't high enough off the base to
allow for much clay. MAKE SURE the little hole that the wick comes
out of is COMPLETELY COVERED with clay, or you may find yourself with
leaking wax everywhere when you pour the candle. On the open end of
the mold, pull the wick straight until it is taut, and then tie the
wick to a pencil or small stick that is wider than the base of the
mold. Now you have a mold with clay on the bottom, and a wick that is
stretched tight between the pencil and the hole in the bottom of the
mold (another way to do this is to tie the pencil FIRST, then stick the
wick through the hole and clay it over. This produces a tighter wick,
but makes it harder to stick the wick through the hole).
Step 3. Once the wax is melted COMPLETELY, remove the coffee can from the
pot, and pour into the mold, starting with the mold tipped sideways a
little bit so that it doesn't splash around, and then straighten out
the mold when it's a little filled, and fill it the rest of the way.
Don't fill it all the way to the top, you don't want to risk spills
in the first few minutes of cooling, if you have a dark colored wax,
it may spill on the rug (personal experience, the rug was never the
same after that, although ice helped a little bit to get the wax out,
the color never came out of the rug). Make sure to use potholders to
remove the coffee can from the pot, as much as wax is a lower boiling
point than water, it CAN burn, and the coffee can is almost guaranteed
to be hot enough to produce some nasty burns. (yes, I've made hand
dipped candles before, literally, by dipping my hand into the wax
several times over until it was thick enough to pour stuff into, but
I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who isn't pain tolerant)
Step 4. Wait a couple of hours to cool. DO NOT STICK IT IN THE REFRIGERATOR
OR FREEZER TO COOL, since when you do that the wax cools much too
quickly and is likely to crack, producing a nasty looking candle.
After about an hour, check on the candle. There should be a depression
in the top of the mold, for a three inch wide candle, it may be about
an inch deep. Take your spoon and poke a hole through the top of the
wax skin that has formed on the candle. Once a hole is poked through,
pour some more wax until the depression is filled to the original
level. WAit another half hour to an hour, and repeat the process if
necessary. Let candle cool at least 6 hours, overnight is preferable.
Six hours is not always enough, 8 is very good, and the longer it
has a chance to cool, the better the result. Again, do NOT pull the
candle out early, since if it is still warm, it may stick to the sides
of the mold and ruin all your hard work.
Step 5. To remove candle from the mold, pull the clay off the bottom of the
mold first. Make sure all the clay is off, it will make your life
easier and you won't screw up the finish on the mold (makes later
candle making efforts easier). When the clay is off, turn the mold
upsideown over a soft surface (just in case it slides out too easily
and falls). If you used mold release, this should be easy. If not,
you may have to give the mold a quick run under hot water, or a quick
dip in boiling water (a VERY quick dip) to loosen it. This is NOT
a preferable thing to do, since you can also cause the finish on the
candle to be marred or the wax to stick to the side of the mold if
dipped too long. If you leave the candle cooling for long enough, you
will have no problems whatsoever. If you have a metal mold, be VERY
careful not to ding it, because as much as it is easier to remove
candles from metal molds, it also becomes much harder if there is a
dent in the mold. A mold with the slightest dent becomes useless
scrap, because it will damage every other candle you ever make from
it.
Step 6. When the candle has been removed from the mold, trim the bottom of
the candle (which was previously the top of the mold), trimming the
wick as close to the bottom of the candle as humanly possible (or you
willget a candle that rocks). This can be done with a pair of scissors,
but if you want to get a really close shave, so to speak, use an
exacto knife. Then turn the candle right side up, trim the top wick to
about a half inch in length, and voila! You have your completed candle.
Any questions?
Lady Celena (The unecessarily verbose...)
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Morgause
toooooo good, not to let anyone else have!
It's the greatest!!!!! If you have questions about making candles ask away
to me, or check out this page....it has alot of help.
Huggies~
Morgause
Cyd wrote in message <78ikq7$5jg$1...@niflheim.rutgers.edu>...
SHaron001
>toooooo good, not to let anyone else have!
>
>
>It's the greatest!!!!! If you have questions about making candles ask
>away
>to me, or check out this page....it has alot of help.
>
>Huggies~
>Morgause
thank you . this place is too cool. now to make candles. i have tried for
years(self taught) and had useable candles if not pretty ones. now to try to
learn to do it right. once again thanks kind and generous lady
chris "the sandwich god" frank
Justplaino Timo of Sarcastica, Cajun Chef to the Goddess
Cardinal to the New Church of Crickettarianism
BBG guard # 4
ren-geek
chalet....@gmail.com
John W Kennedy
--
John W Kennedy
Having switched to a Mac in disgust at Microsoft's combination of
incompetence and criminality.