I've grown comfortable with the 4794 and am having trouble getting used to this one. I've tried vybar and UA but I just can't get the oil retention and nice appealing "look" that I'm used to with the preblend.

Anyone want to share what they do with this wax? Most specifically, what/how much additives and how much FO load?

TIA,

~~Cathleen

No problem with being all questions and no answers. It's nice to have someone to chat with here! :)

The 1236 is a plain paraffin votive wax with a melt point of 132. It's not specifically mottling wax, but I guess you could use it to make mottled candles? That's beyond me right now - if mottling happens for me, it's an accident. lol.

Below, I'm pasting portions of a message here that I posted on a candlemaking mailing list, just to provide more info.

~~Cathleen

====================================
Votives I make with it are pretty much nothing but beautiful examples of everything that can go wrong with a candle.

Last night I tried once again, making some 2-layered votives. 1lb wax, 1 tsp universal additive, tiny pinch of UV inhibitor, and 0.8oz Neroli FO.

1. The bottom layer has pock marks (sort of like craters) of varying sizes. They look awful. Some have large craters, others have tiny little pocks everywhere, and others have both! I poured that at 175 into room temp moulds.

I thought dimples were caused by having a mould too hot, but I had them room temp. And I have no idea what causes those large pock marks... mould too cool?

2. The top layer has pits (like popped air bubbles) and some very minor white frosted jump lines at the bottom. I poured that at 180 into the tops of the moulds.

Okay, so I think I understand this one - I should have zapped the moulds with a heat gun before pouring, right?

3. The very tops of the votives are sort of wrinkled. Maybe what you guys call "brainy." Two of them have weird discolouration, as if clumps of wax just below the surface were dyed darker and then covered.

No idea about this. But if I can't fix it, I can't stay with this wax. It's very ugly.

4. The votive as a whole looks kind of unpleasant. Kind of a translucent, greasy/oily look. Not creamy like the equivalent preblend 4794.

I thought UA would help me here, but I've used anywhere from 1/2 tsp (read on some online source) to 1 *tablespoon* (another source) with no change.

Sorry, I know this is long, and regarding a wax I've never heard of anyone else using. If you got to the end, thanks! If you have any advice that might help, thanks even more!! :) lol.

Last Edited Pat on 16-Aug-2003 9:59 PM

What wax do you use? You pour at 190-200 into what temp moulds, if I may ask?

No, really I hate using this wax! lol! I really prefer the preblend 4794 but I bought a whole slab of this one at the same time so I figured I'd experiment with it.

If I can get it working for me to make normal votives, I thought I'd be happier in the long run, since I could adjust additives to my liking and also use it for different effects, like mottling. It's also cheaper. :)

Well, I'm not tired of listening to you! :)

~~Cathleen

Last Edited Pat on 16-Aug-2003 10:00 PM

You're not the first person I've heard say that the tiniest bit of another type of wax will prevent it from mottling. I'm kind of worried because I got a mixed case of 6 different types of wax, so they're all just crammed in together. If I can't get it to mottle I won't know if I should blame that or something else.

I've been making chunk pillars and votives with the pillar waxes... 4625 (preblend) for the scented chunks and 1242 (plain) for the overpour. You're right, I should try making chunk votives specifically out of the votive wax. I've been loving the 4794 preblend votive wax. On the other hand, I'd like to limit the number of waxes I have to keep on hand.

~~Cathleen

I've got the whole batch back in the presto, I'm going to repour them one more time. I've got nothing else to do today. :)

~~Cathleen