What I've Learned from My first attempt to Pour a Wax Block

As I expected, the first try didn't come out perfectly. The block is pretty and didn't crack. But I used a nonstick brownie pan and the block shows every scratch in the pan's surface. The good news is that the block came out easily (I had wiped the surface of the pan with slightly diluted Joy on a paper towel.

Lesson one: Buy a brand new pan to use for this so the scratches don't show on the block

There are flaws on the block - white marks that I don't know how to analyze. Maybe those are places where the wax cooled too quickly - not uniformly with the rest of the block. I had hot water around the sides of the pan when I poured the wax in, but added more hot water to the bath after I poured the wax.

Lesson two: Make sure the hot water is as high as I want it before I pour the wax.

There's an unexplained divit in the wax. (See the last picture). I saw it as the block started to cool but didn't know it would be a divit. All I can think is that the divit has to do with the soapy wipe. Perhaps there was too much soap there.

Lesson three: Next time try greasing the pan rather than soaping it to see if that makes a difference.

And although I had filtered this wax through a paper towel in the solar wax melter, I think it needed filtering again because there are some tiny brown flecks on the bottom of the block (which would take away from its quality).