Lining Soap Molds

[Crownderosa]

Hi all,
I'm about to endeavor on making my first batch of soap. The soap mold similar to the one I'll be using is linked below. Do I need to line it? If so, with what?
Thanks,
ACB

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00998NJCU/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[TeresaT]

I believe the plastic molds like that are for melt and pour soaps only. I think if you use CP they'll melt. Does the packaging state it can be used for CP soap? If so, I would imagine you could put a very thin layer of mineral oil or Vaseline in the mold to keep the soap from sticking. Just make sure the mold is safe for CP soap before you use it.

 

[lsg]

You might also want to pop the soap in the freezer a couple of hours before unmolding. Take the molds out of the freezer and let set for about 10 minutes and then unmold.

 

[Obsidian]

You can use milky way molds for CP but don't try to gel the soap, it can make the molds warp. You shouldn't need to line those, the soap should pop out ok. You can line with a very thin layer of mineral oil or vaseline but I only do that when the mold has a lot of small intricate details.

 

[nsmar4211]

I use those molds, I now coat with mineral oil (I haven't had as good results with vaseline). BUT, and a huge BUT, I soap low temperatures. Lye around 90 degrees, oils either room temp (which is 85+ right now) or just barely melted. If you soap at a high temp and the soap gels, it may indeed melt . Although, one of my last batches gelled in the mold and the mold is fine...but I didn't intend for it to get that hot.

If you're doing CP, I highly recommend a simple mold at first until you get the hang of the recipe. My first was a cardboard box lined with a trashbag. Or those flimsy plastic throwawy sandwhich containers would work too.

I have to freeze the molds almost every time to get the soap out, even after leaving for a week. Bit of a pain......

 

[TeresaT]

OK, educate me please. If those molds are used for CP and not supposed to gel, is soaping a room temp good enough to prevent gelling or would you need to put the molds in the freezer? Should they be freezer-cold first? (I remember some threads talking about freezing molds before using. However, those weren't the same molds.). I've never bought these cute molds because I've been told you can't CP with them...

 

[snappyllama]

OK, educate me please. If those molds are used for CP and not supposed to gel, is soaping a room temp good enough to prevent gelling or would you need to put the molds in the freezer? Should they be freezer-cold first? (I remember some threads talking about freezing molds before using. However, those weren't the same molds.). I've never bought these cute molds because I've been told you can't CP with them...

It's going to depend on your recipe, FO, mold/volume and the room temperature of your house. My soaps never gel unless I really encourage them, because I normally soap at night and my house is in the 60s then. The few times they started to gel by themselves I was using additives that really heat up and soaping during a really hot day when my house temp was in the 80s. Since those Milky Way molds are individual, they don't have a lot of volume and probably wouldn't try to gel without encouragement.... unless it's a heater recipe in a hot room.

 

[not_ally]

The max. temp on the MW molds is about 135, the max for the heavier duty PVC ones (see, eg, http://www.newdirectionsaromatics.com/dragonfly-cattails-standard-p-1483.html) is 150-155. I definitely would not try to gel in them. And honestly, am not terribly enthusiastic about using them for CP in general, even if they work for a while they are likely to break down fairly quickly. Much better w/MP.

That is one of the things that is nice about MP, there are so many pretty bar molds, they just don't make as many of them w/silicone for CP.

 

[TeresaT]

I guess, I'll stick to the logs and silicone bars I have instead of trying "cute" molds. But, when I get good at this, there's a possibility for trying.

 

[not_ally]

I don't think there is a learning curve on using those molds, Theresa, you can use them w/CP but they are really not made for it. I have a million of them - they are kind of irresistible b/c so pretty - b/c I did MP for a couple of years before CP. The problem is that the heat, in combination w/the lye I think (although no facts to back this up) make them dry and crack much sooner than they do would when used for their intended purpose, it; MP. I just don't think it is worth it to use them for CP.
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[IrishLass]

I use those kinds of molds all the time for my over-pour CP. What I do is that I intentionally make more soap than my usual wood log/slab molds hold, and then I pour the extra batter into a cavity or 2 of the plastic MilkyWay molds (lightly 'greased' with mineral oil). I do this in order to make an few un-gelled bars of my batch for comparison testing purposes, since my soap in the wood molds always gel, but the soap in the MW molds never gel. They have held up to this kind of treatment for me for years, and sometimes I soap pretty hot- 125F.

I just leave the freshly filled MW mold out on my counter at room temp overnight and then pop it in the freezer the next day for several hours to freeze solid (although sometimes I forget and leave them in there for several days, lol). Once frozen, they pop right out like buttah when I run a little tepid water over the bottom of the mold.


IrishLass