Mold Release Experiment

[donniej]

My molds are a hair over 50" long (makes 50 bars each) and are made of unfinished pine board. Sometimes soap sticks to it, sometimes it doesn't.... but when it does stick, many bars are effected.
To combat this problem I performed the following experiment...

3 new molds (never used). 1 was coated with mineral oil, 1 with jojoba oil and the third with yellow beeswax. Using a paint brush, I coated the ones with the oils twice, with several hours in between.

The beeswax mold was coated by heating the beeswax in the microwave and painted on. This was very clumpy and not smooth at all so after painting it on I re-melted it with a heat gun. A blow dryer would probably work as well. After re-melting it, the beeswax made a perfect coating, was smooth and crystal clear over the wood.

I filled all 3 molds with the same recipe, tomorrow they will be un-molded. I'll let you know how I make out

 

[madpiano]

looking forward to your results...i hate lining molds

 

[Guest]

I'll guess that the one with mineral oil wins.

 

[donniej]

I'll guess that the one with mineral oil wins.

It's funny... the mineral oil didn't seem to absorb into the wood like the jojoba did. I'm skeptical about it because I worry that the mineral oil will remain on the surface of the bars. I know it's medical grade but I don't want to have to clean it off. I'd also prefer not to have to re-apply after every batch.

I'm hopeful that the beeswax works and lasts for many batches.

 

[Guest]

I am going to guess that the jojoba gives you the easiest release . I can't wait to hear which it is .
I am just in the middle of coating my wooden molds with 100% silicone , it is supposed to make them no stick .Just 2 or 3 thin coats .( My molds are not anywhere near 50 inches long though ) :wink:

Kitn

 

[Guest]

Lay the oil and the board in the sun for awhile -- bet it will absorb better....or you could heat the mineral oil in the microwave and apply it hot.

 

[hem06]

I am going to guess that the jojoba gives you the easiest release . I can't wait to hear which it is .
I am just in the middle of coating my wooden molds with 100% silicone , it is supposed to make them no stick .Just 2 or 3 thin coats .( My molds are not anywhere near 50 inches long though ) :wink:

Kitn

I did this Kitn...my they had to be put in the freezer to release each time--I still like it though. Straight edges everytime!

 

[Guest]

Thank you for letting me know . I will keep on coating them

 

[donniej]

None worked. It's back to the drawing board...

 

[xraygrl]

Donnie,

I use heat resistant mylar to line my molds with, it works perfectly. You can buy it in rolls here:

http://www.eplastics.com/Plastic/Mylar_Polyester_Film

hth

 

[bombus]

Donnie,

I use heat resistant mylar to line my molds with, it works perfectly. You can buy it in rolls here:

http://www.eplastics.com/Plastic/Mylar_Polyester_Film

hth

Mylar sounds interesting- I can imagine that it would be difficult to get into
the corners of your mold, and hard to work with. Do you attach it permanently-
or fold a new one each time?

Right now I am using freezer paper.

 

[Guest]

How about paraffin wax? It's a petroleum product and unaffected by lye.
You could melt it, heat the boards, paint it on?

Bad idea, if soap is gonna stick, it's gonna stick -- even to that.
Is there a delete key here for messages (looking for one) LOL

 

[knicelyr]

If you make your own molds you can use sheets of 1/4" pvc or plastic.

 

[donniej]

I'm really surprised that none worked. I kept working on it though... this is the last piece I need to figure out to really start cranking out product. I really don't want to use liners, I acknowledge that I may have no choice but I'd really like to find a way around it.

My molds are pictured below. They have 3 pieces, sides, top and bottom. The top usually has little contact with soap, the bottom *usually* comes off clean but the sides are the big problem. I guess the problem is due to the surface area and size of the loaf. If I don't let it get hard enough, it's like it's glued to the wood and won't come off... but if I take it out too late, it will come out but will crack on the wire cutter.

The work around was to take the screws out of one side. With the screws out, I was able to gently "peel" the sides off the soap instead of trying to forcefully press it out the bottom. This seemed to work well on the one batch I tried it on. I'll pour 3 or 4 more tomorrow and see how unmolding goes on Thursday.

Be sure to check back then... same Bat time... same Bat channel

 

[LJA]

Donnie - your experiments are always so fun to check out. Lemme know if you figure out how to get the soap room to clean itself. Thats MY kinda experiment.

 

[Guest]

Roger that ! Now I have nanananananananana batman running through my brain


Kitn

 

[donniej]

Lemme know if you figure out how to get the soap room to clean itself. Thats MY kinda experiment.

It's super easy

 

[LJA]

Hee!

 

[ChrissyB]

Donnie, last weekend I went to the hardware store and got a spray can of silicone. It cost me about $15. I sprayed my moulds with it on the weekend, I use Nizzy plexiglass dividers, and they can be real buggers to get out. Anyway, sprayed with the silicone, and they can out straight away easy peasy!
I got it in the hardware store, it was near the WD40 and other such products, and on the can it says it's an "excellent mould release".
I had some other silicone spray that I stole out of the garage and used that with individual moulds, that worked too, but this stuff works better.
Try it, it will work for you too!

 

[carebear]

Chrissy, you should probably look for food grade silicone spray. Maybe.