I get mine from clouds of vapor, it is the gg silica. I might be overkill but I cut my wicks, then boil for 10 minutes, dump the water and boil again for 10 minutes. I let them sit out to air dry overnight and then put them in my tin case. When I am ready to build I torch the wick first before coiling, also I hit the kanthal wire with a bic lighter to heat it up.
I don't really have any break in time with doing the above. And since everything is prepared ahead of time, wicks preboiled and waiting as well as wires prefused and waiting, it doesn't take long to build the coil.