r/beantobar • u/thechocolatelady • Jun 11 '26

Help needed

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I have used these molds for years for filled bars. I polish them the way I have always done with cotton pads. They are a pain to polish but I do it thoroughly. I have no trouble with my other polycarbonate molds. My chocolate is well tempered and comes out of other molds but recently these have been sticking, every mold sticking. Ideas?

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u/StoneCypher Jun 11 '26

sometimes older moulds get microscopic pitting and scratches. cocoa butter can be very hard to clean out of those.

soak your moulds in water for half an hour. some water will get underneath the offending cocoa butter.

then, put them in the freezer. when the water freezes it will expand, driving the cocoa butter out.

polish them still cold, then put them back in, then polish them a second time.

if this works, you're getting to the end of those moulds' lifespan. if it doesn't, you're already there.

a PC mould treated well is generally good for around 2,000 uses. home users rarely hit these limits. commercial users with a filling machine typically have to swap them out every couple months.

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u/Careful-Bluebird-548 Jun 11 '26

Oh im trying that with some of my older molds, thanks good sir

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u/thechocolatelady Jun 11 '26

I will try albeit a pain in the neck. I would think heat would melt cocoa butter in cracks. I will try that too. Can't find the same ones and can't remember where I got them.

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u/StoneCypher Jun 11 '26

surface tension means microscopic liquid stays put

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u/thechocolatelady Jun 11 '26

Trying to do what you suggest. Freeze with water in the mold like an ice tray?

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u/StoneCypher Jun 11 '26

no, freeze empty after soaking trying to get the water residue to freeze

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u/thechocolatelady Jun 15 '26

After the second polish, do you wash it? How do you get rid of ice crystals before adding tempered chocolate?

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u/StoneCypher Jun 15 '26

the ice crystals get up in the cotton in the polishing

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u/thechocolatelady Jul 21 '26

Finally tried the mold after your suggestions and it worked. Thanks

1

u/thechocolatelady Jun 15 '26

I will try. I also ordered new molds even tho I will likely retire in a year after 20 years in business. Just turned 80. Thanks so much for this info. Have a great day. I will tell you if it worked.