I made some candles with our Container Wax, brown candle color and Basmati Rice fragrance. The candles smell amazing (yum, yum, yum!) and look appealing with a double pour. But, they cracked.
In hindsight, I poured the wax too warm. And, judging from the chemical smell coming from the brown colored part, I used too much color as well. Whoops.
The candles are cost about around $2.63 each to make (not counting labor or overhead). That’s the price of a latte and is worth trying to save.
The price break down for the $2.63 is below:
12 oz. wax $.83
container $.50
wick $.09
fragrance 1 oz. per pound $1.19
color (10 drops per pound) $.02
The theory is that that by heating the wax up, in the container, the slow and gentle cool down would keep the cracking to a minimum and save the candle. The photo below is the candle in a gentle warm water bath.
I’m not sure what happened. The melting down went easily and smooth. I let the candles harden up, in the water bath, so that they cooled slowly. I believed that this slow harden would keep the cracking to a minimum.
This slow cool down did keep the cracking to a minimum. However, what came in its place was worse than the cracking. Notice the strange pitted look?
Undaunted, I tried again. Maybe it it was just excess air that had somehow gotten trapped under the wick? Alas, the second try turned out worse than the first. The pitting is the size of a mini crater and the uneven texture brings to mind the pockmarked faces of ’40s movie villains.
I still have cracked candles but the good news is that the cracked candles burn just as nicely as the “fixed” candles! Here’s the test burn; other than minor wick centering problems, both candles are burning cleanly and easily.
The moral of the story is sometimes well enough should be left alone; and, that ugly burns just the same as pretty.
Maybe it’s because the coloring made it too runny so therefore it’s not that well done?
Perhaps – I definitely use too much color in that batch =)
Hi Laura –
Thanks for the suggestion – I tried that and it totally worked – the heat gun did the trick.
Hey Anne-Marie! I don’t know what type of wax you’re using, but soy wax does need to be poured at a very cool temp or it will crack and be real uneven. You can use a heat gun to slowly and evenly heat the top to smooth it out. Doing this too much will create cracks too.
Yes, in theory, a wider container would have a propensity to crack more easily because of the varied rates of cooling. The outsides will cool so much more quickly than the inside that this would contribute to extra cracking (or so, I believe!) =)
Hi Anne Marie,
This is my first comment, but I’ve been enjoying your blog for quite some time!
About the candles, I wonder if the containers have anything to do with the cracking? I made some candles and the ones in the containers that became significantly wider at the top had a tendency to crack easier. While the candles in the cylinder shaped votives didn’t crack at all using the same wax.
Heidi – I’m so glad that the failure help you feel a bit better. I show them to save people time too! =) Hopefully others can learn from my mistakes. =)
Sometimes I feel like everything I try ends in disaster, or at least has some sort of problem. Its comforting to know that even the professionals have their occasional mishap. Thanks for posting this = )
ps. I just placed a huge order and can hardly wait to get it!!!
Candle making looks so easy from far away, on a shelf, pre-done. LOL!! Now I know I have my work cut out for me.