# motor oil



## Guest (Aug 30, 2011)

It seems you can make soap with just about any oil. What about motor oil? Has anybody tried this? Sounds like a rather crazy idea to me, but it crossed my mind the other night and am really curious to how a soap like that might turn out.


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## dOttY (Aug 30, 2011)

Yuck!  Would you want to wash your human body, not your car body, with soap made from motor oil?

I'm no expert, and by all means, if you feel the need to try it... then, um..try it I guess.


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## Guest (Aug 30, 2011)

It's just oil.... and once it's sapponified, it's no longer oil, it's soap.

Would you wash yourself with lard? Yuck. That's gross. But I would wash myself with lard soap, however.

How would I be able to figure out how much lye to use?


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## dOttY (Aug 30, 2011)

Like I said, I'm no expert.  I envisioned 'used' motor oil, for some strange reason.  Just the words 'motor oil' and BAM! My mind went straight for the stuff I drain out of my car, LoL....

But yeh, it's still oil.  And afterall, I use the best quality oil for my baby! Vrrooom!

I don't use lard in cooking, nor would I use it in my soap.


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## dOttY (Aug 30, 2011)

I have no idea on how to work out the sap value of motor oil....  Can't say I've ever seen it listed on a soap calculator either.

Good luck.


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## AmyW (Aug 30, 2011)

I found this:


> During the Great Depression, animal fats were hard to find in quantity. One commercial soap manufacturer tried making soap out of used motor oil. The result was detergent. It was found that detergent rinses away faster than soap. This meant an easier clothes washing day, "whiter whites," and brighter colors than from soap. Soap, being harder to rinse out of clothing, left a residue that caused whites to darken and colors to appear dull.



http://www.muzzleblasts.com/archives/vo ... 46-2.shtml


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## frieda (Aug 30, 2011)

I kind of like the idea. Would sound great in a soap for motorfreaks and carfreaks. Wouldn't it be fantastic to make a kind of gardnersoap but for people who worked at their motors and be able to advertise the base is motoroil?
Am sure there is a public for that around. Have no idea how to put the motoroil in the soapcalc. And hope there are not any bad residues in the motoroil, healthwise...


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## Bubbles Galore (Aug 30, 2011)

Some motor oils may be carcinogenic (read the MSDS). I think many are now synthetic as well.

Dotty, lard soap is lovely.  :wink:


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## carebear (Aug 30, 2011)

oscurochu said:
			
		

> It's just oil.... and once it's sapponified, it's no longer oil, it's soap.
> 
> Would you wash yourself with lard? Yuck. That's gross. But I would wash myself with lard soap, however.
> 
> How would I be able to figure out how much lye to use?



petroleum products don't saponify.  so no - you cannot make soap with motor oil.

and while I wouldn't wash myself with lard, I've used it as a moisturizer for 3 dozen years and greased many a baby's bottom with it.  It's not gross.


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## khermsen (Aug 30, 2011)

> petroleum products don't saponify.  so no - you cannot make soap with motor oil.



I came across a CP soap recipe with turpentine, billed as a mechanics soap.  Several people who work in the trade were interested in a product that would cut through grease.

Haven't tried it yet, but it is on my to do list.


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## carebear (Aug 30, 2011)

I've read about a less toxic form of turpentine available - sold in artists supply places and maybe some others.  I think it's called turpenoid.


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## jiroband (Aug 30, 2011)

Please do not even think about using motor oil as a soap making oil – it is derived from petroleum, not from plant or animal sources -- making it quite toxic. (I’m also certain that it would not even make soap, as petroleum oil is not the same thing as plant or animal oils.) Why do you think it is illegal to dispose of motor oil (new, or used) by throwing it in the trash, or just dumping it on the ground?  Motor oil must be taken to a reclamation facility designated to accept dangerous substances. I found the following online from the EPA:
“Motor oil can poison many different forms of plant and animal life, including humans, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Lead, arsenic, cadmium and hydrocarbons are among the toxins found in motor oil. In addition to its own toxic ingredients, motor oil picks up additional poisonous substances as it works to protect an engine from everyday wear and tear.”
I’m sorry if I sound harsh, but I couldn’t believe my eyes when I read some people saying that it sounded like an interesting idea.


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## barred rock (Aug 30, 2011)

I'd use synthetic if I were you.


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## carebear (Aug 30, 2011)

Things derived from petroleum are not necessarily toxic (motor oil is, baby oil isn't).  But it's not going to saponify.

Neither is synthetic motor oil.

YOU CANNOT SOAP MOTOR OIL. You can add petroleum products (vaseline, mineral oil) to soaps if you wish, but it won't react with the lye.


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## frieda (Aug 30, 2011)

good to know


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## Hazel (Aug 30, 2011)

khermsen said:
			
		

> > petroleum products don't saponify.  so no - you cannot make soap with motor oil.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



There was a post about making a stain stick which uses turpentine or turpenoid.

http://soapmakingforum.com/forum/viewto ... highlight=


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## jiroband (Aug 31, 2011)

Synthetic motor oil is an admixture of chemically-derived substances, many of which are still petroleum-based.

Baby oil (mineral oil) and vasaline are NOT safe products -- just because something doesn't kill you right away doesn't mean its safe. There is a history of products once sold that have been taken off the market. If you look around, you will find many articles and scientific papers devoted to the dangers of baby oil, vasaline, and other common petroleum-based personal care products.  My brother has a PhD in immunology, and he could go on and on about it.

We are all entitled to believe what we wish, but one of the main reasons that I and many others got into making homemade soap is a desire to create a safer product. This concern for the use of safe ingredients is one of the main arguments currently being used to help save our homemade soap industry from being regulated -- like a cosmetic, or a drug. (Check with the HSMG - the Handcrafted Soap Makers Guild) If you made soap using motor oil, synthetic or not -- how would you label it for sale? Using a legally-purchased substance, like motor oil, for a use that it's not intended for is probably illegal if used in personal care products. I apologize if my tone is harsh, but I just can't understand why there is a desire to use a potentially dangerous ingredient. 

Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now.


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## carebear (Aug 31, 2011)

jiroband said:
			
		

> Baby oil (mineral oil) and vasaline are NOT safe products





			
				jiroband said:
			
		

> We are all entitled to believe what we wish


I can agree with the second statement. The evidence contradicts the first. 

Carry on.


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## AZ Soaper (Sep 1, 2011)

On the lard topic. It makes the best gravy you have ever tasted. I know I'm going to die of cornary artery disease but i will have been satified! :twisted:


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## carebear (Sep 1, 2011)

Oh YES.  And pie crust!


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## Pepper (Sep 1, 2011)

I agree with jiroband re baby oil & vaseline.   I also would never use sorbolene on my skin, either.


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## khermsen (Sep 1, 2011)

I second that Carebear.....lard makes the best pie crust


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