Gel candle making continues to be a favourite of many candle makers. Its ability to be customised and themed makes a gel candle an ideal present for times such as Christmas, birthdays and weddings. It is very easy for a candle maker to suspend decorations in the gel wax, and along with different coloring dyes and fragrances the variety of gel candles is only limited by the candle makers imagination.
The addition of decorations in a gel candle is possible since the gel is transparent in nature. This feature gives gel an advantage over other waxes, as a lot of candle makers like using gel candles at home because decorations provide them a unique appearance and style.
Gel wax consists of 95% mineral oil and 5% polymer resin, when mixed together the polymer resin solidifies with a soft consistency. Gel candles burn slower than their paraffin wax counterpart even though they burn in the same way. Gel wax comes in 3 distinctive densities, high, medium and low, the higher the density the more the wax is able to suspend decorations. The higher density gels also allow for higher fragrance mixing ratios.
Unfortunately as the density of the gel increases, it becomes more difficult to melt and pour, so care should be taken when deciding on the right density of gel wax.To keep the translucent nature of the gel, only fragrances and liquid candle dyes purposely designed for gel wax should be used. On no account should cosmetic fragrance oils or clothing dyes etc be used to make gel candles, the correct fragrances and dyes can easily be purchased at craft stores. Use of incorrect materials will greatly affect the way the gel candle burns and ruin your efforts.
Giving the gel an attractive color is fairly easy and only calls for a small amount of dye. The dye should be added drop by drop to achieve the desired gel colour as only a small quantity of dye is required. However, when it comes to mixing in fragrances, the quantity of fragrance required should be tested by adding the fragrance to a sample of wax and waiting for about 5 minutes. This enables you to check the intensity of the scent, because you can always add more fragrance but you can’t take it back once added.
At this point, it should also be pointed out that if the test sample of the wax and fragrance mixture starts to go cloudy, then other fragrances should be considered to resolve the problem. If on the the other hand the sample maintains its clear appearance, then the fragrance is safe for use since the flash point of the resulting gel candle will be unaffected.
The usual method of melting waxes is using a double boiler, however using this method to melt gel wax would take a long time and is not recommended. Serious gel wax candle makers generally use a multi-cooker which is broadly similar to a deep fryer. Typically they are metal comprising a non-stick covering and include a heating element together with a temperature controller enabling precise temperature control for melting the gel wax.
Even though the multi-cooker arrives together with a temperature controller, it’s still highly recommended to use a dependable thermometer to make certain the gel wax melts at the appropriate temperature.
When melting gel wax it should be stirred with something made of durable plastic or metal, using a wooden spoon can sometimes leave bubbles in the gel. Never leave any kind of melting wax alone on a stove because of the risk of fire, but gel wax is particularly flammable so it’s recommended to have a chemical type fire extinguisher close at hand.
If you would enjoy any further general guidelines on wax to make candles or if you would like further information on candle making crafts then please call in at my web site www.swankeecandles.com.
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