no pun
from Candlewic.com
Step 1: Pre-Heat Your Molds or Containers
Now that you've gathered everything you need to make your candles, and you're ready to begin, the first step is to pre-heat your molds or containers. Cold molds and containers may cause surface chilling on your candles, so we recommend that you always pre-heat them to help ensure that your candles have a clean, smooth finish.
Step 2: Heat Your Wax
Place your wax into the pouring pot or wax heater and heat it until the wax it is completely liquefied. Generally, you may heat candle wax up to 200 °F. However, we suggest adding color and most other additives at a temperature of 190 °F.
Step 3: Add Color
Add color to your wax when the wax temperature reaches 190 °F. It's important that you fully agitate the mixture for several minutes to ensure that the wax has an even temperature throughout and that the mixture is thoroughly blended.
Step 4: Reduce Heat to Recommended Pouring Temperature
Be sure to consult the data sheet for your specific wax to find the recommended pouring temperature. It's important that you pour your wax at the correct pouring temperature. Pouring when the wax is too hot may cause excessive shrinkage, which may require you to do multiple re-pours. Pouring when the wax is too cool may cause unwanted air bubbles, blemishes, and other defects on the finish of your candles.
Also, if you're making pillar candles, pouring at the incorrect temperature can cause difficulties with removing your candles from their molds.
Step 5: Add Your Fragrance
We recommend that you add your fragrance just before pouring. This avoids prolonged heating of the fragrance, which may cause some of the scent to be lost. After adding your fragrance, be sure to agitate the mixture again before pouring it into your molds.
Step 6: Pour the Wax into Your Molds or Containers
Carefully pour your wax into your molds or containers. Be sure to leave enough room to accommodate a second pour to top off your candles.
NOTE: Depending on whether you are making pillars or container candles, you will need to follow the proper process for accommodating and placing your wick.
Step 7: Cool and Re-Pour to Top-Off Your Candle
Most candle waxes require a re-pour. It's important to save enough wax from your original batch to accommodate a second pour. This ensures that the color of your re-pour, or "top-off" is consistent with that of your initial pour.
You'll need to cool your candles prior to performing the top-off, and you may need to experiment a bit to see how much time you'll need for this. However, we suggest that you wait only an hour or two prior to topping-off your candles. If you wait too long, the wax will begin to shrink and pull away from the top of the molds or containers. This can create problems during top-off, when the molten wax will run down the sides of your candles, resulting in unwanted wax streaks on the candles' finish.
Step 8: Cool
Allow your finished candles to cool. Depending on your wax formula or the type of finish you want to have on your candles, you'll have different cooling methods from which to choose. Methods of cooling include cooling the candles at room temperature or force-cooling them through the use of circulated air, refrigeration, or cold-water baths.
Step 9: If Making Pillar Candles, Remove from Mold
Image of pillar candle being removed from a metal mold
If you've made pillar candles, you'll need to wait until they're cool to remove them from the molds. To make removal easy, we recommend that you use some type of silicone mold release, such as Candlewic's Mold Release Spray, in your molds about every six times you use them.
For aluminum molds and molds made of other metals, Candlewic also offers Mold Cleaner to help remove the build up that can accumulate from dyes and fragrances.
Step 10: Enjoy Your Finished Candles!
Whether you've made your candles for your own enjoyment, as gifts for others, or to sell as part of your home-based business, you'll enjoy seeing what you've accomplished!
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