Argh- HDPE. I refuse to soap in HDPE molds or acrylic molds. I know they are touted as not needing liners, but the reviews are mixed with a good handful reporting them as being too unpredictably problematic for them at unmolding time, and that the only way of being sure their soap will come out of them nicely is if they line them first with freezer paper (which defeats the purpose for which they bought the mold in the first place).
One of the molds I have is the collapsible wooden vertical mold from Brambleberry with the thick, sturdy HDPE liners. Some of my batches unmolded fine from the liners, but after having one too many frustrating unmolding disasters resulting in horribly mangled soap- in spite of following all of BB's unmolding directions and tips to a 'T'- I actually now line over the HDPE liners with either mylar or my silicone fondant mats (cut to size to fit flush over them), and I haven't had any more unmolding disasters ever since. It's a pretty silly thing having to resort to lining the liners, but if I want to ensure that all my batches made in the mold will unmold decently, that's what I am forced to do. Other than that issue, I really like the mold for the different swirling options it gives me.
All my other molds are either collapsible wood with mylar liners, or silicone, both of which are a breeze to unmold no matter how hard my soap gets. No prying knives needed.
drunkonlife said:
But does it mean I need to do my cuts earlier and if so, how early?
Like Millie said, it is all trial and error. The best time to unmold and cut is a very individual thing and can be drastically variable from formula to formula, depending on whether the soap gelled or not., how much water was used, what kind of oils were used, etc...
For example, my fully gelled 100% coconut soaps with a 20% S/F needs to be cut within 6 hours after pour or else they are darn near impossible to cut. Same with my salt bars. But most of my other formulas can still be cut quite nicely @ 24 hours.
For my un-gelled soaps, I like to go longer before unmolding and cutting- about 36-48 hours after pour.
High tallow soaps can get pretty hard when gelled, so I like to cut those earlier rather than later (about 18 hours after pour).
The more you soap, the quicker all of this will all become second nature to you.
IrishLass