Shrink Wrapped CP

[craftykelly]

For those who shrink wrap their CP bars, do you find that the older the soap becomes the wrapping will become loose?

Even after my soaps have cured for some time the cigar bands will be loose and slide a little which I hate so I am thinking I might shrink wrap and use a sticker instead.

 

[Lindy]

Yup it loosens up too - but I just hit it with the heat gun again and it's all good, Make sure you're leaving your ends open though so it can breath...

 

[honor435]

they have really cute soap boxes on wsp for not too much, they have an open window in front to see and smell.

 

[mandolyn]

I shrink wrapped mine 4 weeks after unmolding. That was in Nov & I don't see any loose wrappings on any of them. I think the trick is in making sure your soap has completely cured before wrapping.

 

[craftykelly]

I was thinking about the boxes but the price per box is too expensive - in Aust. anyway. And shipping from overseas is as much as the boxes :roll:

I have shrink wrapped my salt bars cause in the humidity they are sweating like crazy so I might do the same for all my bars but who knows I will probably change my mind again in a week

 

[honor435]

what about bands and no shrink wrap? or organza bags? they can still breathe through those?

 

[craftykelly]

the bands were the problem in the first place, they slip after awhile so i have to reband them - just annoying and time consuming to re-do it all. It's ok, will sort something out :wink:

 

[charlotteda]

shrink bands

It might sound dumb but some of my festivals are outside and my bars with just bands get "dirty". I'm planning to use shrink bands to correct that !

 

[xyxoxy]

My shrink wrapped bars do loosen up slightly... especially when I used to use the PVC shrink wrap. Now I use Polyolefin wrap which doesn't seem to be as much of a problem. It still gets a little loose but as was already said... a quick wave of a heat gun solves that.

Also, the polyolefin does breathe so no need to leave the ends open and risk getting your soaps dirty. You can also order perforated polyolefin which breathes even more. Either way the soaps will continue to cure inside the wrap and any moisture should evaporate.

 

[jarvan]

My shrink wrapped bars do loosen up slightly... especially when I used to use the PVC shrink wrap. Now I use Polyolefin wrap which doesn't seem to be as much of a problem. It still gets a little loose but as was already said... a quick wave of a heat gun solves that.

Also, the polyolefin does breathe so no need to leave the ends open and risk getting your soaps dirty. You can also order perforated polyolefin which breathes even more. Either way the soaps will continue to cure inside the wrap and any moisture should evaporate.

Where do you get your perforated polyolefin from and isn't it a bit cost-prohibitive? Also, is it necessary to have the fancy cutter for it or is it ok to cut with scissors and use a heat gun that way?

 

[xyxoxy]

I get my wrap from Art at National Shrinkwrap. I can't recommend them enough... amazing customer service and very experienced with soapers.

I don't think the cost works out to be any more than other packaging methods. I paid about $50 for a roll of wrap that will probably last me for years unless I begin selling in volume. Plus if it does cost a couple more cents per bar I think it is well worth it for the protection and the professional look it gives your soaps.

I dream of having one of those fancy free hand cutter/sealers that Art sells but I'm not ready to spend the bucks yet. You do need a way to seal the edges so you can buy a less expensive bar type sealer for around $40-$80 (depending on the size you need). But actually I found a kitchen food sealer at Goodwill for $8 that works fine for the volume of soaps that I make. It's an older one that has a wire that heats up and cuts the plastic as it seals. I'll just be screwed when that wire finally wears out.

And you can find a heat gun online or at Harbor Freight for almost nothing... I think I paid maybe $12 bucks for mine.

HTH

 

[jarvan]

I looked at National and got scared at the cost. How much soap do you figure you could wrap with that amount? Also, is there a product name/guage/ordering number so I could get the same thing from them. I know not everyone has tiny holes in their polyolefin. I planned on trying my food sealer, so glad it works.

Thanks for the help!

 

[xyxoxy]

I just did some math and here's what I came up with (understand that math is not my strongest skill )

The wrap I bought was approx. $42 + $10 shipping so let's say $52.

