Wizards SOY WAX trouble shooting Always follow the Manufacturers recommended heating and pouring instructions. All soy waxes are not hydrogenated and formulated to the same specifications so they will vary. NEVER OVERHEAT OUR SOY WAXES AS THIS MAY CONTRIBUTE TO ALL THE PROBLEMS LISTED BELOW: 1)     Not a full melt pool or to deep of pool (ideal is 1/4” – 3/8” deep). a)     Wick may be too small or too large. b)     Be sure to have your test burn be of a long enough duration (larger diameter candles may take 4-5 hours). c)      For the same sized container you may need a smaller or a larger wick depending on the fragrance oil (fragrance oils have different flash points) and the amount of dye used. d)     Too much liquid dye added (maximum of 30 drops per pound) this can clog the wick e)     Too much fragrance oil (we recommended 7% by weight). f)        Fragrance oil added too low a temperature. 2)     Poor fragrance throw a)     Not enough fragrance oil or too much fragrance oil added to the wax (we recommended 7% by weight). Always use weight measurement and not volume (as fragrance oil weights by volume vary greatly). b)     Fragrance oil is not added at the correct temperature (if the temperature is too low, the wax molecules are not expanded enough to trap the fragrance oil between them as they cool). c)      Fragrance oil not formulated to be used in soy wax (soy burns cooler than paraffin so all oils that work in paraffin may not work well in soy wax). 3)     Fragrance oil leeching out of the wax a)     Too much fragrance oil (we recommend 7% by weight). b)     Fragrance oil not added at the correct temperature (if the temperature is too low, the wax molecules are not expanded enough to trap the fragrance oil between them as they cool). 4)     Poor glass adhesion (wet spots) a)     Wax poured at too high a temperature (when wax cools it shrinks and the hotter it is poured, the more it shrinks) b)     The area you are pouring in is too cool (soy wax seems to pour best when the ambient temperature is between 67 – 75 degrees F.) c)      The inside of the glass container isn’t clean. d)     We do not recommend preheating your containers before pouring 5)     Frosting (colored candles turning white) a)     Pouring at too high of a temperature (always pour soy wax at the coolest possible temperature) b)     100% Soy wax has a tendency to frost more than soy blends (our Wizards Soy has a very small amount of other natural additives blended with the Soy to lessen this issue) 6)     Rough tops after pouring a)     Pouring at too high a temperature (always pour soy wax at the coolest possible temperature) b)     100% Soy wax has a tendency to have rougher tops than soy blends (our Wizards Soy has other natural additives blended with the Soy to lessen this issue) 7)     Rough tops after burning and re-solidifying a)     This is natural for Soy Wax candles and when relit it will return to a nice liquid melt pool. 8)     Wick mushrooming or smoking a)     Mushrooming seems to occur with most natural wicks (we don’t worry about this, just remind your customers to trim to .25” before relighting) b)     Excessive smoke can be caused by too large a wick or the candle is sitting in a drafty area (drafts supply more oxygen than the wick can burn causing incomplete combustion) c)      Too much fragrance oil  9)     Miscellaneous a)     Can Soy Wax be heated in a microwave oven? Yes, but we don’t recommend it as it is difficult to control the temperature. b)     Does Soy Wax work for novelty candles? No as it is too soft. c)      Does Soy Wax work for pillars or tapers? No d)     What causes votives and candles to crack?      Cooling to fast e)     Can you make floaters and tarts with Soy Wax.      Yes, we recommend using Votive wax as this will release from your molds. Bottom line: We recommend that your Wizards Soy Wax: 1. Be held in the melter at the lowest possible temperature to keep it liquid. 2. When mixing the color and fragrance into the wax, first pre-heat the wax to 175 degrees F and then mix in the color and fragrance.  3. Cool the wax down to around 105-110 degrees F before pouring.  This will lessen wet spots on the glass and result in a much smoother and nicer finished product.  We have tried to speed up the process by pouring at higher temperatures with poor results.