Beginner Knowledge on Paraffin Wax Candle Making

March 2, 2010 · Filed Under Craft · 2 Comments 

Wax is the main material of your homemade candles. If you want to protect the quality of the homemade candles, choose the wax type that is suited for your candle making needs. You can qualify the waxes you’re going to utilize according to ease of use, grade and aroma.

It goes without saying that you must choose your wax ingredient to protect your products’ quality and your reputation as a candle maker. For practice, I suggest you use paraffin-type hand crafted candles. These paraffin waxes are different from the other types of wax because of the low cost and high availability.

If you notice, the homemade candles you buy in great quantities for common uses are made of paraffin wax. This material is cheap and because of this you can drop the cost of your candles lower than your competition’s. How are paraffin candles different from other types?

Most beginner candle makers use paraffin wax for practice. Processed petroleum oil has several byproducts and one of these is paraffin. Paraffin wax kinds vary in terms of grades because they were harvested at various points of the crude oil processing.

There are various grades of paraffin, and these may also differ in terms of price and candle wax quality. The grades of paraffin wax vary in melting points and melting consistency.

One necessary strategy to obtain the most excellent paraffin crude material is to ask the clerk or shop keeper about the differences of paraffin wax grades. In particular, ask for the melting point of the paraffin-type wax you’re buying.

The melting point of this type is lower than 130 degrees Fahrenheit. Due to the softness of this paraffin wax type, it’s ideal to use for container candle creation. Because of the softness of this type of paraffin, most candle makers refuse to use this paraffin wax type to create carved and molded candles.

The next sort of paraffin changes rapidly from solid to liquid, with a melting point of 130 up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Let me say this again, this type of paraffin is the perfect one for crafting jar candles because they are too soft for molded candle creation.

Molding and carving homemade candles need a special sort of paraffin wax, and this is the hardest variety. Because the melting point of this last type of paraffin is high, approximately 145 up to 150 degrees Fahrenheit, the resulting wax candle is tougher than the other sorts.

These hard paraffin candles are the ones that get sold for mass consumption, religious practices and common uses. Tough and longer lasting types of candles are perfect to use when there’s a storm.

Beware of the next measures when using paraffin for candle production at home The excessive heat can be hazardous to the user so make sure you wear protective clothing and heat resistant utensils. Most candle manufacturing kits meant for home purposes have these materials, but you’re going to need to check carefully.

You must also remember that you can catch fire and get seriously burned while using the double broiler to melt the paraffin-type wax. Which means you need mittens, safety goggles, a sturdy apron and hair cover.

Here is more information on Candle Making Wax. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Candle Making.