Mechanic freindly

[SoapyScrubs]

I have a friend that works on cars and he was wanting to know if I could make him a mechanic soap to get the grease off. I was thinking of using cornmeal or coffee in the recipe since he wants a gritty texture for the oil. But I am not sure which would work better. He also said that he likes Lever 2000- brand when it comes to getting the oils off. So could I remelt the lever soap and add cornmeal or there a basic recipe for m&p I should use? Thanks in advance~

 

[Deda]

I make soap for DH using a high % of coconut and I add pumice powder. It works great getting all the grease and grime off.

 

[IrishLass]

Pumice is excellent. I make a similar scrubby soap to what Deda makes, from the sound of her description. It works great!

IrishLass

 

[Deda]

Pumice is excellent. I make a similar scrubby soap to what Deda makes, from the sound of her description. It works great!

IrishLass

Great Minds!

 

[ballininthamix]

how much pumice do you guys use?

 

[heartsong]

soap

when using a higher percentage of coconut oil i like to add 10-15% castor oil and a 10% lye discount for a real creamy lather that helps lift grease and leave hands soft.

 

[pinkduchon]

I just made one last night. It has coconut, palm, palm kernel, and Hazelnut oil. Very cleansing, but that is what is what I wanted. I used dead sea mud for color, pumice and mandarin red, anise, tea tree, and ylang-ylang. I just cut it and it is wonderful!

 

[SoapyScrubs]

thanks, I shall order some pumice then....could I get a pumice stone and "grind/smash" it myself?

 

[IrishLass]

how much pumice do you guys use?

I use 2 tablespoons of pumice ppo. I use the fine-grade from WSP.

HTH!
IrishLass

 

[SoapyScrubs]

would melt and pour soap work or do I have to make the soap from scratch myself?

 

[PhillipJ]

I work on diesels and found that coffee is too course, even with a fine grind. Cornmeal gets soggy and won't be gritty. For me fine pumice isn't gritty enough and I recently made some with medium grit pumice and that seems about right.

I get a little nuts when it comes to dirty hands, and my last batch was 95% coconut oil 5% lard at 0% superfat. Haven't tested it yet on grease as it's too new yet.

 

[SoapyScrubs]

thakns for all the wonderful replies.. Could I just add coconut oil to my m & p to get a higher coconut oil percentage?

 

[topcat]

thakns for all the wonderful replies.. Could I just add coconut oil to my m & p to get a higher coconut oil percentage?

Hi SoapyScrubs, you can add any oil to your MP base at the rate of around 1 tablespoon per pound/500g of base - if you add more your base may not set up as well as you would like and/or it could decrease lather significantly.

I have added CO to a coconut MP base and it was lovely - doesn't add to the cleansing factor, just moisturising....I think that CO only becomes highly cleansing as it is saponified :?

Tanya

 

[SoapyScrubs]

Oh ok. now I have last question for the moment... :roll: ... I have been using coconut oil from soap suppliers, but the cooking coconut oil at our health food store is a little cheaper. So when it comes to soap making would natural cooking coconut oil work the same?

 

[georgiastray]

I use coconut oil from the cooking section of my grocery or health food store. It's less expensive than any I've found to order from a soap supply company, especially considering the weight of the oil and cost of shipping.

 

[soapgardener]

Here is my recipe for a fantastic scrub that is easy on the hands yet does a beautiful job of cleaning. I was inspired by the "goop" (I think that's what it's called) that came in a jar from the hardware store. My dad used to use it to clean his hands after working on the cars. I wanted something similar, but not so greasy, and something that would rinse clean:

10 oz soap (I use a pure coconut oil soap that I make, but you could probably use any soap - I wanted the cleansing power of pure coconut soap)
16 oz olive oil
11 oz grapeseed oil
11 oz mango oil
3 lb finely ground pumice
8 oz fine clay (I used bentonite)
1/2 oz tea tree essential oil
2 oz clove essential oil

This will make one dozen 8 oz pots of thick creamy "sludge". It smells VERY STRONGLY of clove - you could add less. Clove has a natural antibacterial quality (as does tea tree)
The high concentration of oils will dissolve the grease on your hands, and the soap and pumice are just enough to get everything off and rinsed clean.
The mechanics who tested this soap loved it - it got their hands sparkling clean but was not harsh. The strong clove scent wasn't for everyone - you may want to scent it with whatever suits you. Also I used grapeseed because I was playing around with what I had, but you may want to use something that has a longer shelf life.
Enjoy - hope this helps!

 

[carebear]

three POUNDS of pumics? wow!

it seems like a really nice recipe! I think I'll try it, though I will cut back or avoid clove oil as it can be are real strong irritant, and a preservative is required if there is a chance of wet hands dipping into the jar.

maybe a citrus oil... they are renown for grease removal!

 

[soapgardener]

oops, right - sorry I forgot to list the preservative: I used Optiphen (phenoxyethanol and caprylyl glycol)

I also heated the oils, then added the shredded soap - heated until the soap melted, then stick-blended in a cool water bath until the mixture cooled to below 100 F - then added pumice, etc. The three pounds works out to be roughly half of the other ingredients - similar to a sugar scrub; sort of a sugar scrub/soap/"goop" type hybrid.

 

[SoapyScrubs]

would the mango oil be a must have? tghank you for your recipe

 

[PhillipJ]

Soapgardner, Why a preservative with an all oil formula? I would think a touch of T-50 for tha oils.