Can you use a steel soap mold?

[SoapMakerDeluxe]

...or will it react poorly with the newly-poured lye soap?

I ask because I might have the perfect soap mold solution staring me in the face, I'm just not sure how well steel would work.

 

[newbie]

If you use freezer paper and fold it to fit as a liner inside the mold, it should be fine. No batter would touch the steel. Same would hold true for a plastic bag used as a liner, assuming no holes. Stainless steel doesn't react with batter but regular steel may rust. Aluminum is best avoided altogether of course.

If you don't use a liner, it will be very very difficult to get the soap out of the mold.

 

[BlackDog]

If it's stainless steel, it won't react. I mix my lye solution in a stainless bowl all the time.

oops cross-posted with newbie!

 

[Saipan]

I've read about people using rain gutters, they come in steel and plastic though.

 

[SoapMakerDeluxe]

If you use freezer paper and fold it to fit as a liner inside the mold, it should be fine. No batter would touch the steel. Same would hold true for a plastic bag used as a liner, assuming no holes. Stainless steel doesn't react with batter but regular steel may rust. Aluminum is best avoided altogether of course.

If you don't use a liner, it will be very very difficult to get the soap out of the mold.

So is the freezer paper there to lift the soap out of the mold or is it there to prevent the soap from touching the steel?

Is rusting the main problem? Or does steel react poorly with soap period?

It would be regular steel.

 

[Kamahido]

Steel does not like corrosive environments. If you line the mold with parchment paper as the above posts recommend you will be fine.

 

[Saipan]

Depending on the type of steel, it will rust from exposure to water and heat. So you could trigger rust from making soap in it.

High Carbon steel that has been properly heat treated will require more heat and water than Low Carbon steel to rust, but it will rust.

Stainless steel, will also rust, it just requires exposure to water and even more heat. It also depends on the content of the Stainless steel, low amounts of Chromium, will allow it to rust at lower temps, possibly even as low as 140° F.

 

[penelopejane]

With mild steel molds, even lined, you are running the risk of DOS. There are lots of plastic boxes you can used if lined.

 

[Spice]

...or will it react poorly with the newly-poured lye soap?

I ask because I might have the perfect soap mold solution staring me in the face, I'm just not sure how well steel would work.

Is there a reason you want to use the steel mold? I ask because being so many ways to have a mold, I would stick to the norm on this, only because soap is not one to be harnessed. But there are ways you could do it. I have learned that if I lose my peace about something.....that means something is up.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

To further that, if the shape/design is too good to pass up, could you make a silicone mould using the steel one as a master?

 

[LisaAnne]

I do not have a slab mold so I took this box and lined it with contact paper and I took the lid and trimmed it to fit snugly in the bottom.
Putting contact paper in a cross shape over the lid again 2 sticky sides together. When I want to use it all I have to do is tape the corners. The square piece makes it so easy to lift the soap out of the mold. So if you love that stainless steel this might help you make a mold out of it.