It is a 500 foot roll that is 10 inches wide (to fit in my kitchen sealer).
I cut about 4" x the 10" width at a time which wraps 2 soaps (with some wasted). So in a perfect world that comes to 6 soaps per foot or 3000 soaps for the entire roll. If I did my math right that means it costs less than 2 cents to wrap each soap (I get 1.73 cents each). Of course it is not a perfect world and some bars don't seal properly and sometimes I burn holes in them with the heat gun and blah blah blah but even with some waste I think it's safe to say it costs me 2 cents per bar.

I decided on the 100 gague perforated after Art kindly sent me several samples to try. He also offered to wrap some of my own soaps in the various types available if I would send them to him... but I decided I wanted to get the feel of it myself. I wanted to see if any were easier or harder to work with and if the soap fragrance came through which was important to me (it doesn't when you use PVC shrinkwrap).

I would suggest contacting National Shrinkwrap directly and talking to them about your options and current pricing. You may like something thinner than I do or they may have some special offers or advice. As I recall the perforated was not always available in every width but they were able to get it perforated for me. They are very customer friendly in my experience and I've heard others say the same thing.

Good luck!

 

[carebear]

Art is an amazing resource and very willing to help out soapers of every level. I spoke with him to day and totally picked his brain. Although I already use shrink wrap I learned a ton. He's sending me some samples.

I will probably be selling my 4" shrink wrap tubing if things work out the way I expect. Great stuff, but I anticipate that the system they have will suit my needs much better. AND they have a great return policy should it simply not work out for me.

 

[Dennis]

Is it possible to use a Food Saver vacuum sealer with shrink wrap? I have a sealer buried somewhere in the garage.

 

[xyxoxy]

This is an old thread but I can tel you that I actually still use an old food saver thing to wrap my soap. It's the older kind where the sealing wire is exposed so it seals and cuts the wrap at the same time. Some newer sealers have some kind of tape covering the wire so it just seals but doesn't cut the plastic. I like my way better.

I did buy the wand sealer from Art but their device also has that same kind of tape covering the wire and frankly I could just never get it to work for me like it does in his videos. I tried it with the tape, without the tape, and again with a new piece of tape and it either doesn't seal at all (with the tape) or it quickly gunks up (without the tape) and becomes unusable until you clean the wire with steel wool. I keep telling myself that I'm going to contact them again and figure this out... but my little food sealer works fine for the small volume I do.

ETA: Also just wanted to make it clear that the food saver simply seals the soap inside the plastic. The vacuum thingy is irrelevant. You will still need to use a heat gun to shrink the plastic.

 

[Dennis]

This is an old thread but I can tel you that I actually still use an old food saver thing to wrap my soap. It's the older kind where the sealing wire is exposed so it seals and cuts the wrap at the same time. Some newer sealers have some kind of tape covering the wire so it just seals but doesn't cut the plastic. I like my way better.

ETA: Also just wanted to make it clear that the food saver simply seals the soap inside the plastic. The vacuum thingy is irrelevant. You will still need to use a heat gun to shrink the plastic.

Thanks!
Right now the entire unit is irrelevant so if it can be used to seal I don't mind it being partly irrelevant. I'm going to give it a try. Mine is an old one that seals and cuts. The heat gun will go on the fifth update of my Christmas list.

It's an old thread but still helpful.

 

[xyxoxy]

Harbor Freight usually has a good deal on heat guns if there is one close to you... and they are frequently on sale.

 

[Dennis]

Harbor Freight store is 5 miles from my house and they have the heat gun for $13.99. Checked Amazon and the same gun (Drill Master) shipped with prime membership is $25. A trip to Harbor Freight is imminent. Also need a IR thermometer and theirs is cheap.
Thanks.

 

[xyxoxy]

I bought my laser thermometer at HF too and it works great.
Other soap making tools you can find there:

• Rubber gloves[/*:m:1mcr9ttr]
• Eye protection[/*:m:1mcr9ttr]
• Stainless Steel pots[/*:m:1mcr9ttr]
• Mitre Box to cut soap[/*:m:1mcr9ttr]
• Electric tabletop mini-stove (Single burner)[/*:m:1mcr9ttr]
• Probably lots more that I'm forgetting[/*:m:1mcr9ttr]

You can sign up for their mailing list and wait for coupons on the items you are looking for. Most of these things come up fairly often.