creepy crust on top?

[grumpy_owl]

I couldn't find reference to this phenomenon anywhere in the forums, but I have a "crust" problem.
The recipe was 80% lard and 20% coconut oil, superfatted at 8%. I used BB's sample of Crisp Cotton and NG's Ruby Red Grapefruit and made a three-layer silicone loaf with Mad Oil's Disco Pink and BB's Green Chrome Oxide, with BB's Super Pearly White in the center.
I soaped cool and it traced with a quickness BEFORE I put in the FOs. Then it slowed down and smoothed out. I separated out 1/3 of the batter, added the pink, poured, and waited.
Then I stirred up the white, poured, and added the green to the final third.
I hope this is all clear--I just wanted to give the maximum amount of information.
Anyway, poured the green and tried to make tiny swirlies with a chopstick but it was too thin, so I walked away and came back in about 10 minutes.
I took the chopstick to it again and the green soap had grown a crust. The swirls looked awful and broke up in chunks on top of the soap.
I've never seen this happen before. Does anyone have any idea what might have caused it?
If a picture would help, please let me know, but honestly I don't think it would.

 

[Obsidian]

Is your house cold? Its possible the crust is from the batter cooling off quickly while the inside stayed warmer and more fluid.

 

[Muskette]

That was my thought too, since you had that initial quick "trace". How cool did you soap, and how cold was the room?

 

[grumpy_owl]

It's a lovely 75 or so today outside. My house is about 73, according to the thermostat. I soaped at 103 degrees. Oh, and P.S., I am gelling the soap, so I pulled it out of the gel station to swirl it and thence discovered the crust issue.
Heh, I said "thence."

 

[Obsidian]

Was the crust starting to wrinkle at all? I experienced "brains" the other day while CPOP a single bar mold, I'm sure it would have been chunky if I would have tried to swirl through it.
Not sure what caused it but it was bizarre.

 

[grumpy_owl]

Nope. No brains. Just a crust that didn't swirl nicely like a thick trace should. It was like royal icing that you'd make for cookies.

 

[newbie]

You said it was too thin to swirl. Was it really really thin? I was wondering if it separated a little and the oils solidified. I must add, I would love to see a picture of it.

 

[grumpy_owl]

It was thin until I let it sit, whereupon it was thick trace and puddingy. Perhaps it over-cooled. By the time I got to pouring the top layer, after all, it had been 20 minutes or so from the last time I SB'ed it.

I took pics but they don't show the icing effect. I'll try again. But it was really more of a feeling/texture thingy.

But it may not have been too thin to swirl--I'm not advanced enough to know. Only that my swirls did not "take" so that's why I let it sit for a bit. Separation is not an issue I've experienced, and as I said, it was tucked away in its cozy gel station. Still, that's a possible explanation.