jenniejr Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 Can someone please help me? I am attempting my 1st rebatch and it is not going well!! The soap is in the very thick mashed potato phase and will not seem to "melt". Is there anything I can do to make it thinner so I can add FO & color and actually get it into a mold? Or is this a lost cause? tiaJenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmille3 Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 As long as you added some water (I just pour a smidge in...there's probably a better measurement out there) at the beginning, you'll be fine. It takes a while for it to melt down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwahlton Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 How old is the original batch? How are you "melting" it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca_IA Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 What have you done so far? How are you doing this?If I know those two answers, it'd be easier to help you out.BTW, if this is really fresh soap and you did not discount your liquid when you made the soap, I'd be very cautious of how much liquid I'd add now, if any at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eugenia Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 I've rebatched many different ways; microwave, oven, double boiler, crockpot. Never got very smooth with any of those and the edges tend to dry out. Last batch I put the shreds in an oven cooking bag and cooked the bag in boiling water intil totally melted. I snipped the corner and squirted the soap out. This one was very smooth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaybee23 Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 I did the presto pot last time and I either didn't get it hot enough or cook it long enough or something because the soap is still soft. But I like the cooking bag idea, maybe next time I will give that a whirl. Thanks for sharing E. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca_IA Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 How old is the original batch? How are you "melting" it?Julie, we were posting at the same time, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to repeat what you had just posted. Great minds think alike, eh? Rebecca Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca_IA Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 You haven't answered yet, so I'll tell you how rebatch works out best for me.1) Shred the soap. The smaller the pieces, the faster it melts. Put it into a stainless steel pot with a lid. If you cook this without the lid, the soap will dry out on top and it gets all cruddy, even if you are stirring it often.2) Liquid to add. This depends on the age of the soap and if there was a discount of liquids when you made the soap. If the soap is a few days old and you did not discount at all when you made it, do not add any liquid to the soap, it will take forever to harden then. If no discount and it's a month old before you shred/cube it, add 1/4 oz per pound of soap. What I'm trying to say, is if it's dry, add 1/4 pp MAX if it's really super rock hard dry, add up to 1/2 oz pp of soap and even then I'd try not to add that much liquid. Remember if you think you need more fluid, you can always add more later, but you can't take it away once you add it. 3) Your soap is shredded, you have decided how much liquid to add. Take your liquid and put it in a sprayer bottle and spray this all over your shreds/cubes to evenly saturate the shreds. Coconut Milk works best IMO for rebatch. After you've sprayed all your liquids, put the lid on and let it sit for 12-24 hours.4) Put in oven set at 175 degrees with the lid on. If your doing a small amount, check it every 30 minutes. Don't bother stirring it at all until after it's all melted. The more soap you have, the longer it will take. Rebatching IMO is easier with smaller batches. I never do more than 3 lbs at a time. When it's all melted, add your slightly warmed FO (remember you will use less with a rebatch than CP because this is the hottest the FO will come into contact and the lye monster is gone). Stir gently to incorporate the FO trying not to incorporate air and then pour into molds.5) As all other processes, take notes and improve upon your skill by these notes. Batch was 3 weeks old with a 20 water discount and you added 1/4 oz pp of coconut milk and it was really soft after it cooled off, next time you do it, cut back on the coconut milk for a soap this age with this much discount.This is the best way I've found to rebatch soap that needs it.Now, if the soap is fine, but say the color didn't come out how you wanted it to, then shred the soap up and mix it into another batch of soap, trying to use another color to compliment it or without any color at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenniejr Posted March 17, 2006 Author Share Posted March 17, 2006 Thanks for all the help and ideas. Sorry I didn't answer right away. I was busy trying to get it soft enough and mush & squish it into the mold. Not sure how it is going to turn out. It got kinda soft ...... but not like I would have liked it. We shall see. I like the oven bag idea. I will have to try that next time. My guess is I just didn't get it hot enough. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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