I'm a newbie as well, but am experimenting w/ultra clear bases right now, here are my thoughts on the process so far. The only one I've tried so far is WSP, it is pretty clear, definitely clearer than "regular" clear bases. Stephenson's Utra Clear from Aroma Haven/Rustic Escentuals is another forum favorite for clarity; you can also order Stephenson's own version (thanks to Irena for the explanation on this) directly from Stephenson's web site, but there is a 25 lb minimum. Wisteria Lane sells individual blocks of SFIC ultra clear mp, but it is allegedly somewhat less clear than the other co. ultra clears and in fact *looks* cloudier in pics (for what that's worth), I am assuming because it has a more natural ingreds list than the others. W/r/t to materials, they all contain non-natural surfactants which kind of sucks; I would not use these bases normally but need them for a project.
Also don't add stuff (oils/butters, etc) to the base, that will cloud it. Other things to maintain clarity: do not refrigerate to cool base after pour; if possible avoid using the microwave or heat very slowly ( hot spots will cloud the base, as will stirring to dispel them - if stirring do so extremely slowly), also my board buddy Connie suggested using a low setting on the mw, hadn't thought of that; and use water clear FO.
Coloring clear soap is tough as well, if you are trying to maintain clarity/translucency. The best colorants for getting a bright clear color all seem to be bleeders (eg, WSP's stained glass colors, BBs labcolors, dyes and lakes from anywhere) so it is difficult to do unless you are only using one color.
V. helpful link re colorant characteristics from TKB:
http://www.tkbtrading.com/content.php?content_id=13Ok, that's the info dump; info was gathered from posts made on various topics by various helpful posters. Still trying to figure it out myself, so take it for what it's worth
Edited: oops, sorry to assume you are a fellow noob, hope I did not insult. Just wanted to get the info out there in case someone else found it helpful in a search, it took me a while to aggregate.
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
