Parchment or Freezer?
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Jaccart789
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Definitely freezer paper! Love the stuff!
scotsman
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There's actually another thread on here that provides the equation to find the weight of oils you'll need for a particular mold. The equation is volume of mold x .40. There was a lot of speculation about where the .40 came from as it didn't work out exactly for some people, myself included. My hypothesis is that the .40 is a standard number representing the water % in the given recipe. I've adjusted that number several times in a couple different molds to the actual water % in my given recipe and it worked out almost perfect every time. More testing is needed to actually prove this theory but so far it has worked out perfect for me. So for those who haven't seen that thread, the equation I'm using is this:
Length x Width x Depth= Volume of mold
Volume of mold x water % in recipe(.40 for 40% water, .38 for 38% water, etc). Hopefully this helps somebody else and I'm not the only one it works for, lol!
As for the parchment/freezer paper debate hopefully it is a thing if the past for me. I'm building a wooden soap mold with a lexan liner so if all goes as well as it did in my head I'll never need to measure and cut another sheet of parchment paper unless I'm trying to line a sheet pan for baking, lol! I'm finding, however, that cutting perfect edges on a sheet of lexan can be challenging at best. I'm used to wood. Plastics are a bit above my pay grade, lol!
Length x Width x Depth= Volume of mold
Volume of mold x water % in recipe(.40 for 40% water, .38 for 38% water, etc). Hopefully this helps somebody else and I'm not the only one it works for, lol!
As for the parchment/freezer paper debate hopefully it is a thing if the past for me. I'm building a wooden soap mold with a lexan liner so if all goes as well as it did in my head I'll never need to measure and cut another sheet of parchment paper unless I'm trying to line a sheet pan for baking, lol! I'm finding, however, that cutting perfect edges on a sheet of lexan can be challenging at best. I'm used to wood. Plastics are a bit above my pay grade, lol!
Freezer paper you will hate parchment for lining
I used to use freezer paper, which is excellent btw, and the best paper-type liner to use if you're going to go that route, but for the past 5 years or so, I have been enjoying my liners made from heat-resistant quilter's mylar (found in the quilting aisle of JoAnn's Craft Store), which I custom cut to fit my collapsible wood molds. As wonderful as freezer paper is as a lining material, I love the mylar so much better because it's infinitely re-usable- I'm still using the same liners that I cut out about 5 years or so ago and they don't look like they'll ever wear out! And because I use the heat-resistant kind, I can CPOP without fear of them melting or warping.
Another wonderful (and reusable) liner material that I love to use, especially when I want to give the edges of my soap a decorative flair, are the decorative silicone fondant mats made by Wilton that cake-decorators use. I custom cut those to fit my wood molds as well and they're still holding up strong after about 3 or so years of use.
IrishLass
Another wonderful (and reusable) liner material that I love to use, especially when I want to give the edges of my soap a decorative flair, are the decorative silicone fondant mats made by Wilton that cake-decorators use. I custom cut those to fit my wood molds as well and they're still holding up strong after about 3 or so years of use.
IrishLass
Meganmischke
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Does anyone use butcher paper? Sams club sells a large roll of butchers paper I have been eyeing. I have opened a roll and looked at it, it looks like one side is coated but I don't know if I should try or just stick with the freezer paper.
MagicalMysterySoap
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Isn't freezer paper the same as butcher's paper?
Meganmischke
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It doesn't look as shiny on the coated side. If that makes sense. It may very well be the same and I hope it is cuz it is cheaper per sq ft. I also don't know if it is a wax coating, which I wouldn't want. I might bite the bullet and try it since I am almost out of freezer paper.
the butcher paper at Sam's is not coated and will not work as well. Uline carries large rolls of coated butcher paper
Meganmischke
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Great thank you very much, you saved me some serious hassle.
scotsman
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The coated butcher paper will work as a liner but is not optimal. Probably not a great option for wood molds because if you pour at a very thin trace the moisture in the soap batter can leech through even the coated butcher paper and into the wood of your mold. Occasional use would probably be ok but heavy use would eventually damage your mold. Also, butcher paper, especially the coated stuff, is much thicker than parchment or freezer paper and it can be difficult to get clean, sharp edges if that is what you desire in your finished product. On the upside, because of the thickness it is less prone to wrinkling and waving issues than parchment or freezer paper. I'm personally not find of any if them and only use them because it is a necessary evil at the moment because I make all my molds myself from untreated wood. I'm currently investigating other options for fitted, reusable liners. I've been playing around with lexan but am finding it really difficult to get clean, even edges that join up seamlessly even when using a higher-end plastic knife to cut it. I've tried cutting it on my scroll saw but even when using a blade designed for cutting polycarbonate and going at the lowest speed it still either starts to melt the plastic or leaves chips that are too big to polish up cleanly enough to join with an acrylic bonder. I like the idea of using the heat-resistant Mylar that was posted here and am going to play around with that today. My only concern is leakage. My molds get pretty heavy use and my concern is that leakage, even minor, will damage my molds fairly quickly with the volume I am producing at now. I am definitely open to ideas so if anybody had any good ones if be great flu to hear them. Even outside the box ideas would be awesome. I'm pretty handy and have a well-stocked workshop so I can fabricate myself most things I need as far as soapmaking equipment. Just not sure what the best options would be.
The mylar works great. Had no leakage issues. However, I now use silicone liners and had my husband build mold for them to fit into. I do use the mylar in my 12 lb mold though.
I'm still trying to perfect lining as I'm using mostly silicone for my small batches.
I read somewhere (it could even have been here, in which case I thank and apologize tot he person I stole it from) that if you make a cardboard box to fit the inside of your mold then you can fit the paper to the outside of the box it fits the mold perfectly with less hassle. It's a good technique if you have a lot of the same mold or use the same one a lot.
The only thing I could find when retracing my surfing steps was this:
http://www.pvsoap.com/step_by_step_instructions_for_li.htm
Which seem like it would work well too.
I read somewhere (it could even have been here, in which case I thank and apologize tot he person I stole it from) that if you make a cardboard box to fit the inside of your mold then you can fit the paper to the outside of the box it fits the mold perfectly with less hassle. It's a good technique if you have a lot of the same mold or use the same one a lot.
The only thing I could find when retracing my surfing steps was this:
http://www.pvsoap.com/step_by_step_instructions_for_li.htm
Which seem like it would work well too.
I found wax paper (freezer paper??) works well in round pvc molds for the most part. My first recipe of 50/50 crisco/olive oil, un-molded after 5 days was fine. Another recipe that was 50/25/25 crisco/olive/canola,un-molded after 6 days had problems with the paper bonding to the soap. It would tear and just totally stick no matter what I did. I ended up cutting a VERY thin sliver around the outside to get it off. Is there anything I could have done to get it off?
On another note, I found out that parchment paper, the current type stuff, is coated in silicone so the soap is not going to stick/bond to the soap like the wax paper.
What kind of tape do you guys use to tape parchment paper? I've tried a couple kinds of scotch tape and electrical tape and some others, even hot melt glue, and nothing sticks! What can I use?
On another note, I found out that parchment paper, the current type stuff, is coated in silicone so the soap is not going to stick/bond to the soap like the wax paper.
What kind of tape do you guys use to tape parchment paper? I've tried a couple kinds of scotch tape and electrical tape and some others, even hot melt glue, and nothing sticks! What can I use?
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