MeAndMyPuppyDog Posted December 28, 2006 Share Posted December 28, 2006 So... you make unscented pillar candles, say 3x9 in Candlewic's (or a reseller of theirs) aluminum molds. You're running something like 140-142 -- let's talk about what you add to the wax to keep them sliding out of the mold easily... Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candle Man Posted December 28, 2006 Share Posted December 28, 2006 Just add 3/4 oz of Mineral Oil per LB of wax. It's a clear oderless oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Posted December 28, 2006 Share Posted December 28, 2006 yup...mineral oil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinInOR Posted December 28, 2006 Share Posted December 28, 2006 And double check your wicking - a non scented pillar burns differently than a scented one. The mineral oil can also help with that - I've found that I only needed about .5 oz per pound of paraffin wax to be similar to a "normally wicked" FO - with my wicks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donita Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 I make unscented pillars and only use stearic and vybar 103 (or maybe a little gloss poly C 15) ....just to make them opaque. I use silicone spray in the molds....occasionally and then cooking spray and wipe it out and my candles slip right out of the molds. When I was using Candlewic's blend of CBL 141 that was perfect. Donita Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeAndMyPuppyDog Posted January 4, 2007 Author Share Posted January 4, 2007 I'm going to go with the 1/2 ounce per pound.So..5/16 = .03125 = 3.125% Mineral OilWe are dealing with 150 lb batches.So... we're talking about roughly 4.68 pounds of mineral oil. That is waaaaaaaaaay too much from what I can see.Time to experiment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SatinDucky Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 150 lb batches?? Holy smokes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeAndMyPuppyDog Posted January 4, 2007 Author Share Posted January 4, 2007 Yeah, there was a time I thought that was a lot too. That's the small vat.And our bigger vat isn't big enough either. In the perfect world, I'd like to use the 150 for melting down the scrap wax into slabs. This way I could store the slabs and then use them for color runs closest to what is needed for a particular run. Keep the current bigger vat for regular runs and then use a newer bigger vat for those "gotta get done" runs.But who knows... so many things going on. We've used Vybar and straight para, but wax quality the past year or so has been crap. So I'm giving this mineral oil idea a try.Geee, you think the customer will notice the slight baby oil scent? Hehe. Yeah, next time I'll go an see if Home Depot has straight mineral oil in gallon containers (anyone know of any other sources?) PeteP.S. I found it on the net, and if you think I'm paying $13 for a gallon of mineral oil, you're out of your mind! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malinsokc Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 I thought everyone wanted scented candles! Is there no end to what I don't know about this business?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sally Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 I thought everyone wanted scented candles! Is there no end to what I don't know about this business?!Probably.I learn something new every time I come on here, it's a good thing to keep educating yourself.Sally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creeksidecandles Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 Isn't that too much? Should it perhaps be .3 and not 3.12?? Just wondering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeAndMyPuppyDog Posted January 4, 2007 Author Share Posted January 4, 2007 Isn't that too much? Should it perhaps be .3 and not 3.12?? Just wondering.Well... let me work it out again, it is possible I made a mistake.If you have a pound. Which equals 16 oz. And folks here seem to say that between 1/2 and 3/4 of an oz. per pound of mineral oil where you want to be. So that would be, .5/16 (or 1/16 and then divide that in half.) either way you get: .03125 which is 3.125%.Now, take 150 lbs and you can either multiply it by 16 and render it to ounces or not. Either way, 3.125% of 150 = 4.6875 lbs.I have to agree, that is probably WAAAAAAYYYY tooooooooo much, I just ran a run with 10 ounces to 150 lbs. We'll see from there. The fragrance is just barely noticable. I'll have to buy a can of the unscented stuff if this works out.I'm going to go down and pull some now and see what the scoop is.Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creeksidecandles Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 Sorry....my boo boo...I misread the 3.125% as being actual ounces and not as a %. Sorry....too early in the morning for me.....where's my java??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeAndMyPuppyDog Posted January 4, 2007 Author Share Posted January 4, 2007 No prob.Ok. Here's the not-so controlled result.On the 3x3 and 3x6 there are no problems, they slide right out. The 3x3 really were never a problem and the 3x6 were usually no problem. There is a noticeable ease with the 3x6. The 3x9, the most problematic ones... are hard to tell right now. They are NOT 100% cool, and anyone who has ever pulled a 3x9 unscented, from an untapered aluminum pillar mold knows. They have to be cool. I was able to get 10 out of 15 out even though they were warm. I would *like* to think that had they NOT had the mineral oil in them they would have not come out at all...So. I think the next step is to wait for the other 5 to cool completely, do a burn test, and then see about increasing the % if needed.Anyone know any good sources for mineral oil aside from Home Depot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceCarvesWax Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 Spraying your molds with silicone or cooking spray as suggested earlier doesn't work for you? You could even take a barbecue brush (rag kind) spray it and swipe the insides and you could be set? I only have a hundred or so aluminum molds laying around most of what i have are tin (or whatever molds were made from before the seamless came in style). Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeAndMyPuppyDog Posted January 4, 2007 Author Share Posted January 4, 2007 Hi Bruce,Yeah the tin (Pourette) ones are great for release, but take up more space, and are seamed. The reasont the Pourette ones work so well is that they put a slight taper on them, so you don't have the air/vac lock issues you have with alum - straight sided ones.The silicone helps, but but not really like it should. I simply know that there's a way to make it so they just slide out like a scented one would. I'm thinking I'm going to go with 20 ounces to 150 lbs and that should do it. Plus as you run the molds the residual oil left inside the mold should make things move along better.I just want to get my cost down on the oil... so I have some running around to do. I found a 5 gallon jug for $60 but then I have to pay shipping... so I have to really look into things. Probably cheaper to buy it at WalMart or Home Depot or something.Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GingerKay Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 Some people want unscented for big occasions so the fragrance doesn't overwhelm a room. I had to make 150 unscented pillars for a wedding and another order of 200 for a church. The spray didn't work for me either-they stuck so bad I had to melt them to get the wax out. I read about mineral oil and also about veg oil-same thing 1/2 oz per pound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topofmurrayhill Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 I don't see what the problem would be unless you're doing cold pours. Otherwise unscented wax shrinks and drops out of aluminum molds easily once the candle is fully cooled. With additives like Vybar and UA you might need a catcher's mitt.Candles were made before we started saturating the wax with FO, so there's no need for a substitute. Lol, especially since they went to all the trouble to take it out and make fully refined wax. But if you need mineral oil you can get 5 gallon pails from DPS Wax and STE Oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeAndMyPuppyDog Posted January 6, 2007 Author Share Posted January 6, 2007 I don't see what the problem would be unless you're doing cold pours. Otherwise unscented wax shrinks and drops out of aluminum molds easily once the candle is fully cooled. With additives like Vybar and UA you might need a catcher's mitt.Candles were made before we started saturating the wax with FO, so there's no need for a substitute. Lol, especially since they went to all the trouble to take it out and make fully refined wax. But if you need mineral oil you can get 5 gallon pails from DPS Wax and STE Oil.Just a free tip for others. Cost control is key!For Mineral Oil I was able to find it for under $10 a gallon. In order to figure it out too, here's the hint: Think about EVERY conceivable use for the oil and then go with the group that can afford to pay the least. (Oh, and this is food-grade white!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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