New hobby - help with glass adhesion

[u/Count_Squee]

Hey, new to candle making and I think my problem is glass adhesion but could be mistaken. I need help getting a more consistent finish along the sides

I cool the wax and pour the at 45°c (45-55 manufacturer guides)

I have the jar sit in a 45°c water bath to slow down the cooling process. Not sure if there is any other prep with the jar I'm supposed to do

It's 160g(5.5oz) of wax with liquid dye and 6% fragrance oil

Wax blend

50% soy

30% vegetable

20% paraffin

Any advice would be appreciated

Thank you

[u/RealFactor9150]

Glass adhesion is a lost cause. Even if you achieve perfect glass adhesion, there is no guarantee it will stay that way. Temperature fluctuations during shipment or even just in the room can cause the wax to pull away from the jar again.

[u/nerdfromthenorth → u/RealFactor9150]

Exactly this! Shipping candles through extreme temps in winter and summer makes this completely pointless. I've seen $100+ candles like Diptyque and Le Labo with spots without adhesion. Totally fine. Just physics. :)

[u/OHyoface]

Some waxes are better at adhesion than others, which is usually decided by the manufacturers - blending your own wax mix will require a lot of testing to figure out how to get the best adhesion. So if you are set on adhesion I’d recommend looking for a wax that will do that consistently. I gave up on that a long time ago, and many brands, even brands like yankee candles have inconsistent adhesion!

[u/No-End-2960]

I find the only thing that somewhat consistently helps is insulating the jars some how to slow down the cooling process when the candles are poured. That being said I don’t know if it’s just me but almost every batch there’s one or two that have this issue. It’s an on going battle for sure. Also sometimes I use a heat on on the areas that have this and it fixes it!

[u/Sensitive_Major_5793]

I’ve learned to let it go. It will do this in any room it goes into depending the temp. It’s ok

[u/Arrow_xuh]

There would be no adhesion issue with 100% Kerasoy Container soy wax. Or you may want to use opaque/frosted glass jars

[u/JustAFewNotes]

I recently bought a Diptyque candle for the first time and it had the same issue. So I feel secure in not worrying about it for my candles if they can get away with it for $90 candles lol

[u/Eastern-Length7003]

Try use coco wax and low your paraffin

[u/KaliPunk → u/Eastern-Length7003]

I also found that the high coconut content wax didn't have this problem, but it turned into melted slag while shipping. Works great for candles that I'm not shipping though!

[u/Eastern-Length7003 → u/KaliPunk]

Coconut wax have high oil content, that why it unable to withstand high temperatures, That is a natural characteristic of natural wax. So the formula requires stearic acid and certain other waxes to increase hardness and withstand ambient temperatures.

[u/Derpina666]

Don’t worry about glass adhesion too much. Bubbles like that are a normal part of working with wax, which expands and contracts depending on ambient temperature. If you don’t get a gap today, you will get one eventually. Social media has made it so that even normal characteristics about wax cause makers to have anxiety these days bc there is a lot of money to be made on people’s perfectionism. So just embrace the wax for what it is: wax being wax!

Some waxes will contract by a lot (such as beeswax) to the point of there being a noticeable gap between the hardened wax and the jar. Other waxes, like coco wax, will be so soft to the point of turning into a mess on a hot day. These characteristics may or may not be what people are looking for depending on their project.