Candle molds - Polycarbonate molds

Polycarbonate molds are inexpensive and come in a variety of shapes and formats (image © Randall's Candles)

One-piece molds are the most common and the available shapes include cylinders of all sizes and diameters, squares, hexagons, decagons and all sorts of -gons, the list is not exhaustive.

Spherical and other unregular shapes are obtained with two-piece molds whose parts fit together (if they weren't made of two separable parts, you would have a hard time releasing the finished candle)

The place where the two halves join, called the seam, needs to be covered with a generous amount of mold sealer before you start pouring the wax. If you don't take this precaution, you'll end up with a candle in the shape of a semi-sphere and a table top covered in paraffin.
When you unmold a candle made in a two-piece mold, you will notice a seam line at the place where the two parts of the mold are joined. To remove this line, use a kitchen knife to scrape most of the excess wax (be sure not to carve into the candle) then "polish" the candle with an old panty hose.

How to wick a polycarbonate mold?

• thread the wick through the wick hole at the bottom of the mold, up through the length of the mold and out the top. Leave a length of about 2 inches of wick at both extremities,
• on the "open" side of the mold (the top), use a wick holder to keep the wick in place, centered and tight or just tie it around a pencil,
• on the other side, the bottom of the mold, slightly pull on the wick to tighten it and cover wick and wick hole with a generous amount of mold sealer. This should keep the wick tight enough during the pouring procedure,
• your mold is now wicked and you're ready to pour your candle.

Taking care of your polycarbonate molds

When your candlemaking day is done, fill a washtub with hot water (it's just a bit too hot if you hands think so too) and a little dishwashing liquid. Soak your polycarbonate molds for a couple of minutes then wipe and dry them with kitchen paper. Never pour that hot water down the drain unless you want to clog the pipes: let it cool off completely and fish out all the floating pieces of wax before you dispose of it.