Why is the middle of the cotton wick not soaked?

[Pauly Walnuts]

Still can't make a juice that doesn't cost me a lung and my dignity, so I'm always swapping out the cotton before trying a new flavor. When I pull them out, the center is white, but the color of my juices almost always have at least some color.

Dual coil... Believe you me, I soak the hell of of that center to the point where it's getting the exposed cotton soaked.

I juice up the tops and both sides. It's not like I took 10 hits, I take 2. Airflow wide open, then almost closed. Always MTL.

I could see if I took a dozen hits, maybe it's drying out, but 2 hits aint drying anything out.

 

[Old Goat]

Sounds like your problem isn’t the juice, the hits, or the airflow — it’s the cotton. If your cotton is too tight inside the coil, it won’t wick properly, no matter how much juice you soak it with. That’s why you’re seeing white in the center and colored juice around it.

Here’s the rule of thumb: the cotton should slide into the coil with gentle resistance, not force. If you have to push it hard, it’s too thick. Too loose, and you’ll get dry spots or spit-back. Just the right snugness ensures that every drop of juice is pulled into the coil efficiently.

Other tips:

Trim your wicks so they just reach the juice well without being stuffed.

Make sure both coils get even wicking if you’re running duals — imbalance can make one side dry faster.

Don’t over-soak — two hits on a freshly primed wick is plenty. Over-saturation can actually lead to pooling and muted flavor.

Keep the cotton light, let it do its job, and you’ll notice a huge difference in flavor and consistency. Your juice isn’t at fault — your wick just needs to be treated right.

 

[Pauly Walnuts]

Yeah, well, that makes good sense. Wish I had good sense. My sense is VERY uncommon.

Getting the wick through the coil is a bear! I gotta hawk up a loogy on my thumb and index finger and twist the end 'till it's tight enough to poke through the other side of the coil. Than I gotta take a pair of roach clips to pull it in to the middle of the coil. Then I pull it back and forth a few times, while watching the coil bend side to side.

A small standard screw driver to straighten the coil up.

I bought the wicks from an online vape shop. Obviously, the wicks are too big but how does one thin them out without completely destroying them?

Also, in the video's I've watched, the cotton DOES get tucked into the well. What's that about?

Where can I buy the right wicks?