How do you make a pillar candle?

Melt a wax made for pillars, add fragrance at the temperature its maker gives, pour into a wicked mold at the maker's pour temperature, let it cool undisturbed, top up the hollow that forms around the wick with a second pour, then release it and cure it before you test burn. The figures differ widely between pillar waxes: CandleScience pours its paraffin pillar wax MP-137 at 180°F (82°C), while Supplies for Candles gives 65°C (149°F) for Kerawax 4600. Use your own wax's sheet. This page compares four pillar waxes' published figures, then walks through wicking, pouring, the second pour, release and the first burn.

Pillar waxes and what their makers publish

A pillar has no jar. The wax has to hold its shape at room temperature and in a warm shop, shrink enough to come out of the mold, and burn with a pool that stays inside its own wall. That is why pillar waxes are harder than container waxes. The table gives the published figures for four pillar waxes. Each figure is that supplier's, for that product only.

Three points about the table:

• The temperatures disagree because the waxes differ. Kerawax 4600 is poured about 30°F cooler than the CandleScience paraffins. Neither figure is "the pillar temperature." Follow the one for the wax in your pot.
• The fragrance loads are given as the suppliers give them. CandleScience writes 6% as "1 oz per pound of wax" for IGI 6028 [2], and 1 oz in 1 lb (16 oz) is 6.25 percent of the wax weight and 5.9 percent of the finished candle. The arithmetic, and why percent of wax and percent of candle differ, is on how much fragrance oil to use.
• Soy pillar wax exists, and it is formulated differently. Cargill's patent US 6,773,469 describes a triacylglycerol (vegetable) wax for pillars and votives melting at about 60 to 66°C, with 0.5 percent paraffin or less, formulated to release from molds [5]. A soy container wax will not do that job. Compare waxes on choosing a candle wax.

Some makers add a polymer additive to pillar paraffin. NuCera's brochure, for example, lists VYBAR 103 and 108 for paraffins melting at 58°C or above (pillars, tapers and votives) at 0.25 to 1.0 percent by weight [8]. Usage rates come only from the additive maker's sheet, and any additive means retesting the wick; see candle wax additives.

What you need

• A pillar mold, clean, dry and at room temperature (Supplies for Candles advises molds at room temperature and notes some need conditioning before first use [4]). Molds are compared on candle molds and mold release.
• Wick for the pillar's diameter, primed (coated in wax) so it stands straight and does not wick up air.
• A way to seal the wick hole in the base of the mold, if your mold has one, and a wick bar or clip to hold the wick centered at the top.
• A pouring pitcher in a double boiler or a melter, a thermometer, and a scale.
• A level surface away from drafts where the mold can stand undisturbed overnight.

Making a pillar, step by step

The steps follow the CandleScience Lab Notes and the Kerawax 4600 instructions. Where they differ, both are given.

1. Wick the mold. Thread the primed wick through the hole in the base of the mold, seal the hole from outside so wax cannot leak, and pull the wick taut to a bar across the open top. A wick that is slack or off center during the pour becomes a wick that wanders or burns through one side. Some molds use a wick pin instead: the pin forms a channel and the wick goes in after release, as CandleScience did in its pillar tests [1].
2. Melt the wax. Heat in a double boiler or melter to the temperature your sheet gives: 190°F (87.8°C) in the CandleScience notes [1] [3], 70 to 80°C (158 to 176°F) for Kerawax 4600, where higher temperatures may discolor the wax [4].
3. Add dye, then fragrance. CandleScience added dye at 190°F, before the fragrance, in its MP-137 tests [1]. Weigh fragrance oil; do not exceed your wax's stated load. Stir thoroughly.
4. Bring the wax to pour temperature and pour. Pour slowly and steadily into the mold to the level your mold and wax call for. Supplies for Candles fills to the top on the first pour for 3 and 4 inch pillars [4]. Do not fill to the brim if your mold has no room for a top-up.
5. Cool undisturbed. Supplies for Candles gives a room of about 25°C (77°F), with molds 1/4 to 1/2 inch apart [4]. CandleScience let its pillars sit overnight, about 24 hours [1]. Keep molds away from drafts and do not move them.
6. Make the second pour. As the pillar cools it shrinks, and a hollow forms around the wick; every CandleScience pillar test showed shrinkage around the wick pin [1] [2] [3]. When the candle is still warm with a set center, Supplies for Candles pokes two holes near the wick to open any void beneath the skin and pours again at 60°C (140°F) [4]. CandleScience made its MP-137 second pour at 190°F (87.8°C) [1]. Pour only to the original level; wax over the first pour's edge makes a lip and a seam.
7. Let it cool completely, then release. Remove the wick bar and seal, and slide the pillar out. If it sticks, Supplies for Candles chills the mold and candle in the fridge for a few minutes [4]. Do not leave it there longer; fast cooling stresses the wax.
8. Finish the base. The base (the top of the mold as poured) is often uneven. CandleScience suggests a second pour for a level bottom or smoothing the base on a heated pan [2]. Trim the wick at the base flush.
9. Cure, then test. Leave the pillar for the time your sheet gives before a test burn: 48 hours for Kerawax 4600 [4]. Trim the wick before lighting.

