How to Shrink Wrap your Candles for Sale
Even though candles are well behind their time, they are still wonderful for people to buy, sell, and give as gifts. Candles serve as great decorations in the home, and ones that are scented can make the home smell better. Candles also come in many different shapes, sizes, colors, and scents, so there is even an appeal for people to buy and collect many of them at once.
If you make your own candles, you can apply shrink film to them like professional shrink film manufacturers, if you sell them and give them as gifts. Shrink film helps a candle retain its original form, so that it doesn’t melt over time. Shrink film is also capable of preserving contents within it; the same film used to help food last longer can also help a candle’s scent last longer as well.
To shrink wrap a candle, you will need your candles, shrink film, cardboard or card paper, a marker, a pair of scissors, an X-Acto knife, a ruler or straight edge object, twist ties, and a hair dryer. Be sure to also have your work done on a rubber mat, newspapers, or magazines, so that you don’t mark up your table with your marker, scissors, or X-Acto knife.
You can buy shrink film, also known as shrink wrap, from online shrink film manufacturers. There are several different shrink wraps to choose from, in different materials, colors, and thicknesses. We recommend film made of PVC to use with candles. You can buy large rolls of film, or buy pre-cut film that already fits the size of your candles.
Once you buy the shrink film, first measure the candle before you cut it to fit around the candle’s diameter. You would like the candle’s height and diameter. Take the diameter, plus twice the measured height, add two additional inches, and that is how big in square inches you should make your shrink film cuts.
With a ruler or straight edge, draw a square with an area of this number on your cardboard of card paper. Then, using a pair of scissors carefully cut the square out of your cardboard. This square will be used for your template for shrink film that is to cover the entire candle. For each candle, cut out pieces of shrink film in this square shape, and be sure that your film has more than enough room for the entire candle; not just enough, but more than enough. Adjust the film on the candle so that the ends of the film are at the top of the candle, where the wick is. Use a twist tie to seal these ends.
Before you seal the shrink film, be sure that it is as tight on the candle as possible. If you see any area on the film that seems loose or full of air, try to even the area out.
If your candle looks ready, it is time to seal the film onto it with your hair dryer, starting with the bottom. Use it to heat the shrink film onto the candle. The dryer should be held a couple of inches away from the candle, and the plastic should slowly melt onto it. Be sure that the base is completely sealed before starting to work your way up towards the top.
As you approach the top, carefully use a pair of scissors to cut off the ends, which include the twist tie. Now when you seal the entire film on the candle, you do not need to tear it off in order to light its wick.
