yesterdays soap

[Marilyn Norgart]

When you spray with alcohol, do you spray as soon as its poured? I'd try waiting 5-10 minutes until it sets up a bit....maybe when it no longer looks as shiny and looks a little dull. Or maybe try a different sprayer. The spray droplets might be too big and is leaving that pitted look. The one I use has a very fine mist. The only problem I have is if I spray too soon after pouring, the top looks a little wrinkly.

If I used a pot of boiling water, I'd probably drop the soap in it lol

thanks for the waiting tip--I will try that, as I am spraying right after pour. I did find a bottle that sprayed real fine so I think the waiting is whats called for

 

[earlene]

I have tried using alcohol a few times and no matter how gentle I spray it, it seems to make the top kinda pitted. I got a cheap steamer but think holding it over a pot of boiling water helped more. for some reason the ash bothers me, and its not that bad--maybe I need to let it go

I second the fine mist. It makes a huge difference.

The other thing I do to help prevent ash is to cover the soap in the mold with cardboard. I think the cardboard will absorb a tiny bit of moisture if the soap batter starts to evaporate. I used plastic wrap a couple of times, but covering the soap with plastic wrap causes accumulation of moisture droplets on the underside of the plastic wrap and they fall down onto the top of the soap creating little craters.

Another thing I do with my soap if there are any surface imperfections, is to plane the surface and then rub with microfiber cloth to create a shiny surface. If I use a fine mist of alcohol to remove surface ash from curing soap, then I dry it with a microfiber cloth, which helps with the shiny surface and prevents alcohol sitting on the surface.

I have used the hot boiling water method, the steamer method and planing the surface ash off. The hot water and steam methods work, but I lose a bit of soap with a pan of water. With both methods I have to be very careful not to burn my hands. And of course, I still have to dry the soap with a microfiber cloth.

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

I second the fine mist. It makes a huge difference.

The other thing I do to help prevent ash is to cover the soap in the mold with cardboard. I think the cardboard will absorb a tiny bit of moisture if the soap batter starts to evaporate. I used plastic wrap a couple of times, but covering the soap with plastic wrap causes accumulation of moisture droplets on the underside of the plastic wrap and they fall down onto the top of the soap creating little craters.

Another thing I do with my soap if there are any surface imperfections, is to plane the surface and then rub with microfiber cloth to create a shiny surface. If I use a fine mist of alcohol to remove surface ash from curing soap, then I dry it with a microfiber cloth, which helps with the shiny surface and prevents alcohol sitting on the surface.

I have used the hot boiling water method, the steamer method and planing the surface ash off. The hot water and steam methods work, but I lose a bit of soap with a pan of water. With both methods I have to be very careful not to burn my hands. And of course, I still have to dry the soap with a microfiber cloth.

thanks, good advice. what do you use to plane? I tried trimming with a knife and it worked but I wonder if a potato peeler would have worked better

 

[earlene]

I have a soap planer, like this one. I use it for planing and for beveling.

When traveling I do use a vegetable peeler for beveling, but it doesn't work well at all for planing.