[dagw]

My local Asian supermarket sells the alkaline McGee is talking about as "lye water". Check if yours does as well. A lot easier to just buy a bottle rather then screwing around with baking soda in the oven.

[jessaustin]

Yeah but sodium carbonate (Na2CO3), which McGee is baking up in his oven, isn't as dangerous to use and have around as sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is.

[dagw]

The stuff sold as "Lye Water" in Asian supermarkets isn't actual lye (NaOH), but rather a dilution of potassium carbonate or a mixture of sodium carbonate and potassium carbonate.