Titanium Dioxide
- Thread starter Sakpat
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The package should say whether its oil or water.
I’m new too but after working with both oil soluble and water soluble TD, I’m switching to white mica. There’s a thread on it in the forum that you can search for. I’ve spent so much time and energy trying to dissolve that stuff, and thinking I did only to find those tiny, nasty white globs of unmixed TD after unmolding that I ordered some white mica to try.
If it does not have directions on the package (Mine from Bramberry did not have directions on the package), do you know where you got it? If you bought it from an online vendor, you can look up on their website if it is the water soluble kind or the oil soluble kind or if it is water & oil soluble. If that doesn't get you your answer, use vegetable glycerin, but not a whole lot of it, because too much glycerin added to CP soap will make it soft.
If you don't have glycerin, do a small test of oil dispersion and a small test of water dispersion. If one doesn't work, the other should. If both work, fab. Make a note on the container, for future use.
Some white micas have td in them.
My oil soluble TD from WSP....oil gives td specks. water dissolves nicely, but gives glycerin rivers even if i use batch water. I bought all the suggested white micas. The winter white from nurture wasnt a terrible substitute, but you had to use a lot to get it white, and it wasnt quite td white.
One way i have reduced (not eliminated) td speckles was to add the td and oil to a sandwich baggie and squish it around until you can see that its all mixed in. It takes a while. Then snip a corner off the baggie and drizzle it into your batter. Theres a yt video on it, just cant remember who it was.
One way i have reduced (not eliminated) td speckles was to add the td and oil to a sandwich baggie and squish it around until you can see that its all mixed in. It takes a while. Then snip a corner off the baggie and drizzle it into your batter. Theres a yt video on it, just cant remember who it was.
I think all white micas also contain TD. I use water soluble and have no problem with it dissolving. You can also strain it to be sure.
Obsidian
Well-Known Member
I use water soluble TD and never get specks. Mix it up before you prep your lye and oils so it has time to absorb the water and make sure to smoosh any lumps so its smooth.
I mix mine with vegetable glycerin. Whether water-soluble or oil soluble, I've found it to mix in it wonderfully. I don't use a lot of it....only enough to make a smooth slurry.
IrishLass
IrishLass
Pretty much all white mica has TD in it. I use water soluble TD and premix it in a ketchup style bottle with stainless steel mixing balls. With this method I have never had those annoying TD spots.
I almost never get TD "boogers" anymore. I actually don't even mix in oil or water, I just dump in my batter at emulsion and stick blend. I found that even when mixed with oil or water, it would still need some stick blending, and don't see any problems when I do it this way. The only thing I have to pay attention to now is how thick my batter is getting from the extra SB. If at all possible with my design, I will add to the batch oils or the lye water, but often my design won't allow for it.
I haven't found that to work if I want to split and color (maybe many colors). Too much stick blending. I always predisperse all my micas and TD.
I do think it depends a lot on batch size. The bigger the batch, the more stick blending it can take overall.
I actually think it works just the opposite. Smaller batches tend to accelerate quicker, at least for me.
This is what I'm saying, the larger it is, the more stick blending you can do.
I make small batches, that is why I predisperse all my micas in oil ahead of time and mix my water soluble TD in a plastic bottle with mixing balls.
I have less issues with water-soluble than oil-soluble. I only add a very small amount of water at a time to really get all the blobs mixed in and I also SB the mixture into my oils before adding lye solution.
That's a good idea when you are coloring the whole batch. But not if you want multiple colors.
