Question about baking glass eyes??

bxstrmn

Well-Known Member
I plan on sculpting a bust in sculpy clay with glass eyes in it to try to get the most accurate look. I'm not sure if it will work but if I sculpt it in sculpy when I am done the eyes will obviously still be in there will they melt when i bake the bust? Once it is hard I do plan to make molds of it, mostly like in resin but I am debating silicone possibly for other parts/projects. Can anyone assist with this?:confused
 
Since glass requires intense heat to melt it is unlikely they would melt in 100 or so degrees for a few minutes.

They do make glass baking dishes.:rolleyes
 
They do make glass baking dishes.:rolleyes

They make special glass generically called Pyrex that doesn't explode when heated in excess of moderate temperatures...

100 degrees should be fine for glass, even 200 is fine... Since Sculpty is pushing 300 when curing you could have issues with a thick piece of glass like a fake eye, but the only way to know for sure is to test... My advise when testing is raise and lower the temps as slowly as you can, no sudden changes in temp, like a sudden cool or sudden blast of hot...

The problem with normal glass and heat is that it doesn't heat/cool evenly and it has a coefficient of expansion that when heated/cooled it can't compensate for... Thus when one part gets hotter then the surrounding area it expands outside it's bounds and you have a mini explosion as the surrounding glass doesn't give it room to expand... Same thing when it's rapidly cooled, the area being cooled shrinks and the surrounding area doesn't and they break apart at the seams... For a thick item like a glass eye the temp difference between the center and the outside edge could cause issues, this is why labware even when made out of Pyrex is thin glass, that way it can take a direct flame without issues...
 
Last edited:
Sculpy can also be boiled instead of baked.

The alternative is using metal bearings or make the eyes out of sculpy first.
Those are 2 ways the figure sculptors usually do it.

Forums like ClubHouse and Statue Forum have lot's of in progress threads in sculptor sections of the forums where you can see how the pro's do it and ask questions.
 
thanks for the info guys, Ill do some more research on my end before I start and check out some other forums as well
 
This thread is more than 14 years old.

Your message may be considered spam for the following reasons:

  1. This thread hasn't been active in some time. A new post in this thread might not contribute constructively to this discussion after so long.
If you wish to reply despite these issues, check the box below before replying.
Be aware that malicious compliance may result in more severe penalties.
Back
Top