Todd_in_Minnesota
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Oct 19, 2013
- Messages
- 96
- Reaction score
- 112
Hey All,
The January black/white challenge got me focused on swirling a 3" PVC cylinder mold. I've never had any luck in the past, and the black/white contrast made a nice opportunity.
As you can see below:
Top Left: Trial1. Good colors, good consistency, good scent (2 parts grapefruit, 2 parts balsam, 1 part ylang ylang), very weak swirl.
Bottom Left: Trial2. Colors drifted, good consistency, good scent (2 parts orange, 2 parts lemongrass, 1 part ylang ylang), but again.. very weak swirl. I think the Orange essential oil contributed to the color shift white->yellow... but I'm guessing.
Right side: Trial3. Good colors, consistency very crumbly even after drying for a month, horrible scent (5 parts lavender, 1 part tea tree), swirl finally worked out!
I'm very pleased with the swirl finally, which was my goal originally. But - I can't figure out the crumbly, waxy feel. All 3 batches are the same recipe in the same environment, mixed at roughly the same temperatures. (My suspicion is that VERY SMALL variations in ingredients and process have larger-than-they-should impacts.)
But - at least I'm starting to develop a good cylinder swirl technique!
Now all I need is consistency (and a better nose for good scent combinations, and mixing tubs with pouring lips, and maybe a chemical engineering degree?)
Cheers.
Todd
The January black/white challenge got me focused on swirling a 3" PVC cylinder mold. I've never had any luck in the past, and the black/white contrast made a nice opportunity.
As you can see below:
Top Left: Trial1. Good colors, good consistency, good scent (2 parts grapefruit, 2 parts balsam, 1 part ylang ylang), very weak swirl.
Bottom Left: Trial2. Colors drifted, good consistency, good scent (2 parts orange, 2 parts lemongrass, 1 part ylang ylang), but again.. very weak swirl. I think the Orange essential oil contributed to the color shift white->yellow... but I'm guessing.
Right side: Trial3. Good colors, consistency very crumbly even after drying for a month, horrible scent (5 parts lavender, 1 part tea tree), swirl finally worked out!
I'm very pleased with the swirl finally, which was my goal originally. But - I can't figure out the crumbly, waxy feel. All 3 batches are the same recipe in the same environment, mixed at roughly the same temperatures. (My suspicion is that VERY SMALL variations in ingredients and process have larger-than-they-should impacts.)
But - at least I'm starting to develop a good cylinder swirl technique!
Now all I need is consistency (and a better nose for good scent combinations, and mixing tubs with pouring lips, and maybe a chemical engineering degree?)
Cheers.
Todd