Milky Way Molds

[mommycarlson]

I have some Milky Way molds that I am planning to use very soon. I am making a pet shampoo bar and was reading on the forum about using them for CP. I know they can warp so that would mean I don't want to let them go into a gel phase (using a heating pad). So I was looking for advice from anyone who has had experience with the MW molds on what you do with them to prevent gel phase using CP soap. I also read that using sodium lactate will help them unmold easier, true?

I also have a question on figuring out how much soap batter to make. My typical batch is 32 of oil, but I don't know how many ounces of actual batter that makes. I am bad with math and figuring out such problems, any advice? The cavities are each 4.5 oz and there are 4 cavities per mold and I have 4 molds, so 16 cavities.

Thank you for your help!
Beth

 

[earlene]

So you have the capacity for 72 ounces in your molds (16 x 4.5 ounces)

To determine how much batter your recipe makes, plug it into a lye calculator. It tells you your total batch size. SoapCalc and soapee do, and I believe the others I have used so as well.

Regarding using the Milky Way molds for CP, I find and small individual molds allow the batter to cool off so fast that there is no need to try to prevent gel. It just happens. If I want gel for small individual molds, I have to CPOP them. Even plain insulation with a blanket doesn't seem to be enough unless I use a hot recipe.

If your recipe isn't high in sugars and CO, you should not have a problem. If it is, then put them in the freezer for a while to ensure they don't get too hot. But that can be hard when you have a lot of molds full at once. If that is the case, you can always put them out in a cold garage on the concrete floor or something along those lines.

Yes, SL will help remove the soap from the molds more easily. The freezer also helps with that, as long as you let them sit for a bit before unmolding (otherwise your plastic mold could crack.) I have used lanolin as a release agent, but SL is probably easier if you've got it.

 

[dixiedragon]

You can gel with your MW molds just fine. You just can't put them in the oven. BTW, rub them down a bit with mineral oil - that will help your soap unmold.

 

[artemis]

Soap pH is too high for pets, though, right?

 

[cmzaha]

Spraying with Pam will also help with de-molding. They do say it is to high a ph, but I make one for my kids dogs and it works very well for them, keeping in mind dogs are not bathed every day or even every week or month for that matter.

 

[mommycarlson]

Excellent information everyone, thank you so much! Earlene, I went and looked at my recipe and you're right, there is an ounces total in one of the columns. Gee, who woulda thunk that? haha! I do add sugar for bubbles, 2 T for 32 oz oils or as I now know is 46.72 oz total fluid. Will this be too much? I don't want to warp the molds. I gel all my soaps but am afraid to ruin these molds.
Dixiedragon, I gel my soaps on a heating pad on medium, I think that gets up to about 180° so I was thinking that was too hot for the MW molds. I am fine without gelling this particular soap, so if I just leave it on the counter after I pour it, it should be okay right? I don't want it to partially gel, I don't like that weird circle in the middle.
Again, thank you all!

 

[IrishLass]

If your batches are anything like mine, you should have no worries about your soap ever gelling in a MilkyWay mold. Since my batches never gel in them, I find them conveniently useful for testing how my batches perform un-gelled. The main bulk of my batches are poured into insulated wood molds and go through fell gel, but I pour off a portion to remain ungelled into a MilkyWay mold and leave it on my counter 'as is' for about 24 hours or so to set up. Then I pop it into the freezer for a day or so to help make unmolding a breeze.


IrishLass

 

[earlene]

I don't think that amount of sugar will be a problem if the rest of the recipe is not excessively heat producing. And of course, how cool is your house? I keep my house very cool in the winter (using less heat) and warmer in the summer (using less AC), so the time of year makes a difference where I live when I want to gel or not gel soaps.

 

[IrishLass]

I do add sugar for bubbles, 2 T for 32 oz oils or as I now know is 46.72 oz total fluid. Will this be too much? I don't want to warp the molds. I gel all my soaps but am afraid to ruin these molds.

I use twice that much sugar in my batches and rarely get any overheating. The only time I get overheating in my batches using sugar (plain white cane sugar) is when I use certain FOs (the same particular ones every time). If you are using plain white sugar, you'll be fine. But if you are using honey instead, and/or milks, you'll need to keep an eye on things.


IrishLass

 

[mommycarlson]

Earlene, House is 66° during the day and can go down to 55° at night, but I make my soaps in the daytime. I have to use a heating pad or they will not gel or just partially gel.

IrishLass, I've had a few overheat on me so I will watch the ones in the MW molds, since I don't want them to gel. I'm thinking if I just let them sit out on the counter where I can keep an eye on them and pop them in the freezer or put them outside if I notice evidence of gelling, I'll be okay.
Thank you both for your help

 

[jod58]

What's a Milky Way mold

 

[earlene]

What's a Milky Way mold

It is a brand name. Here is a link to the Milky Way molds website.

 

[navigator9]

In my experience with MW molds and other individual molds, because of their small individual mass, they won't gel on their own without some encouragement. I don't think I've ever even had a partial gel. When I first tried using them, and wanted them to gel, I tried a heating pad under them, and ended up with warped molds. So now, when I use them, I just leave them out, uncovered, and they don't gel. A bit of sodium lactate will make unmolding easier, and you won't lose any of the fine detail. At least that's what works for me. They have some nice molds, but I'm always disappointed that there's so much blank space, they could fit another couple of molds in most of them. :-?

 

[Scooter]

Soap pH is too high for pets, though, right?

That seemed to be the consensus in the following thread but I have no experience with it: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=62215&highlight=shampoo

Could someone else chime in?

 

[mommycarlson]

Well, I used the MW molds, they unmolded okay, lost some of the detail, I coated the inside of the mold with mineral oil and also used SL in my soap batter. They are now really ugly though I gel all my soaps, so an ungelled soap must be prone to soda ash? Wow, that really doesn't look so good at all. I'm attaching a picture of what it looks like, can anyone give me some feedback on what's going on?

 

[mommycarlson]

Here is the same soap the day it was unmolded, it was taken out of the molds on Feb 1st