Different swirl technique?

[Todd_in_Minnesota]

Hi All!
I never had any luck with the swirl techniques I've seen posted in videos (I always produced muddy clumps of mush) so I've been fooling around with a different technique - and I think it's finally working! Thought I'd share.

What I did was put 'swirlers' at the bottom of my mold before I poured, then used them after pouring to mix my colors.

Details:
I found a sheet of very thin aluminum at a local HW store, and cut the sheet into strips, then bent the strips so they would fit inside my silicone molds and have handles that extended out (pic). Then, when I pour color layers at early/mid trace, I can use the swirlers to pull lower layers up through higher layers, or do whatever else I want with those colors.

Batch1 (pic) was green/yellow, and was sort of OK.
Batch2 (pic) was blue/yellow, and started to show some progress.
Batch3 (pic) was red/white/black, and is finally something I'm willing to show in public.

(Along the way I also switched my colors to oxides, which are a huge improvement over what I'd bought for M&P at a local craft store.)

I don't know if I invented it or not, but it's a technique that seems promising?

Cheers all - and thanks for all your support!
Todd

 

[welsh black]

They look good! Smart idea with the metal strips

 

[kikajess]

Wow! That's really cool! Your soaps are swirled beautifully with your technique.

 

[evilnurse]

I thought we weren't supposed to use aluminum with raw soap? I just started so forgive me if I'm out of place

 

[Derpina Bubbles]

I like all 3 but the third one is just amazing. I thought we couldn't use aluminium too like evilnurse said *confused*. Anyway, I think it's genius and looks incredible.

 

[kryse13]

It looks like flames! Flame swirl!

 

[Todd_in_Minnesota]

Hmmm,
It could be you're right about aluminum.
It wouldn't be the first time I had a good/bad idea. Happens all the time with me!
I'm sure somebody with more experience will weigh in and we'll know for sure.
Thanks for the compliments!
Todd

 

[PinkCupcake]

Lye will corrode aluminum. Your swirlers are only in contact with the raw soap briefly, so they probably don't show any signs of damage, but I'll bet that if you keep using them, they will start to degrade.

I love the idea, and the results. What else could you use besides aluminum?

 

[judymoody]

How cool is that!

Aluminum in contact with lye solution can produce flammable gas. The risk with soap batter is probably a lot less. That said, if you could substitute plastic or stainless steel or perhaps find a way to cover the aluminum, maybe with silicone caulk, that might be safer.

 

[Todd_in_Minnesota]

Thanks, everybody, for the feedback.
I'll start looking for alternatives to aluminum, and let y'all know if I find a better solution.
Cheers.
Todd

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Apparently a lot of metal coat hangers are made of steel rather than aluminIum (the extra emphasis on the "I" there!) which might make them an option - easy to find and easy to form. A possibility?

 

[Derpina Bubbles]

Apparently a lot of metal coat hangers are made of steel rather than aluminIum (the extra emphasis on the "I" there!)

*Looks in to see if a war has started with weapons made of a chemical element in the boron group with symbol Al and atomic number 13. Nope, all good.

 

[Paintguru]

Just a thought off the top of my head, but I believe they make stainless steal skewers that are flat. May be tricky to find one long enough, but you could bend and use those. There are probably other options as well if you can cut your own from sheet.

 

[lsg]

Great soap.

 

[dixiedragon]

Brain fart, can't remember the name. But it is plastic sheets that you can get at a craft store, and it's often recommended for lining circular column molds. Quilt liners? Something like that? It's a tough plastic so I think you could cut it into strips like in your picture, fold it and possible iron the folds so it maintains that shape.

Your swirls look great!

 

[MoonBath]

You could just use twine, or strips of plastic wrap, couldn't you?

 

[kryse13]

Ooh how about the plastic boning they sell for corsets?

 

[Tienne]

The swirls on that third soap look fantastic! I love the way the colours are dispersed, so that it's hard to tell what's up and what's down. Seeing that the swirlers aren't in contact with the raw soap for all that long, I myself would certainly be willing to give your technique a try, aluminIum or not! The swirls are definitely worth it!

Congratulations on inventing a new technique! It wouldn't surprise me at all if your swirl technique became famous on youtube in no time! Wouldn't it be great if it did? You would then have achieved soaping immortality! Wow. LOL
Way to go, Todd!

 

[MOGal70]

There is a product called "plasti dip" that comes in an aerosol or a can that you can dip into. (It is what is on rubber handled pliers.) that would be pretty easy to use to coat the swirl rods. It only runs about $8-10 for a can and would coat alot of rods.

 

[MOGal70]

Your rods are great by the way!