Acrylic Molds

[smeetree]

Hey guys.

What do you think of these molds?

http://www.soap-making-resource.com/acrylic-soap-molds.html#3poundacrylicmold

I was looking at the 3lb one.

Any issues with these if say you don't want gel phase etc. Any disadvantage over wood?

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

There are a lot of posts about this and people tend to be divided - shocking on a forum, I know!

Wooden ones need to be lined, but can be cheaper to buy (or get more man-points and make them!).

Acrylic ones shouldn't need to be lined, according to the idea, but it never works and something like Vaseline or mineral oil is needed. Which defeats the object in my mind

 

[smeetree]

There are a lot of posts about this and people tend to be divided - shocking on a forum, I know!

Wooden ones need to be lined, but can be cheaper to buy (or get more man-points and make them!).

Acrylic ones shouldn't need to be lined, according to the idea, but it never works and something like Vaseline or mineral oil is needed. Which defeats the object in my mind

Thanks, buddy. The one I linked pops the loaf up from the bottom, so I was wondering if that design is in fact superior to other acyclic molds and doesn't need anything else. That's what the maker claims.

Regarding wooden molds, is there a place to buy pre-made liners? I saw a guy on youtube using them but didn't see a link where to purchase them. When we factor in lining paper over time they're probably not cheaper than acrylic (if acrylic works as intended). I don't mean to debate that too much since you say it's been beaten to death here. Really I am more interested in that exact acrylic mold I linked.

 

[shunt2011]

Hey guys.

What do you think of these molds?

http://www.soap-making-resource.com/acrylic-soap-molds.html#3poundacrylicmold

I was looking at the 3lb one.

Any issues with these if say you don't want gel phase etc. Any disadvantage over wood?

I'll be honest with you, I had their slab mold and hated it. I ended up selling it to someone who had one and liked it. I just never had luck getting the soap out smoothly and got frustrated. It did help to put it in a warm oven for a bit and slide the soap out but I still found it more trouble than necessary. I finally went to silicone lined wood mold and will never turn back. I have Nurture Soap Supplies 7 lb molds (2) and I also have 8 BB 5 lb silicone liners that my husband made molds for them to fit into. The BB liners are thin but work fine for me. I just use 2 large binder clips to hold the sides up until I get enough soap in them to hold them up themselves. They are easy to unmold and come out so smooth. Both Nurture and BB that is.

 

[JustBeachy]

I personally like the wooden molds as well. Albeit, part of the reason is I can build them myself, in any configuration. Since I CPOP most of the time, I just don't want to use the silicone liners and line my molds with freezer paper. Once the pattern for the mold is done, it literally just takes a minute to line the mold.

As far as it driving up costs, a 4.00 roll of paper lasts a long time. Never put the math to it, but even at 100 3lb molds that works out to .04 per batch. Divided by 10 bars, that's miniscule in my opinion.

 

[smeetree]

Since I CPOP most of the time, I just don't want to use the silicone liners.

How do the silicon liners interfere with cpop?

 

[JustBeachy]

For some reason, the silicone liners will sometimes cause air bubbles on the edges where the soap touches them during CPOP.

 

[smeetree]

Thanks.

I am currently using a purely silicon mold and it bows, so I need to upgrade. I haven't noticed any bubbling on the sides.

Can I ask about this mold? http://www.nurturesoapsupplies.com/2-5-pound-premium-mold/
Do you think the liner would result in a more narrow bar, or are they saying that factoring the liner inside it's standard 3.5 width bars?

Does anyone have experience with this mold or one like it? It seems versatile because if the silicon does cause issues I can remove the liner and use freezer paper, and if it doesn't then the silicon is super convenient.

 

[shunt2011]

There molds are really nice. However, I don't CPOP so can't speak to that. I know some say they get air bubble type marks on the loafs but not sure if they all do.

 

[smeetree]

There molds are really nice. However, I don't CPOP so can't speak to that. I know some say they get air bubble type marks on the loafs but not sure if they all do.

The cool thing about that one is that if I do run into air bubble problems I can remove the silicon and just line it with paper. Good to know they're reputable molds, thanks. Hopefully they have a sale friday.

BTW, is there anywhere to buy pre-fabricated paper linings? I just do not have a lot of patience to line a mold.

 

[shunt2011]

The cool thing about that one is that if I do run into air bubble problems I can remove the silicon and just line it with paper. Good to know they're reputable molds, thanks. Hopefully they have a sale friday.

BTW, is there anywhere to buy pre-fabricated paper linings? I just do not have a lot of patience to line a mold.

She does run sales sometimes. I got the 7 lb with the wood box for 42.00 I think it was. They are taller is all so I just fill them with my regular 5 lb batch. I haven't seen premade liners. I know some folks use plastic bag (garbage type). When I lined my molds I just made a bunch of them at once then they were ready. Not going to lie though I don't miss lining them.

 

[smeetree]

She does run sales sometimes. I got the 7 lb with the wood box for 42.00 I think it was. They are taller is all so I just fill them with my regular 5 lb batch. I haven't seen premade liners. I know some folks use plastic bag (garbage type). When I lined my molds I just made a bunch of them at once then they were ready. Not going to lie though I don't miss lining them.

Oh so you actually own one of hers? Cool. You didn't get a top for it? Do you just lay something over the top? $20 for a top ("premium mold") seems steep.

Yeah I have a ton of patience with some things, but not minutia, so I can see lining a wood mold causing me to get really frustrated.

 

[shunt2011]

Oh so you actually own one of hers? Cool. You didn't get a top for it? Do you just lay something over the top? $20 for a top ("premium mold") seems steep.

Yeah I have a ton of patience with some things, but not minutia, so I can see lining a wood mold causing me to get really frustrated.

I actually own two of them. I thought 42.00 for the 7 lb mold was excellent so ordered them. They didn't come with a lid so I just put a piece of cardboard (flat rate box) over the top and then insulate with a towel or two. That particular mold was an extra inch taller than most my molds so I don't fill it to the top so there is extra head space even if I make the top fancier.