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Final Tips and Tricks:

1. Thank you to the Anonymous poster for writing and telling us her experience with hot wax on her hands. She recommended wearing gloves when making candles to protect hands from burns. I find gloves cumbersome and bulky but might consider them for future projects. Third degree burns are never pleasant!

2. Wick trimming is important. Trim the wicks down to 1/4 inch prior to burning and continue to trim them after burning if the wick gets too long. Wicks that are too tall will cause smoking and high flames, which could be a fire hazard.

The photo below shows wax seepage between a first and second pour. When the wax congeals and cools, it will shrink considerably. Beeswax does not need a second top-off pour like paraffin wax does. If you try, the result is below. The wax seeped down in between the glass and the beeswax that has shrunk.

And a big thank you to Mark F. Small from “Small Bees” for his thoughtful email today. I appreciate him sharing his tips and tricks for working with spilled beeswax! Here are Mark’s tips below:

1) Allow the beeswax to solidify. Ice is not necessary, especially on wooden sufaces. The water will only damage the wood.

2) Once the beeswax is hard, use a stiff plastic blade putty knife or a stiff plastic vinyl applicator (this is what we use, found in sign shops to apply vinyl letters to banners) to scrape most of the wax off of the surface. Using the stiff plastic tools suggested should not leave gouges or scratches on virtually any surface. If removed effectively there should be just a fine film of beeswax left.

3) Now break out the hair dryer or heat gun and turn it on medium to medium high. As the beeswax softens and melts use a terry cloth towel to rub the area affected. You may need to keep using different areas of the towel as it absorbs the wax. Continue until all wax is absorbed. Done!

You should experience no gouging or wax buildup if you follow this procedure. Some beekeepers do use mineral spirits for removing fine films of beeswax, but I have found the approach above to be much more effective.

Thanks Mark!

For Candlemaking Set Up, click here.
For information on wick and fragrancing, click here.
For wax spill cleaning, click here.

Once the wicks are anchored and centered, fragrance added and your wax is colored. You are ready to pour. Pouring has been briefly discussed here already. Most cotton core wicks will stand up straight when exposed to the hot wax. If you happened to purchase a wick that is drooping, consider using a CD series wick. They are specially designed for high melt point wax and will stay firm under the deluge of hot wax.

Here is another photo of pouring from the melting container to the pour container. Notice that we’ve finally covered the table with newspaper! There is approximately 3 pounds of melted wax in the double boiler pot. That much weight requires a steady hand (no caffeine before the pour!) and a strong wrist. Always work within your limits for weight; if you have a weak wrist, melt smaller amounts.

When the wicks get warm, they do tend to droop just a bit. Here we have propped up chopsticks to help keep the wicks standing up straight. It takes approximately 30 minutes for the beeswax candles to harden and be safe to move. Tip: If you try to move the wax while it is still congealing, it will ripple on the surface of the candle. Your candle will not have a smooth even look if you try to move the container too quickly.

Check back tomorrow for final touches for your candles and some general tips and tricks for making your candle crafting as fun and easy as possible.