SMF April 2021 Challenge - Lollipop Swirl

[Ford]

You shouldn't have to cover tops. I use freezer paper. Keep bottom piece separate from side piece. just slide a tube of paper into pvc. Don't leave to much hanging out the top. About 1/2" - 3/4" works for me. Also, pour at slight slant, with paper over lap on top. This way batter flows over over lap. And not into it. If that makes sense.

 

[violets2217]

You shouldn't have to cover tops. I use freezer paper. Keep bottom piece separate from side piece. just slide a tube of paper into pvc. Don't leave to much hanging out the top. About 1/2" - 3/4" works for me. Also, pour at slight slant, with paper over lap on top. This way batter flows over over lap. And not into it. If that makes sense.

So I don’t need the caps to cover after pour? I was wondering if I’d actually use them when I bought them.... thanks! I was leaning towards freezer paper lining. I would hate to wait for them to thaw after freezing to cut. I’m too impatient for that!

 

[VikingChick]

I’m fortunate enough to have a silicone column mold (Christmas gift). Question though....can you CPOP silicone? I usually put my loaf and single-cavity molds on a heating pad and it works great. I wanted to CPOP my pretend entry, especially since it was colored with oxides, but I read an article that said you shouldn’t with silicone. But now I’m reading that y’all are CPOP’ping with Pringles cans. Any thoughts?

 

[Vicki C]

So I was feeling creative and decided to make some PVC molds. Went to Home Depot and spent about $45 dollars and made 4 molds. Now I need to decide /research if I want to line them or just pop them in the freeze before un-molding...

Oh, boy. I watched many you tube videos of people pushing their soap out of pvc pipes, no problem. So, I made a pull through soap with no liner. Let it cure a few days. Put it in the freezer and took it out, let it warm up. Tried putting a soup can in one end to push it out. I could not get that soap to budge. Ended up smashing the soup can so it became an impenetrable wedge in one end. I was never going to get the soap out and I ended up smashing the pvc. If I had waited a few months I might have gotten it out, but once the soup can was wedged I was done for.
So, with my remaining pvc mold I cut a thin plastic cutting board to fit inside the mold. Works perfectly and is easier and smoother than freezer paper.
You might have a different experience but I say better safe than sorry - I recommend using a liner.

 

[ResolvableOwl]

can you CPOP silicone? I usually put my loaf and single-cavity molds on a heating pad and it works great. I wanted to CPOP my pretend entry, especially since it was colored with oxides, but I read an article that said you shouldn’t with silicone. But now I’m reading that y’all are CPOP’ping with Pringles cans. Any thoughts?

If it's a silicone like any other, it's totally fine for the oven. I can't really imagine why silicone is worse than just about any other material for CPOPing. The only thing that might come into play is that oil diffusion into silicone is an issue (scum like deposits, sticking FOs) and might be worse when hot, rather than cold. But on the other hand, even if the surface gets attacked, it's still flexible enough to easily salvage both the product and the mould. Better than many here…
tl;dr: Unless the instructions of the mould argue against temperatures above 100°C, go for it.
If you could find that article again, we can discuss what they might have meant.

 

[violets2217]

Oh, boy. I watched many you tube videos of people pushing their soap out of pvc pipes, no problem. So, I made a pull through soap with no liner. Let it cure a few days. Put it in the freezer and took it out, let it warm up. Tried putting a soup can in one end to push it out. I could not get that soap to budge. Ended up smashing the soup can so it became an impenetrable wedge in one end. I was never going to get the soap out and I ended up smashing the pvc. If I had waited a few months I might have gotten it out, but once the soup can was wedged I was done for.
So, with my remaining pvc mold I cut a thin plastic cutting board to fit inside the mold. Works perfectly and is easier and smoother than freezer paper.
You might have a different experience but I say better safe than sorry - I recommend using a liner.

I tried ‘em out today. Three different batches. I lined them with freezer paper. But I need to figure something else out for the bottom. In the two my batter was at thin trace they leaked out the bottom. But we will see how well they come out tomorrow. I have a few of the dollar store thin plastic cutting boards, I’ll try them the next time. I do like using them to line molds. Thanks!

