5% shrinkage casting material ?

[drueed]

Hi Folks !

Planning ahead for a full bust silicon mask for a client here.

As we'll start from a life cast i'm thinking of making a cast a little bit smaller ( thinking 5% but if someone has an advice i'm all ears ) as the final silicon would be a tad tighter and a better fit.
What casting material would shrink a bit ( even better in a controllable manner ) without too much deformation or cracks ?
In an ideal world a material that could be used to make the sculpt on

Thanks you all !

Have a great day.
Cheers, Nico

 

[udog]

Not sure how that idea will work. Generally it´s certain parts that are shaved down. Like the surrounding mouth area or around the eyes. If everything shrinks at the same time it might happen you loose position in certain areas. Is this something you have already tried or read about?
There are ways of shrinking a casting, but to get what you want (a rigid shape to sculpt on) I think you will need to go through a molding/casting process using materials that shrink and remolding.

How do I enlarge or shrink a casting?

You can accomplish this by either shrinking or expanding a rubber mold using solvent.

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But as I said I´m not sure if this idea will work for a silicone mask. If you will be making a cast for a particular individual and you have his lifecast it shouldn´t be necessary and it could be no good as I see it. For example, the distance between eyes will also change, and that could be a problem.

 

[drueed]

Thanks Udog !

If i remember correctly i picked up that on some interview with the guys at Immortal Masks.

After some thoughts i realised that it should not be more than two maybe three percent and that it would be quite difficult to be that precise.

And yes you are right, i did not take in consideration things like the distance between the eyes and such.

As I'll plan to use plaster as the first pull from the live cast i'll get a slight shrink anyway.

Thanks again for your inputs !!

Cheers.
Nico

 

[udog]

Maybe they were talking about a generic shape?.

 

[swgeek]

Are you talking about doing a prosthetic sculpt or pull over silicone mask? If it's the latter and you don't need the full detail of a life cast, you can line the inside of the mold with sheet wax and cast up a new head plug that's smaller by whatever amount of wax you use.

 

[drueed]

Maybe they were talking about a generic shape?.

Yeah, i'm sure you're right about that. Seems pretty obvious.
Thanks !!

 

[drueed]

Are you talking about doing a prosthetic sculpt or pull over silicone mask? If it's the latter and you don't need the full detail of a life cast, you can line the inside of the mold with sheet wax and cast up a new head plug that's smaller by whatever amount of wax you use.

Hi !
It's for a pull over mask.
That's a freakin awsome trick !! I'll definitely try it.

Thanks a bunch .