The craft of candle making is great fun as long as you steer clear of a few simple pitfalls.
It is especially exciting to decide what variety of candle to make and buying your materials. However, some people quickly grow to be disappointed and frustrated with the hobby and give up.
There are a lot of common problems that novices go through when candle making, many of them have quick and simple solutions, for this reason it is highly recommended that all beginners set out with the fundamental candle making procedure and stick to it.
This provides you the opportunity to grasp the basics, and then you will be able to advance to creating the types of candles you want to.
A simple tip for making a fantastic candle is to use superior quality materials and on the whole candle creating materials are reasonably priced. It stands to reason that if you use poor quality wax, then it is rarely going to create high quality candles. It's extremely important to heat the wax to as close to the suggested temperature as possible. Too high or low temperatures will modify the qualities of the wax depending on the kind of candle you're creating.
As an example, if the wax isn't hot enough it won't form correctly; likewise, wax that's too hot loses lustre and won't be as strong after it's cooled.
Have you ever made a fantastic candle and when lit it filled the room with smoke and not scent from the candle? The trouble here lies with the wick, it's just too long. This setback is straightforwardly remedied for future candles and candles previously made by trimming the tips off the wicks.
Some candles have a magnificent scent, but they look unsightly after only a few uses because of a crater that formed in the centre of the candle, despite the fact that the sides are untouched. This problem is caused by a wick that isn't wide enough.
There isn't much that can be done for previously made candles except melt the candle to retrieve the wax and start over. A solution is to buy a wick that's wider or simply braid three wicks together to make a more appropriate thickness. A good rule of thumb is the broader the candle, the wider the wick will want to be for your candle to melt evenly.
Cooling the candles is another area of worry for many beginners. The cooling procedure must not be hurried under any circumstances or you run the danger of damaging the strength of the finished candle. Trying to make the candle cool quicker may well cause bubbles to form in the middle and on top of the candle. Whilst it isn't a physical defect, as the wax melts it's able to enter the bubbles when the candle is lit causing the wick to extinguish.
Candles ought to cool down in a location where they won't be moved until completely cool. This area must be flat and out of the path of direct sunlight. Its also advisable to make certain the cooling area is not in the vicinity of cooling or heating vents.
If when making jar candles you become aware of the wax pulling away from the jar then heating the jars in a microwave or oven for one or two minutes before filling them will help the melted wax stick to the jar correctly with a really smooth look around the jar.
It's important to keep in mind that candle making entails some fundamental concepts; it's going to take a few tries to follow the steps correctly, but give it a little time.
You should experiment to determine the methods that work best for you in your candle making. It's generally recommended when starting out to make only a small number of candles at once to avert wasting supplies if things go wrong.
Make sure when finished the candle doesn't have any burning problems because of bubbles or the wick. If this happens, simply melt the candle, salvage the wax and try again.
After mastering the fundamentals of making a candle, you will be able to experiment with making assorted types of candle.