 

[glendam]

Oh, boy. I watched many you tube videos of people pushing their soap out of pvc pipes, no problem. So, I made a pull through soap with no liner. Let it cure a few days. Put it in the freezer and took it out, let it warm up. Tried putting a soup can in one end to push it out. I could not get that soap to budge. Ended up smashing the soup can so it became an impenetrable wedge in one end. I was never going to get the soap out and I ended up smashing the pvc. If I had waited a few months I might have gotten it out, but once the soup can was wedged I was done for.
So, with my remaining pvc mold I cut a thin plastic cutting board to fit inside the mold. Works perfectly and is easier and smoother than freezer paper.
You might have a different experience but I say better safe than sorry - I recommend using a liner.

when you said let it warm up, how long did that take? I only let mine rest for 5-10 minutes out if the freezer and it usually comes out of pvc pipe easily. However it does depend on the recipe, mine has 60% ish of hard oils and I try to force gel with a heating pad because I use a lot less water. I also used Vaseline in the pipe. Definitely better to use liner when in doubt!

 

[glendam]

I tried ‘em out today. Three different batches. I lined them with freezer paper. But I need to figure something else out for the bottom. In the two my batter was at thin trace they leaked out the bottom. But we will see how well they come out tomorrow. I have a few of the dollar store thin plastic cutting boards, I’ll try them the next time. I do like using them to line molds. Thanks!

For the bottom, I cut circles out of the Dollar tree thin plastic cutting boards you mention (used the inside of pvc pipe to trace them). I put those at the bottom before putting the plastic wrap to seal them, it helps but I would be curious to hear what someone else might recommend.

 

[KimW]

For the bottom, I cut circles out of the Dollar tree thin plastic cutting boards you mention (used the inside of pvc pipe to trace them). I put those at the bottom before putting the plastic wrap to seal them, it helps but I would be curious to hear what someone else might recommend.

Soap dough... Roll it out bigger than mold and put it on your plastic cutting board or whatever, squish column mold into soap dough.

 

[KimW]

Soooooo...yeah....turns out the plastic bottle that some argan oil came in does NOT hold up to 170F CPOP. I'd post a pic but it's really just too horrid. Hubby said I should call the warped/contorted/twisted shape a "feature".

 

[ResolvableOwl]

In an imaginary parallel universe, imaginary SMF users might participate in an imaginary Klein bottle Lollipop swirl challenge and might be jealous of your success.

Joke aside. Was it a PET bottle? PET is a popular material for bottles, because it deforms in weird ways at elevated temperatures (blow moulding). PET + heat = PET remembering its shape in an earlier stage of processing. The strangest things happen with PET and heat.

 

[earlene]

When using a pringles can, beside Vaseline or mineral oil. How do you get The soap to release?

I tried ‘em out today. Three different batches. I lined them with freezer paper. But I need to figure something else out for the bottom. In the two my batter was at thin trace they leaked out the bottom. But we will see how well they come out tomorrow. I have a few of the dollar store thin plastic cutting boards, I’ll try them the next time. I do like using them to line molds. Thanks!

Here's a video showing how I prepare my Pringles Cans. It's saved at the time stamp for that part of the video. I added some useful tidbits that work well for me. That portion of the video is less than 3 minutes, so stop at about 7:44 (I set this to start at 4:58). Hope it helps.

@violets2217, the bottom issue you mention is addressed in the video.

 

[earlene]

I’m fortunate enough to have a silicone column mold (Christmas gift). Question though....can you CPOP silicone? I usually put my loaf and single-cavity molds on a heating pad and it works great. I wanted to CPOP my pretend entry, especially since it was colored with oxides, but I read an article that said you shouldn’t with silicone. But now I’m reading that y’all are CPOP’ping with Pringles cans. Any thoughts?

There are grades of silicone; some are not safe at high temperatures. If you make your own out of silicone caulk it would be inadvisable to use those in the oven (the smell alone would be a deterrent.) But if you have noticed on silicone bakeware, there is a maximum termperture for bakeware, which is much higher than we use for CPOP. A good quality soap mold made of good quality silicone is oven safe at low temperatures.

In an imaginary parallel universe, imaginary SMF users might participate in an imaginary Klein bottle Lollipop swirl challenge and might be jealous of your success.

Joke aside. Was it a PET bottle? PET is a popular material for bottles, because it deforms in weird ways at elevated temperatures (blow moulding). PET + heat = PET remembering its shape in an earlier stage of processing. The strangest things happen with PET and heat.

