Wicks for gel candles

Because gel wax burns between 4-6 times slower than paraffin wax, all the rules you have learned about selecting a wick size now change when you are talking about gel candles!!!

Confused??

Let me try to explain. For example, you make a paraffin container candle that is approximately 4" in diameter. A quick referral to the wicks page will tell you that a cored 51-32-18 wick is suitable for use in 3" to 4" diameter containers. BUT if we were to make a gel candle in that same container using the same wick, we would find it leaves excess gel at the sides of the container because the gel burns that much slower. The general rule of thumb is to go up a wick size, so refer back to the wicks page and we see that the cored 60-44-18 is the next size up and a suitable wick for the gel container.

Cotton and paper core wicks are not recommended because they do not have the rigidity of zinc cored wicks. You want your wick to stand up and stay central during the making and burning of the candle. My wick of choice would be a pre-tabbed zinc core wick. The tabs are excellent to centre your wick and the neck of the wick tab ensures that the customer cannot burn all the way down to the very base of the glass. This is a great safety feature.

To secure the wick to the base of the glass, use a little hot glue. Many people dip the base in gel to secure it to the glass, but this can still mean the wick will slide about as the candle burns down.

When you have the candle finished and ready, trim the wick down to a tiny little stump. You really do not need a large wick and excess wick will cause the gel to smoke terribly.

Trim your gel wick after it has burned by turning the *cooled* candle upside down and trimming with a pair of baby scissors or toenail clippers. This will prevent wick debris from getting into the sticky warm gel.