Reusable mold liners

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Dawni

Dawni

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I need em.

I've recently bought some stuff from a lady who was destashing and I now have 4 huge, collapsible loaf molds... But nothing to line them with.

I need reusable options because freezer paper (which I can't find anyway) or any other paper is too much trash - which we're trying to reduce - and too fiddly to do again and again. Main issue is the amount of trash.

I'm looking into making the silicone liners myself, but sourcing the material and building the temporary box for the inside will take some time and I kinda need to make soap with these molds soonish lol

Placemats available here are too short. I found what was labeled "non-stick silicone baking mat" but it tore when I was scoring it to fold it inside the wooden mold. Probably can tape it I guess but I'd like other options

Take note that I'm from the Philippines - it's not easy to find many things that can be easy for you guys lol. Another thing to note is that I HP, so I'm not too worried about leakage because my soap, while fluid enough, isn't that liquidy. I'm also guessing my soap temps out of the cooker don't reach as high as in between saponification for CP (someone correct me if I'm wrong).

Here are some things I did see that are big enough and/or might work , but I don't know if they actually do work lol

1. Several kinds of plastic table cloths
2. Teflon tape/sheets
3. Silicone vinyl sheets
4. PVC vinyl sheets (this, and the 2 above say its for heat transfer)
5. Mylar (but the description says "mylar/fish paper" so I'm not sure lol) sheets from an electrical supply store
6. Silicone rubber sheet (label says "for gaskets" lol)
7. "Extra large silicone mat for resin crafting" (not sure how to use this even if it's big enough)

Also, will some kind of fabric work?

Thank you for any and all responses :)
 
Last edited:
artemis said:
Wait.... I saw a video about using fabric. I think it was Future Primitive. I'll see if I can find it...

Found it!
Click to expand...

Oooh.. I'll have to check what we have here that's similar as I've never heard of anything called "oil cloth" here. She did say it was used for picnic tables so that's a start... Maybe some of the "plastic table cloths" I saw is similar. Thank you :)
 
I recommend oven liner. I got the biggest roll I could find, which was 70" x 16.25". It is very easy to cut to size for the bottoms and sides of the mold. It isn't affected by heat or lye, and is very durable and easy to wipe clean.

You can choose to tape the pieces together before setting them into your mold. I don't usually bother with that, although sometimes I'll use a piece of tape on the top edge if it insists on falling into the mold. But most of mine are cut to fit pretty tightly, so they stand up on their own. Once the soap is poured into the mold, very little soap leaks out around the edges of the liner pieces.
 
@AliOop does yours look like this up close?
IMG_20210106_105243.jpg

That's the one that tore, you can see the tear. It's vaguely labeled as a baking sheet, made of "coated glass fiber." I did see some black ones, and some brown. Mine came in big sheets.

The product in your link says "high grade fiberglass cloth weaving process and painted PTFE coating technology" you think it's more or less the same thing?
 
Hi Dawni, Yes, it is basically the same thing; both are "fiber glass" aka "coated glass fiber." The PTFE is what we in the US would call by the brand name of "Teflon" - a non-stick coating that I prefer to avoid in cookware but don't mind at all for lining soap molds.

Mine does have a bit of weave texture, as well. Most of the time, the weave pattern doesn't transfer to the soap, either.

I really don't know why more people don't use this stuff instead of freezer paper. It is so much nicer, IMO. No cussing at paper that won't fold correctly, and no wrinkle marks on the sides or bottom of the soap. Plus you buy it once, and then no more spending (or wasting paper).

ETA: I just noticed that your original posting said they were silicone baking mats. I don't think that is the same thing as the oven liner, which is a tough coated fiberglass material. Silicone baking mats tend to be floppy. The oven liner material is stiff enough to stand up on its own if you cut the pieces tightly enough to wedge each edge against the other pieces.
 