My tap water from the hot tap, will melt a PET bottle like that, Definitely not safe for raw soap!

 

[Tara_H]

In an imaginary parallel universe, imaginary SMF users might participate in an imaginary Klein bottle Lollipop swirl challenge

Sounds great, but how do you get the soap out... How do you get the soap in...? What does 'in' even mean...? Can you use a Klein bottle to store folded oils...?

In seriousness it would be very cool to have some kind of non-traditional topography or optical illusion challenge. Not sure how many would sign up though!

 

[glendam]

Soap dough... Roll it out bigger than mold and put it on your plastic cutting board or whatever, squish column mold into soap dough.

That’s a brilliant idea and I always have some on hand!

 

[glendam]

So, I'm wondering... There seems to be two common themes in our failed attempts: Pinwheels or Double-Eyeballs. Wonder what is the same thing that we're doing wrong? Just thinking out loud...hmmmm

After watching one of the videos again, I think I know why I got the eye balls. I poured one color and then turned the cylinder and poured the second color, turned again, etc. while in the first video she pours two colors from the same spot before turning the cylinder. One those colors is white, of which she pours a thinner line.

 

[Tara_H]

After watching one of the videos again, I think I know why I got the eye balls. I poured one color and then turned the cylinder and poured the second color, turned again, etc. while in the first video she pours two colors from the same spot before turning the cylinder. One those colors is white, of which she pours a thinner line.

That was what I was trying to do with a black line in the attempt where the black entirely disappeared! It was about 10% of the batter when I measured it out, but could barely be seen in the finished soap...

 

[ResolvableOwl]

Sounds great, but how do you get the soap out... How do you get the soap in...? What does 'in' even mean...? Can you use a Klein bottle to store folded oils...?

Well, you can use one Klein bottle to store two oils. No problem when you're in the proper dimension!

In seriousness it would be very cool to have some kind of non-traditional topography or optical illusion challenge. Not sure how many would sign up though!

I can literally see the soap dough kneaders rub their hands!

 

[Jersey Girl]

Oh, boy. I watched many you tube videos of people pushing their soap out of pvc pipes, no problem. So, I made a pull through soap with no liner. Let it cure a few days. Put it in the freezer and took it out, let it warm up. Tried putting a soup can in one end to push it out. I could not get that soap to budge. Ended up smashing the soup can so it became an impenetrable wedge in one end. I was never going to get the soap out and I ended up smashing the pvc. If I had waited a few months I might have gotten it out, but once the soup can was wedged I was done for.
So, with my remaining pvc mold I cut a thin plastic cutting board to fit inside the mold. Works perfectly and is easier and smoother than freezer paper.
You might have a different experience but I say better safe than sorry - I recommend using a liner.

I used a small length of PVC pipe (4inches) for my first attempt at this challenge. It was the first time using a PVC pipe for me. I spread a very thin coating of Vaseline inside the pipe before I poured. No liner. After it gelled, about 12 hours later I put it in the freezer for about 45 minutes. Then I took it in my bathroom and banged it several times on the rubber backed rug on the tile floor. It slipped right out. Vaseline, then freezer worked for me! I haven’t tried it with a longer length of pipe, but I’m betting it would work the same. This is not a trick I came up with myself but one I learned here on the forum that’s worked for others too. I loved that I didn’t have to line it.

 

[KimW]

Sounds great, but how do you get the soap out... How do you get the soap in...? What does 'in' even mean...? Can you use a Klein bottle to store folded oils...?

In seriousness it would be very cool to have some kind of non-traditional topography or optical illusion challenge. Not sure how many would sign up though!

I'd sign up!! I'd make a right mess of it, but I'd sign up!
@ResolvableOwl Thank you for the Klein Bottle reference. Took me back to those carefree (not really) days of Uni!

@earlene and Resolvable Owl - Have no idea what the bottle is/was made of as it's not marked. It passed the test of going through the dishwasher...but apparently that's not a good test with this dishwasher (my old one sanitized with water and steam on rinse cycle)!
I cut it today and it might just become my entry. Definitely have a decent lollipop swirl. Perhaps I chuckled at Hub's suggestion too soon!

@glendam - YES! I figured this out too!! Sneaky that lollipop swirl.