rebatch question -- not thin enough

[Guest]

I'm doing my first rebatch, 2# of soap shavings and 1.5# water. It has been on the double boiler for an hour and it's thinner than I thought it might be but way, way too thick to pour.

Is it going to thin if I cook it longer? I'm worried that I won't be able to pour it in the mold. I'm worried that if I thin it out with more water it will be too wet and not harden in the mold.

I want to use my 3" ABS pipe mold. I can just see pushing out the log and it's a big gooey puddle...

Ideas? Suggestions?

 

[Guest]

Well it never got any thinner so I slopped it into the mold (decided to use a rectangular mold) and flattened the top with a spatula, then put it in the freezer for a few hours.

I don't see how this will be dry enough to cut anytime soon.

 

[Guest]

I put it in the freezer for about four hours, got it out and started taking apart the mold, and discovered that this soap is the consistency of jam. No way will I be able to cut it or do anything else.

I don't know what to do now. I need this mold for something else in 1-2 days and I don't see how this soap will solidify enough to do anything with it.

Suggestions?

 

[Laurie]

Amazing things can happen in 1-2 days.

Laurie

 

[pepperi27]

Okay so you rebatched 2lb of soap with 1.5? ounces or cups of water? I only use 1/4 cup of distilled water to 1lb of soap. If you add more it won't thin out your soap just make it icky and it will take weeks to dry and when it does dry it will shrink tremendously. I posted a recipe for my goatmilk oatmeal and honey in the soap recipe section if you'd like to look at my method.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the reply... All I can say is that I read a bunch of websites discussing rebatching and most of them said use 12 oz water for every 16 oz soap. I had 2# of soap and used 1.5# water.

Yes, it is icky. Now what do I do? The surface is dry but just pushing on it I can tell that it's a thick liquid underneath.

Do you think I should rebatch it again and add more soap but no water? Right now it's using up my only small mold and I'm not ready to move to large batches yet, so I can't make any more rectangular soap until I get this batch out of it.

Dammit! I want to make soap tomorrow.

So what do I do? Add more soap shavings and repeat rebatching? Toss it?

 

[Scotsoap]

You could try 're-cooking' again to evaporate more water from it.

 

[Guest]

Just thinking out loud, that's going to be a real mess since I can barely stir it... Maybe I should dump the whole mess and spread it out, then get back to it a month from now...

 

[pepperi27]

Thanks for the reply... All I can say is that I read a bunch of websites discussing rebatching and most of them said use 12 oz water for every 16 oz soap. I had 2# of soap and used 1.5# water.

Yes, it is icky. Now what do I do? The surface is dry but just pushing on it I can tell that it's a thick liquid underneath.

Do you think I should rebatch it again and add more soap but no water? Right now it's using up my only small mold and I'm not ready to move to large batches yet, so I can't make any more rectangular soap until I get this batch out of it.

Dammit! I want to make soap tomorrow.

So what do I do? Add more soap shavings and repeat rebatching? Toss it?

Hi Sweetie yeah thats way too much water. Those rebatch books are for the birds! I have pictures of my first ever rebatch from those books and they shrunk so bad it wasn't even good to call soap. Seriously though you need to add some more soap or cook it again in the oven @200 degrees to cook out the water but your soap may become dry but thats okay. You can add some shea butter or whatever butter or oils if you want. I only rebatch in the oven I do not like crockpot, db, or micro. Thats just through my own research. Try it again and let me know how it goes.

 

[Guest]

It's beginning to seem like a lost cause to me. It seems a sure thing that even left in the mold it may be weeks before it turns into anything other than a big, sticky mess. I think I'll follow your advice and let it have a go in the oven at 200 for a while. I'll turn it out on a foil covered cookie sheet and when it gets a bit drier I'll decide what to do then.

I have only two rectangular molds and the other one is too big (6.5#) for me at my present level (3#). I've been doing batches about every other day and I'm not going to stop for 3 weeks!

I'll let you know if the patient has any change in its condition.

 

[pepperi27]

I love your siggie btw! You know I forgot to mention that you could easily recook those bad boys and roll them into balls! This site is excellent and recommend you read it. http://www.geocities.com/blueaspenoriginals/ It the best tutorial for rebatching.

 

[Guest]

Thank you! I read it and bookmarked it. I'll refer back to that next time I rebatch.

 

[pepperi27]

no problem glad to help!

 

[SoapyGal]

So Greg ~ whatever happened to this batch?

 

[Guest]

I tossed out the half I tried to rebatch just yesterday. It continued to be a big glop despite many days of drying. I still have half the batch and I'm trying to make up my mind if it's worth wasting more good soap to rebatch with it to decrease the coloring and scent.

However I did find success rebatching my GM soap which initially suffered FO pockets. I grated the whole batch (3# oil) and tossed it into my crock pot with about 1/4 cup fresh GM, crocked it on low for a few hours stirring it every now and then, and suddenly realized that it was all mixed up and thin enough to pour. I had been scraping off the sides and mixing top down to bottom to keep incorporating the drier parts into the moister center. So I poured it into my mold and put that in the refrigerator. A few hours later I pulled it out and cut it and everything was fine except that the bars had gotten another shade darker.

One thing I don't like about my rebatch is the top surface of the log which had a kind of rustic look, but not as nice rustic as CP soap with a few passes of a rubber spatula. You could cut off the top and the bars would probably not look much different from CP soap.

I'm not going to bother trying double boiler rebatching again. The crock pot works well and I'm going to stick with it.

 

[pepperi27]

To not get that rustic look I use my big 4lb mold with the top and smoosh it down. Of course I also lay a piece of parchment paper I think its called on top of soap. After it dries it comes out flat on top. If your using molds with the tops then simply use the paper and flatten it yourself!

 

[Guest]

Actually I did that, put down some plastic wrap then smooshed down a top piece I cut to fit exactly in the mold. It was smooshed when I molded it but the log sank down along the middle after I put it in the fridge.

 

[SoapyGal]

Well, at least you learned something in the process, so it wasn't a total loss. Glad your goat's milk turned out good!

 

[Guest]

You know I keep washing my hands on my goat. There's just something about the lather. I don't understand what it is, but it's really nice. Perhaps somebody else can explain it...