cpop and soda ash question

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dillsandwitch

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Okay so I have never cpop'ed before and I want to give it a go. Usually what I do to try to stave off soda ash is after the tops of my soap are firm enough that it wont dent or whatnot I wrap in cling wrap and let it do its soapy thing for a day or 2.

Obviously you cant put cling wrap in the oven so how exactly do I go about do it?

TIA
 
I use cling wrap on top even when doing CPOP. The temperature of the oven should be very low, or just residual heat from warming it up and turning it off. In over a dozen batches of CPOP, I have never had a problem.
 
And if (that's the big kahuna for me though--- IF!) I don't forget! I spritz the tops of mine lightly with rubbing alcohol and then cover with cling wrap.

Navigator9 also posted somewhere recently-- I will have to go back and see if I can find it- the 'right' method of CPOP which does not involve 'cooking' the soap a whole hour, and it made me feel much more sane when she posted that, as all the directions I have ever read say 'cook an hour' and I can never get mine to cook an hour before I have to yank it out for the Tiny Bubbles of OverHeating Doom that begin to form.

But yeah, cling wrap and alcohol spritz work great for me--- if I remember to do it.

Must.....remember....:crazy:
 
Even if you forget the alcohol, you can cover in cling wrap and gel in the oven or under a blanket or on a heating pad. Cling wrap will usually survive fine to 300 degrees or a bit over. Preventing ash is mainly about preventing exposure to air until saponification is done so don't be too hard on yourself if you forget the alcohol spritz! Even if you don't gel, preventing air exposure until a soap is saponified will control ash; it's just really difficult to keep a soap wrapped for 2-3 days without monkeying with it.
 
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And if (that's the big kahuna for me though--- IF!) I don't forget! I spritz the tops of mine lightly with rubbing alcohol and then cover with cling wrap.

Navigator9 also posted somewhere recently-- I will have to go back and see if I can find it- the 'right' method of CPOP which does not involve 'cooking' the soap a whole hour, and it made me feel much more sane when she posted that, as all the directions I have ever read say 'cook an hour' and I can never get mine to cook an hour before I have to yank it out for the Tiny Bubbles of OverHeating Doom that begin to form.

But yeah, cling wrap and alcohol spritz work great for me--- if I remember to do it.

Must.....remember....:crazy:

TP, thank you for the comment, but I never meant to imply that mine is the "right" method of doing CPOP, just that it's the method that I learned years ago, when I started soaping, and the one that I've used over the years with no problems, ever. (Except a couple of times when I forgot to turn off the oven and ended up with "brains"!) You only need just enough heat to insure gel all the way to the edges. More than that is unnecessary, and probably what contributes to a lot of the problems people experience when attempting CPOP. I like gelled soap, and I like the instant gratification of being able to cut the next day, so it's CPOP for me, all the way.....woo hoo!!!
 
Since I started sprit zing with alcohol, and placing in an igloo, I rarely get ash. Never have used Saran, and have only CPOP'd once with disastrous results. Igloo works just fine for me.
 
Ok nav let me amend then, a better way? It certainly works better, as I tried it with a batch. Anyway, I appreciate the post because as I stated before, I now feel much more sane because I felt like my soaps were all 'doing something wrong' before.

I too love gelled soap for most all of mine, unless I feel the design just calls for a matte look. I also love to compare my CPOP loaves to the leftovers I pour in my little silicone molds with any leftover batter I may sometimes have.
 
Okay so I have never cpop'ed before and I want to give it a go. Usually what I do to try to stave off soda ash is after the tops of my soap are firm enough that it wont dent or whatnot I wrap in cling wrap and let it do its soapy thing for a day or 2.

Obviously you cant put cling wrap in the oven so how exactly do I go about do it?

TIA

Which essence you shall use in your soap formula to smell? I shall use rose flavor to do so.
 
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Since I started sprit zing with alcohol, and placing in an igloo, I rarely get ash. Never have used Saran, and have only CPOP'd once with disastrous results. Igloo works just fine for me.

Funny you mention an igloo, I have a tiny styrofoam cooler that I use for my Crystal Lite containers that I want to gel. Being plastic, I don't want to put them in the oven, but if I want them to gel, I stick them in that little cooler and leave them there, no peeking, and they gel nicely.
 
Since I started sprit zing with alcohol, and placing in an igloo, I rarely get ash. Never have used Saran, and have only CPOP'd once with disastrous results. Igloo works just fine for me.

What's an igloo? How big a mold can you put in it?
 
Igloo is a brand name for an insulated cooler. They are for keeping things either cold or hot, depending on how you use them, and they come in all different sizes, some even have wheels for ease of movement. They are usually plastic over a styrofoam center. Some other brand names are Thermos and Coleman. You can also buy very cheap styrofoam coolers at many places like party stores and sporting goods shops. They are great for camping, or just keeping drinks cold on a hot day.

My husband uses one when he cooks a brisket, at some point he takes it off the grill, wraps it in a couple of layers of tin foil, then in some towels, and puts it into a cooler for a couple of hours to rest and finish cooking.
 
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JBot, an igloo is a heavy duty insulated plastic container used often to keep things cool at picnics. They come in various sizes. I have one large enough to put most of my mold into. They keep the heat in nicely, and my soaps gel really well. So far, it's the method that works best for me. That being said, I've only CPOP'd once, with disastrous results. Will try again, but for now, if it ain't broken...
 
Okay well I think everything went well. Nothing overheated and I was able to un-mould and cut it in under 18 hours. Usually I have to wait at least 2 days before I can un-mould and cut and even then sometimes I have to put it into the freezer to get it out clean. And also no soda ash. Yay. I think this will be the way I do all my soaps now. I only had it in the oven for maybe a half hour. It turned out pretty well except That I had issues with judging how much colour to use. I had to go look for more and it got to a really thick trace and I ended up stirring in the FO by hand so I dont think it got in there well enough. there appears to be all these tiny dots throughout the soap which I'm guessing is the FO. Also it was meant to be blue but turned out a greyish/greenish colour. no matter its only for DH and he doesn't care. It smells good though

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