Last edited:
AliOop said:
ETA: I just noticed that your original posting said they were silicone baking mats. I don't think that is the same thing as the oven liner, which is a tough coated fiberglass material. Silicone baking mats tend to be floppy. The oven liner material is stiff enough to stand up on its own if you cut the pieces tightly enough to wedge each edge against the other pieces.
Click to expand...
I'm glad you mentioned that yours are stiffer. Mine's floppy, the one in the pic. So maybe it's a labeling issue with this particular one coz it does say silicone then it also says glass fiber lol.

I did see the black stuff, but now I'm unsure whether I should and could trust those labels haha. Probably will have to look somewhere else. Thank you!

I did also see Teflon sheets.. For heat transfer printing. They look floppy to me though but that's a minor issue. I just don't want to end up with exactly the same thing because of some labeling issues haha
 
Yes, it's tough to know. The oven liner is .20mm thickness, so thinner but definitely stiffer than silicone baking sheets. Sometimes you can find them labeled as dehydrator sheets. That's what I used till I found the big oven liner roll, lol.
 
Ok so wait.. Lol

What I saw labeled as Teflon sheets for heat transfer
IMG_20210106_115218.jpg

What I saw labeled as oven liners
IMG_20210106_115429.jpg

What I saw labeled as dehydrator sheets
IMG_20210106_115633.jpg


They all look similar to me, with the second one looking slightly stiffer.
 
Dawni said:
Ooh first time I've heard of those! Do you mean these?
View attachment 53024
View attachment 53025
What thickness is yours please? I've found 1, 2 & 3mm
Click to expand...

I got a big roll at Michaels - EVA Foam Roll by ArtMinds™

I'm pretty sure I have the 4mm because I remember it being around $10 before a 20% off coupon ;-)

It's not my original idea. When I bought molds like 15 years ago, there was a guy who made wood molds. I think he went by The Old Goat Soapmolds. Anyway, silicone molds and liners weren't readily available yet, so he was using thin fun foam to line molds. I wasn't thrilled with the thin foam, but I like the thicker foam a lot. It doesn't give glassy smooth edges. They have a slight texture.
 
I've never seen any t-shirt transfer sheets IRL, sorry.

The oven liner that I purchased is definitely thicker and stiffer than the dehydrator sheets. But they were very similar material, and I've used both successfully. The main reason I prefer the oven liner is that it comes in one big sheet that can be cut to fit the larger molds, rather than piecing together smaller bits that leave seam marks.
 
Dawni said:
I need em.

I've recently bought some stuff from a lady who was destashing and I now have 4 huge, collapsible loaf molds... But nothing to line them with.

I need reusable options because freezer paper (which I can't find anyway) or any other paper is too much trash - which we're trying to reduce - and too fiddly to do again and again. Main issue is the amount of trash.

I'm looking into making the silicone liners myself, but sourcing the material and building the temporary box for the inside will take some time and I kinda need to make soap with these molds soonish lol

Placemats available here are too short. I found what was labeled "non-stick silicone baking mat" but it tore when I was scoring it to fold it inside the wooden mold. Probably can tape it I guess but I'd like other options

Take note that I'm from the Philippines - it's not easy to find many things that can be easy for you guys lol. Another thing to note is that I HP, so I'm not too worried about leakage because my soap, while fluid enough, isn't that liquidy. I'm also guessing my soap temps out of the cooker don't reach as high as in between saponification for CP (someone correct me if I'm wrong).

Here are some things I did see that are big enough and/or might work , but I don't know if they actually do work lol

1. Several kinds of plastic table cloths
2. Teflon tape/sheets
3. Silicone vinyl sheets
4. PVC vinyl sheets (this, and the 2 above say its for heat transfer)
5. Mylar (but the description says "mylar/fish paper" so I'm not sure lol) sheets from an electrical supply store
6. Silicone rubber sheet (label says "for gaskets" lol)
7. "Extra large silicone mat for resin crafting" (not sure how to use this even if it's big enough)

Also, will some kind of fabric work?

Thank you for any and all responses :)
Click to expand...
I heard someone use office trash bags. I’m assuming the smaller ones. They say they work great and they use them for trash after unmolding their soap. Give it a try and let us know if it works. She said the only issue were a few small seams in soap which she smoothed or planed away. Good luck! I may even try it myself!
 

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