Coverings for gelled soap

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saratk

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I typically do not aim for gelling my soap. I make primarily uncolored or mute herbal-colored soaps so usually soap at lower temperatures and then set the mold, uncovered, in front of a fan. Simple soaper I am. I would, however, like to dry gelling a batch.
I've read as much as I could - including what I could find on here - but something has me confused.
I've read to cover the mold with cling wrap before insulating with a towel. I've read to create a cardboard tent before insulating with a towel.
My confusion is....doesn't the cling wrap touch the soap batter? Doesn't the cardboard tent collapse under the weight of a towel or blanket?
What am I missing here? I'd love to get great pinpoint accurate advice to not lose a batch. Well, it wouldn't be lost but the tops might be wonky or I'd end up with a partial gel.
Thank you in advance!
 
Yes, the cling wrap touches the soap. I put cling wrap on all of my soaps, and I've never had a problem with it messing up the tops and most of my soaps have high 'fancy' tops. I will see if I can find a pic of how I insulate my soap. If I am using my 10 bar mold, I cover the soap with the cling wrap, then take the same type of mold, but invert it and cover the top, then place that wrapped in a towel into a medium sized flat rate USPS box. (perfect size)

If I'm using my Essential Depot mold, I have the basket that comes with it, so still use the cling wrap and then just cover that with a towel - the wire basket handles are taller than the mold and this helps keep the towel off the cling wrapped soap.

I hope I am making sense. I will look it up and see if I have pics of what I'm talking about.
 
I only tried cling wrap once and it touched the soap messing up my top so I never used it again.

As far as the cardboard tent, no it won't collapse. I never made a peaked tent though, I just cut a box down so it covered the mold without touching the soap then wrapped it with a towel.

If my soap doesn't stick up past the top of the mold, I'll cover it with a wooden board instead of a box.
 
I typically do not aim for gelling my soap. I make primarily uncolored or mute herbal-colored soaps so usually soap at lower temperatures and then set the mold, uncovered, in front of a fan. Simple soaper I am. I would, however, like to dry gelling a batch.
I've read as much as I could - including what I could find on here - but something has me confused.
I've read to cover the mold with cling wrap before insulating with a towel. I've read to create a cardboard tent before insulating with a towel.
My confusion is....doesn't the cling wrap touch the soap batter? Doesn't the cardboard tent collapse under the weight of a towel or blanket?
What am I missing here? I'd love to get great pinpoint accurate advice to not lose a batch. Well, it wouldn't be lost but the tops might be wonky or I'd end up with a partial gel.
Thank you in advance!

I cover mine with plastic, and yes, it does usually wind up in direct contact with the soap. As long as you're careful putting the plastic on, and don't try to move it again until the soap is set up it doesn't seem to hurt anything. I think I'd be careful with what brand you used, some cling films are made of material that lye will eat but most of them seem to be made of lye-safe material anymore.

I think exactly what method you use to cover will depend on what the top of your soap looks like (I like having flat tops, other people like doing decorative things). For a decorative top, then the cardboard tent would be the way to go. If you set it up right, the towel over the top serves to stabilize the whole thing somewhat, but you can also use tape to secure your cardboard if you're worried it will collapse.
 
Here is a soap I made the way I described - the box isn't a usps box but it's the exact same size as one.

The first one is the extra mold over the top of the cling wrapped soap, then in the box, I do wrap the box with those towels that are just piled on top of the box, then after taking the mold out of the box and the extra mold off the top, then unmolded altogether.

Unless it's an overheating FO that I don't know about, I've never had a top "fall", flatten, get smudged, messed up, nothing.
Doing it this way I've never had a partial gel either.

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When I was CPOPing in the oven I used a printer cartridge box which was just about the same size as the mold (about an inch space all around. I slid the filled soap mold in from the side and used the tabs to close it. I put this on a small piece of old thin blanket and wrapped it up.
I didn't use cling film (which is to stop ash) but I think the box was small enough to act as a cover so I never got ash that way.

The key to CPOP is the temperature. Preheat the oven to 105-110* F turn the oven off. Check with laser thermometer if necessary and put wrapped soap in oven. Do not touch it or peak at it for 12-24 hours
 

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