# first home-brew experience



## s2teve (Sep 28, 2010)

hi guys so I had a go last night at making my first wax  was good fun 
O heated the two waxes down then added some coconut oil and then some dodo juice solvents and it did come out looking like wax and felt abit like wax but was abit to hard if im honest so i want to make it softer

so my question is how can i make it soft am i better off removing some of the coconut oil im putting in?

also when added the solvent do you let the wax cool down before added it or do i heat up the solvent abit first reason i ask is when i added the solvent it does solicify abit but once heat returns to a liquid any advice will be great cause gonna have another go tonight





















But i am very happy with my first go just need to get it abit softer


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## JayOW (Dec 8, 2008)

Good first attempt, One thing dodo should have supplied you with is the flash point of the solvent you are using, If not then ask them, Then you know what temp to heat it up to. So then welt the wax, heat up the solvent then mix together... Saying that I have 1 blend of wax that uses cold solvent straight into the hot wax so you can try both ways, just make sure you get that flash point before you start heating the solvent up.


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## s2teve (Sep 28, 2010)

ahhh yes thats a good point thank you I will send them a e-mail and ask 


generally how would i soften up the wax? 

will pouring the cold solvent into the hot wax cause it to go harder when cooling down  

Thank you for your help


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## JayOW (Dec 8, 2008)

The hardness will be down to the wax and solvent percentages, either increase the oil, increase the solvent or reduce the wax content.

Pouring the cold solvent into the hot wax will generaly give it a different texture, but this does not work with all sovents. Also some solvents can react if added to hot wax, so be careful if you try this.


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## s2teve (Sep 28, 2010)

Hi 
Yeah i did add the solvent to the wax when it was still quiet hot so I think tonight ill try letting the wax cold abit more before added the solvent and maybe heat the solvent a little so they are near the same temperature when mixed together 

might also adjust my percentages then probably to many solids in there. currently on 
20g Carbauna wax 
10g Bees Wax 
10g Coconut oil 
then about 70ml of solvents 
Maybe i should lose some of the carbauna and coconut and increase the solvent might give it a softer feel I guess 

all very interesting


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## s2teve (Sep 28, 2010)

in regards to the coconut oil this is a harder oil when cold would i be better taking some of this out and using maybe something like almond oil instead witch doesn't dry into a solid substance


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## JayOW (Dec 8, 2008)

tbh coconut oil is still very soft in its solid form and melts on contact with skin, yes it will make the wax a little harder than something like almond oil but not really a massive difference. You need to play around with the solvent content to get a good combination of softness and how quick the wax hazes when applied. Once you have a rough Idea of the best solvent percentage to use, then I would start trying different oils and waxes.


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## s2teve (Sep 28, 2010)

Yeah I see what your saying think tonight ill just try messing with the amount of solvent and wax in the mixture to see if i can get it more usable probably just to much wax to solvent witch is making it hard


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## JayOW (Dec 8, 2008)

Try around 30-35% wax and 65-70% solvent/Oil to start with and work from there...


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## s2teve (Sep 28, 2010)

thank you for the advice 

ill have another go tonight see if i can get it softer


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## Obi- Dan Karnubi (Jun 16, 2011)

Also some oils will soften the wax, most citrus oils will help


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## s2teve (Sep 28, 2010)

citrus oils hmmm don't have any of those lol 

ill have a look on google lol


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## s2teve (Sep 28, 2010)

http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/product_detail.asp?pid=485

would something like this work?


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## Obi- Dan Karnubi (Jun 16, 2011)

try ebay mate for that price you could get 100ml of lemon or orange oil 😊


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## s2teve (Sep 28, 2010)

So tried a third go tonight lowered the wax a little and upped the solvent and also added abit of almond oil just cooling atm 

One think i have noticed is first batch was set within 20mins or so this one looks like its gonna take atleast an hour hoping that's a postive thing lol will uploads pics tomorrow


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## s2teve (Sep 28, 2010)

So the wax is a nice softness witch is great but taking ages to cure seems to stay smeary instead of curing thinking i need alittle less almond in there and abit more carbanan wax


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## s2teve (Sep 28, 2010)

so tested some on car looks good but abit grabby coming off

on bonnet and wings


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