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Using METALLIC CANDLE COLOR to coat candles

Metallic candle color should be used only to coat candles; a candle colored through-out with metallic dyes will not burn well at all. The best way to apply it is by dipping. It is also possible to coat the inside of a mold with colored wax, and then fill it with plain wax, but shiny flakes suspended in the color will probably not stay on, and the end product will not be as glittery.

The gold, silver or copper candle color that we sell should be mixed at about 2% with paraffin. This means, by weight, about one part color-cake to fifty parts of wax. Our packs contain 2/3 ounce, which is enough to dye 2 pounds of wax. Amounts can be quite approximate.

Melt the wax and color together. As with any other wax-melting process, always do it over boiling water, never directly on a heat source. If you can find a suitable one, use a dedicated receptacle that you can also dip into, since the color will never come out completely. A large can or a cheap used pot, inside a larger pot with water, will work. For dipping, you will always need to work with more volume than will end up stuck to the candles. When you are done, let the colored wax harden and stay in its container. Next time you want to use it, just add more wax and color in the correct proportions, and melt it down again. For tall candles, you may want to find a separate tall, narrow vat for the actual dipping, but this is not a first choice. Pour un-used wax back into the melting vessel before it hardens.

Before you start, give some thought to how much wax you need for dipping, and what size and shape of vat will work for the candle you wish to coat. As the candle goes down into the vat of colored wax, the wax level will rise. You do not want shiny molten wax coming up over the edges of its container and running freely through your work-space. Either practicing with water (a pound of wax is about a cup), or doing some geometric calculations ahead of time is a good idea. Cover all work-spaces with lots of newspaper. Figure out where you will put the candles to dry. You can put them on your work surface if they can stand up and you don’t care what the bottom looks like; otherwise plan to hang them from their wick.

When your wax/color mix is well melted, you can take it off the heat source for long enough to do several dips before it becomes too cool. The pigment is heavy, and the metallic flakes fall to the bottom, so it is important to keep it well stirred. The hotter the mix is, the thinner the coat applied will be. You may apply one or several coats, letting them set up in between. If you plan to carve the color away to show a different color or plain wax, it may be easier to do it when the last coat is firm but not totally hard. Experiment.