Choosing the wick for a pillar

Every pillar test in the CandleScience notes used the LX series, and CandleScience gives the reason: LX "produces a smaller tighter flame which is essential to prevent blowouts or holes in pillar candles" [1]. A container candle wants a pool that reaches the glass. A pillar wants a pool that stops just short of the outside, leaving a thin wall that holds the melted wax in. Size too large and the flame melts through the wall (a blowout); too small and it tunnels down the middle.

None of the sources cited here gives a wick size for a given pillar diameter, so start from your wick supplier's chart for that diameter and test one size either side, as how to size a wick describes. Fragrance load and dye change the result.

Burning a pillar, and testing one

A pillar has to stand on a heat-resistant surface or a plate wide enough to catch any wax that runs; the National Candle Association tells consumers to place candles on stable, heat-resistant surfaces and to use holders that are sturdy and will not tip [6]. Kohl's buyer protocol for candles (Test Protocol 100-Z, February 2025, with the same limits as 100-Y) requires that freestanding candles not tip over during burning and not tip at a 10.0° incline, and limits flame height to 3 inches [7]. Those are one retailer's requirements, built on ASTM F2417-17, and carry no legal force. The full test is on how to burn test a candle.

When the pillar comes out wrong

Cracks, air pockets, jump lines, mottling, a wick that wanders and a flame that breaks through the side all have specific causes and fixes, set out on pillar problems: cracks, air pockets and blowouts. If the trouble is getting the candle out of the mold, start with candle molds and mold release.

References

1. CandleScience, Lab Notes: Paraffin Pillar Wax MP-137, undated (header image dated July 22, 2021), read October 22, 2026. https://candlescience.com/lab-notes-paraffin-pillar-wax-mp-137
2. CandleScience, Lab Notes: IGI 6028 Paraffin Soy Pillar Wax Blend, undated, read October 22, 2026. https://www.candlescience.com/learning/lab-notes-igi-6028-paraffin-soy-pillar-wax-blend
3. CandleScience, Lab Notes: IGI 1239 Paraffin Wax, undated (images dated 2018), read October 22, 2026. https://www.candlescience.com/learning/lab-notes-igi-1239-paraffin-wax
4. Supplies for Candles, Paraffin Pillar Blend Wax for Pillar Candle Making (Kerawax 4600 product page with instructions), updated October 22, 2026. https://www.suppliesforcandles.co.uk/?p=4368
5. Google Patents, US6773469B2, Triacylglycerol based wax for use in candles (inventor Timothy A. Murphy; assignee Cargill, Inc.), granted August 10, 2004. https://patents.google.com/patent/US6773469
6. National Candle Association, Candle Safety Tips, modified August 12, 2025. https://candles.org/candle-safety/
7. Kohl's, Private Brands Performance Claims Test Protocols 100, Protocol 100-Z: Candle (including freestanding, taper, tealight, votive, filled and novelty candles), revised February 2025 (current revision; candle limits unchanged from 100-Y, February 2023), read October 22, 2026. https://link.kohls.com/content/dam/klink/100-Z-CANDLE.pdf
8. NuCera Solutions, VYBAR Polymers for the Candle Industry (brochure, version 12142021v1, copyright 2022). https://chasecorp.com/nucerasolutions/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2023/05/NuCera_VYBAR_Candle_Brochure_v4-2.pdf