Mold Question: What would you use to make a mold of these handprints?

Non-prop but stiill a mold related question, I thought you guys would have some good insight into this. My parents are moving out of their long-time home and have some handprints of their kids (mine among them, I won't tell you which I am that are imprinted in the wall plaster. The plaster has been painted and the paint is good, it won't be chipping off if I try to pull a mold off it.

What material would you use to get a copy of the handprints in the attached picture? There are some spider webs/dirt in the pic, ignore that hah.

I have some extra Rebound 25 sitting on my shelf and thought about doing a brush-up mold, doing a print coat and then thickening the silicon and doing a few additional layers. From there I'd have options for the copies.

Would something like Rebound 25 work, or should I be looking into another product?

Thanks,
Auram

what am I seeing in this pic? Is this a vertical wall? A horizontal slab? Where are these prints?

I would only make a silicone mold if I couldn't take the slab with me, and yes, Rebound 25 will work fine if you go that way.

I am sure that your parents are attached to the original, and would prefer it to a copy. So, can this be cut out of where it is, and taken with them? If it is part of a wall, can I cut it out and replaces the sheetrock? (or new lath and plaster + paint?)
If this is the standard paving stone sitting in the ground, can I cut it out and pour some Redi-Mix and be done?

clonesix said:

what am I seeing in this pic? Is this a vertical wall? A horizontal slab? Where are these prints?

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My original post states these are in a wall. They're in the basement of the home and the plaster is attached to the foundation, so far as I know.

clonesix said:

I would only make a silicone mold if I couldn't take the slab with me, and yes, Rebound 25 will work fine if you go that way.

I am sure that your parents are attached to the original, and would prefer it to a copy. So, can this be cut out of where it is, and taken with them? If it is part of a wall, can I cut it out and replaces the sheetrock? (or new lath and plaster + paint?)
If this is the standard paving stone sitting in the ground, can I cut it out and pour some Redi-Mix and be done?

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Removal isn't in the cards for this, my Dad and I don't think it'd come off without breaking it. If this were attached to standard studs, that'd be a better option. With this information, he and I talked about making a copy of this to take with them and decided that is our best option.

clonesix said:

[bell tone] Which son are you? [/bell tone]

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The end of your post sounds like a troll, something I wouldn't expect in a place like The RPF. In truth, your entire post comes across quite judgemental. If it's not a troll, you are entitled to your opinion but I can assure you, my parents won't be judging me as an unloving child, who doesn't respect their sacrifices if I make them a copy of the handprints. Trying to get the originals in one piece would likely result in the existing handprints being ruined/broken and then we'd have to repairing that section of textured wall while their home is being shown to prospective buyers.

Thanks for the input on the Rebound 25. If anyone else has other options, I'm open to them

Oh lighten up. Snarky? Yes. Trolling? No. It was an answer to your question with addtional input. Sorry if you were bent out of shape at its tone. I will edit it if you like, but your stating "wall plaster," is not descriptive enough to ascertain that it is plaster adhered to a basement wall.

Thank you for clarifying. With this new information, I can clarify my original answer: Yes, you Rebound 25 will work fine... But you will also need a thickening agent. Once you brush the initial coat of RTV onto the (vertical) surface, it will drip down the wall until it cures. On the second batch, add the thickening agent (Smooth-On Thivex Silicone Accelerators, Color Pigments, Thickening Agents & Thinner will work for this) and trowel onto vertical surface, and allow to cure. A 3rd thickened coat will add enough thickness to the RTV that you shouldn't have any distortion when pouring new plaster into the mold.

But Wait! There's more: the RTV, by itself with have an uneven bottom and may distort the casting. After all the RTV has cured, you will have a portion that has run down the wall. If you use a Utility Knife and cut a horizontal edge at the bottom, you can screw a (wood 2X2) batton under it to support the weight of a plaster and burlap backing applied to the RTV. The RTV + reinforced plaster backing will be strong enough to pour gypsum into without worry of distorting.













WARNING: The following MAY contain snarkyness, a known irritant. Reader is advised to proceed at own risk.


I wasn't kidding about presenting this to your parents in a nice frame. Since we have determined that new plaster will be involved, this is an excellent time to add a 2014 hand castings of the siblings and/or a small inscription to commemorate the event. Parents LOVE that stuff.

Actually as a casual reader I thought your side comment was very rude.

13doctorwho said:

Actually as a casual reader I thought your side comment was very rude.

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Fair enough. additional comments edited out.

clonesix said:

Oh lighten up. Snarky? Yes. Trolling?

But Wait! There's more:

WARNING: The following MAY contain snarkyness, a known irritant. Reader is advised to proceed at own risk.

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Informed AND hilarious? BILLY MAYS JOKE THROWN IN AS WELL?

I find you hilarious, and Frankly the RPF needs more posters like you.


On subject:
Yeah, basically what clonesix said is the way to go.
I'd just clean the wall as well as you can and I always like to use a touch of release agent.
Before you make your mothermold for the silicone I'd also pop some keys in to keep everything in place and make sure there is absolutely zero room for distortion.

Make sure your silicone isn't too old either. It does have a shelf life. I learned that the hard way, and had a lot of sticky uncured silicone to clean off of a prop.

SlipKnoT said:

Make sure your silicone isn't too old either. It does have a shelf life. I learned that the hard way, and had a lot of sticky uncured silicone to clean off of a prop.

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Thanks for the shelf life comment, something I hadn't considered yet. I got my silicon either last year or the year before, will need to check that to be sure.

I wasn't kidding about presenting this to your parents in a nice frame. Since we have determined that new plaster will be involved, this is an excellent time to add a 2014 hand castings of the siblings and/or a small inscription to commemorate the event. Parents LOVE that stuff.

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Having updated handprints would be a neat idea, I'll have to see what it would take to coordinate this as there's some major distance between us.

On the second batch, add the thickening agent

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Agreed, I have some Thivex sitting on my shelf from previous projects that I'll use on successive coats after my print coat.

Good tip on how to build the shelf. I didn't mention it, but I was mulling over how best to do that, I think a shelf might be a good route.

Thanks for all the input everyone