Candle Making – The Importance Of Temperature
Posted by | Posted in Home Based Business | Posted on 11-10-2009
Candle making techniques are varied and numerous and you should be guided by the type of candle you are making. With any of the candles you make a crucial part is heating the wax to the correct temperature for pouring the candles. This is more than just the wax temperature but also includes the mold temperature and room temperature as these factors will affect your candles.
Pouring wax requires a specific wax temperature and this will differ depending on the type of wax you are using. Candles can be made from gel, paraffin and natural waxes. Each wax will have its own recommended temperature for pouring and this is provided by the manufacturer. The waxes that are natural do not need high pouring temperatures and other types of material should be poured using a high temperature.
The temperature of the room you are making candles is also important. If the room is very cold then you may need to heat the wax to a higher temperature and if the room is very warm then the temperature does not need to be so high. You may find that you make the exact same candles at different times of the year and they will come out differently. This can be due to the different room temperature. The humidity of the room will also play a part in this.
The mold that you are pouring the wax into will also need to be pre-heated. This step is necessary to remove any moisture in the candle molds as moisture can cause air pockets in your candle. To eliminate moisture dry heat should be used to pre heat your molds as it will not add any moisture. You can use a heat lamp or heat gun as these items produce dry heat.
You can chose colors to dye your candles. You will use three different colors to create many. Red, blue and yellow are the three primary colors and different combination’s of these will produce different colors. A main problem with using color is that sometimes the color is not consistent throughout the wax. The greater the amount of wax you are using the better chance for color uniformity because it is much easier to measure out the dye.
There are many different types of dyes and you can use color block, liquid dyes, pigment dyes and powdered dyes. The easiest dyes to use are liquid dyes and they also mix easily for uniform color.
Pigment dyes can be used for deep, rich colors but are only used when dipping candles and not pouring candles. If you are making large batches then powdered dyes are recommended and a little powdered dye will go a very long way.
