Any way to make a mold bigger???

[MattMunson]

Here's a scenario:

You get a resin kit, but it's so many generations from the original that it's lost 10 to 15% of its original size.

So you take a mold of it, but of course, the mold is the same size as the kit.

Is there anything you can do to the mold to make it scale up, or grow bigger??

asavage once told me you can pour gasoline on a mold to make it bigger, but i've never tried it. Anyone have any luck with this or other methods?? Do you need to soak it for a week? Do you just splash some on and cross your fingers???

 

[rollerboi]

I'd just use calipers and a block of clay..

 

[Coinprop]

Matt, I think You can do it using nafta! But I'm not sure.
A friend told me this a while back, and he has done it many times...but I'm unsure what it was he used (it was a comon chemical).
I'll talk to him and see what is was.

The mold will grow even and symetrical!

 

[phase pistol]

NAFTA? The trade agreement?

I never knew globalization was so versatile. :lol

 

[Rhett J Martin]

ba-zing!

 

[TheGreenMachine]

You rascals

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naphtha

 

[Coinprop]

You rascals

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naphtha

Thanks!

Nafta....naphtha....tomato.....tomató

 

[weaselflinger]

Acetone will cause silicone to expand evenly, until it evaporates out of the silicone, but I haven't tried it personally

 

[OdiWan72]

Hey Matt

I don´t know of a way to make a MOLD bigger, but I know of ways to make a CAST item bigger before REmolding it.

Some time ago there was a thread about an expandable kind of "resin" that absorbs water and grows -equally- without significantly loosing detail...can´t remember the name of the stuff, but I´d suggest this way to enlarge an item 15%

Markus

 

[Coinprop]

Its called Hydrospan! But I think it might be easier to make the mold larger?!

 

[MattMunson]

Hey Matt

I don´t know of a way to make a MOLD bigger, but I know of ways to make a CAST item bigger before remolding it.

Some time ago there was a thread about an expandable kind of "resin" that absorbs water and grows -equally- without significantly loosing detail...can´t remember the name of the stuff, but I´d suggest this way to enlarge an item 15%

Markus

I remember that stuff. I think I even had a link to it a while back, but I cannot find it. I think Sarge suggested it. I should ping him.

Thanks for all the other suggestions. I'll check them out.

 

[Draven]

DON'T USE HYDROSPAN!

A member here (Skygunbro?) has done a video experiment with a halo helmet to see what happens and it was a mess!!!! Total waste of money!

"Youtube" Hydrospan and you should find the video diary he did.

What you need is a re-bigulator.

Draven

 

[OdiWan72]

Wow, that stuff made a mess out of the Halo helmet :eek

I only remember the ad, where it really looked like an option :unsure

Markus

DON'T USE HYDROSPAN!

A member here (Skygunbro?) has done a video experiment with a halo helmet to see what happens and it was a mess!!!! Total waste of money!

"Youtube" Hydrospan and you should find the video diary he did.

What you need is a re-bigulator.

Draven

 

[MattMunson]

Wow, that hydrospan vid was awesome. Quitea mess!

I'll try something else

 

[itsalive]

If you can cast yourself a silicone cast copy from the mold. Get a large 5 gallon bucket. Fill it up with mineral spirits or naptha. Drop your silicone copy into this bucket. Make sure the bucket has a lid. You need to put the lid over it after you drop your silicone cast in to limit the vapors escape.

Check it every so often. I think it takes 2 days for the silicone to completely absorb the used chemical and expand uniformly, but that's if it's a hollow slush cast. Your gonna have to stuff it with newspapers unless it's a solid part. And if it is it solid casting it will take a lot longer to uniformly expand as much as 2 weeks. It will be flimsy and tear very easy when you remove it. So handle it with care and mold it as quickly as you can.

 

[asavage]

At industrial light and Magic we did this. But the chemical used was gasoline. It stinks, but they made some coins HUGE with this method.

 

[MattMunson]

Well, I guess I've got some good tips on where to go. I think I'll experiment on some of my older molds. I'd love to be able to control the expansion to some degree, though I imagine that's difficult with a mold of non-uniform thickness.

Thanks everyone for the assist.

 

[BrundelFly]

Im trying it now.

 

[stussy]

take your time,don't rush into it

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

This sounds like dark magic. I would be cautious. But let us know how it works out if you survive.