Tips and Tricks

Paper towels and newspapers will become your best friends.

Making candles is a messy job, but someone has to do it. 🙂 Make sure you lay newspapers down on every area that you are using to make your candles. Even though you might think you will be careful not to spill anything, you’ll want to cover every surface, just in case.

Paper towels are wonderful for wiping out your pour pots or molds. Then you won’t need to worry about ruining your good towels or washed clothes with candle wax or dye. Plus if you’ve ever tried to wash dye out of something, then you’ll know that’s next to impossible! So keep plenty of paper towels on hand.

Need smoother bottoms, Get a Heat Gun.

One item I would highly recommend getting is a heat gun. They can be found in almost any hardware store for around 2000 INR. These work wonders on smoothing out the tops of your candles and eliminating small surface sink holes/air pockets. Make sure you keep moving your heat gun in circles and try to stay away from the wick so your jar doesn’t become too hot.

Some people will recommend using a hair dryer, but I wouldn’t advise that because the heat gun will provide the heat needed to melt your wax without the high wind/air that a hair dryer would have so you won’t have to worry about your wax flying all over the place.

You can also use a heat gun to clean out your pour pot or molds. You simply heat up your pour pot or molds and wipe clean with paper towel.

You can even avoid second pour of wax, what you need to do is, once the wax has contracted after getting cold, Use a Heat gun to melt the top off and let it dry again. This saves you a lot of trouble of re-melting the wax and second-third pours of wax.

Need a good burn at the bottom of the candles

If you need a constant burn at the bottom of the candle, then use a pre-waxed wick with a tab. It gives a lot of support towards the end of the candle and doesn’t let the wick drown and gives a perfect burn.

Need a vintage look in your candles

If you want to give a vintage look to your candles then you should let the wax dry a bit in the poring pan itself. The Measure for that would be, once you are able to see a thin film of wax at the bottom of the pouring pan, and then you should pour it in the mold. Do not preheat the mold as it will lessen the vintage look. This will lead to having white foam like formation on the outer surface of the candles and looks beautiful.

Got some waste/Extra wax, Here’s a Secret !!

 If you have extra wax, use it for the chunks candle. These chunks can be scented or unscented. (For a uniquely scented candle try using different types of scents in these candles.) Using different scents will allow these candles to “throw” different smells during the burning cycle.

Begin by melting your wax to make the actual chunks in any color and pour into a cookie or baking sheet. As the wax begins to harden take a knife and cut the slightly gelled wax into different shapes, patterns or designs.

When the chunks are completely hard remove them from the sheets and place in any type of pillar mold. Common mold sizes would include 3 x 6-1/2, 3 x 9-1/2 and 4 x 4-1/2. Once the chunks have been placed in the mold, take a pillar wax (scented or unscented) and pour over the chunks. When the candle is completely set up, remove the pillar from the mold.
For variations in the basic chunk candle, try some of the following variations

1. Once the chunks are placed in the mold, pour your pillar wax at a higher temperature, which will cause the chunks to streak and create a unique look.
2. Try using different types of molds such as octagons, squares and other unusual shapes.
3. Try making chunk candles in a jar. For best results make the chunks out of wax with a lower melt point wax.

What make these chunk candle so unique is the endless possibilities that can be made with the same basic concept. These look amazingly beautiful and can be made in any shape and form.

 Save your Gel Candles!!

A very important aspect when you are dealing with Gel Candles is to keep them intact for longer periods of time. Gel Candles can easily get damaged by over exposure to sun light, exposure to dirt etc. The best way to preserve them while being on the shelf is to cover them with a sandwich wrap foil and keep them upright.