I go about this a little differently.
I think I make a fare amount of this kind of firestarter as I build and maintain preparedness kits for all our fleet vehicles at work as well as some friends (excluding my personal and family use), so I have had of opportunity to practice and come up with methods that work better for me. I have found that I have better luck getting the PJ/cotton ball ignited in all conditions (and only with a spark from a dead lighter) if I don’t have it completely covered with PJ. For this reason I put the PJ in the center of the ball, so there is plenty of cotton to catch the spark and act as a wick to the PJ.

Cotton balls are actually not balls, but rolls of cotton. They are made the same way cotton candy “balls”are; basically by rolling up the fiber around a central core.
I un roll the “ball” so it looks like a strip of cotton fiber about 1 inch wide and maybe 6-8 inches long.
I then take a small dollop of PJ, roughly about ¼-3/8 inch in diameter or the equivalent, with a small spatula (I made mine from a ½” strip cut off of one of those faux credit cards I seem to get in the mail all the time) and spread it in the center of one end of the strip of cotton.
Then I simple roll it up and tuck it in a container of choice (film canister, PP bottle, mini zipper bag, etc).

Several years ago I revisited my very early days of fire starting and updated a technique I used to use.
When I was a child in southern Oregon I used to collect pine or fire pitch from scars and wrap Old Man Beard lichen around it. I would carry these wrapped in a piece of denim in my pocket (so the pitch wouldn’t get all over my pocket). This worked very well and I used this for many years.
Years later I read about cotton ball sand PJ and used them thereafter.
A couple of years ago I thought I would try my pitch again, but with cotton balls. It works great (plus I love the smell!). So I now stock most kits with a mixture of PJ balls and pitch balls.

I keep a large mason jar about ¾ full of pitch that I melt in a pot of boiling water. I collect the pitch I find when I am out and about. It is very sticky stuff, but once molten can be worked very much like PJ.

I have tried in the past a mixture or 10% paraffin and 90% PJ melted in a jar in an oven. I then dip the cotton balls in this, leaving a bout 1/3 or ¼ of the ball unsaturated. Once dried to room temp, they were more solid and the PJ didn’t get everywhere like it usually does. These burned well, much like a candle, but I still prefer my pitch balls.

I also like the Fuji film canisters. I find the tops seem to stay on better. I get them by the bag-full free from my local film developing center. I prefer the clearish ones, so I can quickly see how full they are. I also pack my balls in tight, and haven’t (yet?) had any problem retrieving them when I am cold. I have used a small twig to pry them out if need be, but I do think it is a good point to think about how this stuff will work when you may be cold and wet… I have also just squeezed the side of the film canister and they fall out on their own. I have also used the squeeze technique to remove the lid (as well as my teeth).

Anyway, just some other experiences on the subject.

Brome

PS: Love the new look of the Forum!!!